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Hokitika Guardian, 4 March 1930, Page 4

This evening Hokitika and district is to be brought into line with many other centres in the Dominion, and will have the opportunity of enjoying the “talkies.” Thanks lo the enterprise of the proprietors of finery body’s Pictures, conducted for so long at the Princess J heatre ,the management at very considerable outlay, has installed the requisite plant for the purpose. The talkie plant for reproduction is an expensive installation, but local patrons can have the knowledge that a very good type of plant lias been installed nere, and that the result- should be a very pleasing and popular form of entertainment. The talkies a,re enjoying a great vogue all over the world. For biie time, unfortunately, they are affecting seriously the legitimate stage, ant it is expected by those with a close touch oil the profession, that this eclipse' is not going to he permanent, and that in point of fact, there will be room, for both classes of entertainment. In the short time the talkies have been extant, wonderful progress has been made' with the reproduction, and it is conceivable that as time goes on other great advances .will be made. Hokitika to-night, however, will have the advantage of enjoying reproduction from one of the latest type of machines, and those qualified to pass an opinion consider the plant installed here is one of the best available for the smaller class of theatres, there is said to be another advantage in that Princess Theatre has been found to possess acoustic properties which serve the talkies excellently for the purpose of good sound reproduction. The plant and the theatre should therefore give splendid results. There is of course always a variation in the type of pictures. Many folk here will have had opportunity of hearing talkies elsewhere and forming judgement of the differences to he observed. Needless to say the strongly American spoken picture is not altogether popular, whereas generally the British spoken picture is very popular. There must be in the talkies as in the silent pictures, varieties of value from an entertainment point of view. On that account there is often very varied judgment, for picture displays bring out preferences more than anything else. The production to-night will he interesting because it brings to our doors one of the ‘latest marvels in invention. The transference of sound mechanically to the screen supplies a new wonder, and it will be interesting to realise all that that implies. This enlarged scope of entertainment is .pregnant with possibilities' as to the ffuture and means that many more tilings are possible within our lives, remote though we may he from the great pulsing centres of the world. The local theatre going public will have the opportunity of making their acquaintance with this very modern invention under circumstances which promise to be altogether favourable and highly entertaining.