THE TALKIES

Hokitika Guardian, 22 July 1929, Page 2

THE TALKIES

AUSTRALIA GRIPPED. UNEMPLOYED MUSICIANS. BLOW- TO LEGITIMATE THEATRES

SYDNEY, July 4. The instantaneous success of the talkies has been the most remarkable development in the history of entertainment in Australia. Theatre after theatre is being wired, and the attendances at these is increasing, indicating plainly that the showmen are giving the public what the public wants. That, after all, is true showmanship. At each of the many talkie entertainments in Sydney the theatres are not big enough to hold the crowds and the new apparatus is being installed in suburban theatres. The boom has indeed reached amazing proportions, and ■ one cannot help wondering whether it is going to last. The picture people themselves have no doubts on this score, and are spending thousands to cater for the public with the latest and best in pictures.

As was only to be expected there are serious sides to this new development.'-'; Those theatres which are still showing silent j pictures are losing money, and the legitimate theatres in Sydney and Melbourne have been badly hit. At least four theatres in Melbourne have been closed temporarily by the J. C. Williamson management. Naturally the management refuses to blame the talkies, but it does not take a very keen observer to note the trend of events. People simply decline to pay high prices for these legitimate shows how they can get talking films at prices considerably lower. Another remarkable feature is that the public will even pay high prices for talking pictures in preference to. stage shows in' the ordinary meaning of the- term. The new State Theatre which has opened in Sydney —the most elaborate place of entertainment Australia has ever known — can on a Saturday night fill all the seats for which the charge is as high as 7s 6d.*i Of course there are cheaper seats, -but on Saturday the lowest price is ’ 3s, ’ and the 'theatre is invariably crowded to its utmost capacity. One huge Sydney theatre that has been running elaborate musical comedies closed its doors this week—a victim of the talkies. Other shows are doing anything but big business —and the talkies are Iblamed. The Theatre Royal, one of the oldest J. 0. Williamson houses in. Sydney, fs being wired for the new form of enertainment, and the popular vaudeville house, the . Tivoli, is following suit.

Most of the 1400 musicians who are employed in the picture theatres in Sydney and its suburbs are threatened with unemployment because of the talkies. Already two Sydney theatres, one of which employed an orchestra of 25, have dispensed with these musicians and are relying on synchronised music in an all-talking picture programme. Owners of many of the suburban theatres have informed their orchestras that when they install the talkie apparatus the services of the musicians will not be needed. The position, according to the musicians, is the most serious they have ever faced. Altogether there are 8000 members of the Musicians’ Union employed throughout Australia, and all of these are threatened by the invasion of what v they call American “canned” music.

Already the New South Wales branch of the union is tackling theproblem, and at its last meeting decided to send a petition to the Federal Government asking it to arrange some measure of protection for the. Australian musicians against the imported music. Mr F. Kitson, the secretary, although he regards the position as extremely serious, considers that the musicians will be able to prove to the public and to the picture theatre owners that they are indispensable. The public, he thinks, will not be satisfied with the “canned” music. “A silent film with an able orchestra,” he says, “will find as much favour with the public, if not more, than the synchronised film. Talkies are 'being forced on the public and in many cases the public does not want them. The photography is rarely as good as in the silent film, the synchronisation is not good, and the showman has to pay more for the talkie film than for the other variety.” In this connection it would seem that wishes are the father of Mr Kitson’s thoughts. However, it is a fact that had some of the larger theatres where talkies are being shown exclusively the orchestra has been retained because the management appreciates the public demand for really good music. In order to test the public taste a novel experiment is to be carried out at Bondi. It is being arranged by the management of Olympic Theatre No. I, which is controlled by Olympic Theatres, Ltd., and the Musicians’ Union, that for an unlimited period the orchestra in the theatre will be increased from eight to 20 players, and that good silent films will be shown at each Fusion. In addition to the orchestral programme player, during the scree'i’.ng, musi-nl items will be given from the stag'i by the orchestra during the perfor nmce ard the programme will be changed twice weekly. The terms under which the experiment is being carried out have not been disclosed, but it is said that the union has agreed to pay the salaries of 12 of the orchestra. Then, after all expenses have been paid, the balance will be divided between the

union And the management, the latter taking the larger share.

. The cost of installing the talkie apparatus has hindered many of the suburban and country theatre proprietors from stepping into line with the more wealthy concerns. Sydney suburban theatres have suffered considerably because tliey have not been able to keep up to date. Not only have the attendances decreased, but the quality of the silent film has fal • on away, and they have had to depend on second-class subjects. And the theatre-going public will mt have anything that is second class. The Australian talkie invention, known as the Raycophone, is considerably cheaper than the American system, and some of the distributing companies have agreed to supply theatres where the local invention is installed. The American producing companies and the patentees of the talking device are, however, very closely allied, and it remains to be seen whether the existing ban can be broken down without Government interference. The Government has -intimated that it will do its part if any unfair demands are made that will prevent the Australian machine being used in Australian theatres.

The distributing companies say that the Raycophone is far from perfect, and that they will not permit their pictures to' be shown where that apparatus is used, because they do not -want the reproduction maned in uny way. They say that it will be the end of the talkies if . they are shown through defective apparatus, and they are the sole judges of the standard to be maintained. %