LOOKING AHEAD

Hokitika Guardian, 7 July 1930, Page 7

LOOKING AHEAD

FUTURE OF THE TALKIES. That •'in. twenty years’ time there ' ’will ;be no theatres or picture shows apd po newspapers is the prophecy made, by Mr John Fuller, who return* ed to Christchurch on Tliursday after making .a,n inspection of the theatres on the West Coast. Their place, lie Isays,; will he taken by television, and people \vill be aible to see and hear in their - own homes not only all the current events of the day but also the greatest, artists of the world.

“I haye spent the evening listening to.the talkie production of ‘‘The Last of; Sirs Gheyney,” lie said, “and I have come away from it convinced that the day of the legitimate theatre is gone. forever. In sport, art, and music there are not international boundaries. To-day you can see the greatest artists of the world in any town you happen to lie in. It is no good anyone coming back from London and saying: ‘I saw ‘So and So” in “Such and Such” and making a boast about it, because the people here have'seen • them also, and the beauty of the talkies is that they can show so. much, more than is possible within the limit 3 of the four walls of the theatre.,, .• -.n . . .

“ A.-grekif-' deaL has been said about so much money , going to America, but it must, be remembered that while the money goes there in the first place a great deal of. it is being used to pay big salaries to English actors who are imported to that country to take parts in the plays being produced as talkies. There is no danger of a shortage of plays; because there are sufficient written now to dast an,other ten years, arid bjrthat time conditions will have changed.’ - " ; k

NO MORE. THEATRES. “Although I am interested in theatres-: and with my brother own many of them, I am strongly of opinion .thdt ‘ within twenty years there will be no- more theatres in existence. have gone to make way for Tlien people will sit in their. homes and hear and see not oittijyth'a;'Current'events of the day H^hicit’will also mean there will be no newspapers) but they will also be ablb to iee and hear the greatest artists ip th° world. There will be no in'’i’t than, there is turnr; ing oimtjhe radiojin the, hoWps , to-day.; The 'dayjot'the' fleHlV and jblpod actor on the jstage has, gone, for good -and*'.all. At' tiro present time, there doing. apyCgood in Australia;.- and, a,., statement iTshw, - with matters - in London, there are only five flhbavsi running there.y Instead of ’fjaving■ to f put\ up ; with mediocrities, the people of to-day are getting the greatest artists., and there is no restriction of: place. The man in the oxnall country a* 'the'-inati- in th e big" cities of the"dd. ' : V “Thb day of musjcians in orchestras hM gone, also, They will not come bapk , forlreasons (similar to that gov-

erning the pictures. As I said, there is no boundary for music and the best artists are available to the people of the world, whereas in the past they have only been heard by the favoured few in the great cities.

REDUCTION IN PRICES. “As you know, the name of Fuller’s has always stood for family entertainment- at the cheapest prices that would allow us to carry on our business. Since we have made the change , over to the pictures, we hav e kept our old policy ,in sight, blit it was necessary tor us to settle down into the new system and to find out how things were going before we could make any definite plans. “I believe that the American producers will realise that the present high prices that are being charged will debar a certain number of people from attending the pictures, and that they will make a reduction accordingly on the policy that it is better for everyone to come and see the pictures than for only a few. The prices that are being charged v to-day have made people selective. What I should like to . see is such a level of prices that the mass of the people would get the habit of attending the show regularly every week, not worrying so much about what particular picture was on, hut knowin nP that* they would be getting good entertainment.

“I hope to be in the position shortly to make the announcement that prices in all theatres controlled by Fullers will be reduced.

SMOKING IN THEATRES. “Another of the matters that I am taking up and on®, I hope, the Government will adopt, is for permission for smoking in certain parts of the theatres, . , “Tt is curious, when you come to think of it, that you can go to London anri hear grand opera at Drury Lane and sit there and’smoke in comfort and yet here, in modern fireproof theatres and with forced ventilation systems, a man in debarred from smoking in any part of the building. I am hoping the Government will give, us permission, because I am sure it is a thing that would he greatly.'ap- ; predated by large numbers of people.” . Commenting on the'big attractions that are coming to Christchurch, Mr Fuller said that the greatest, of them that would be screened in the near future was “The Green Goddess, in which George Arliss is featured. Asked as to what had happened to the host of actors and, actresses who thronged the legitimate stages, he said they had disappeared. “Some of the men are keeping , fish shops,” lie added “and some of the girls have got jobs as barmaids. They have drifted into all sorts of things and the only thing certain is that they will never be hack on the stage again, for that is a thing of the past.”