THE TALKIES

Hokitika Guardian, 24 September 1932, Page 6

THE TALKIES

■ , DEMAND |OP. PUBLIC. ; • FOR SIMPLER PICTURES. I '■. - WELLINGTON, - September -22. ! Latest trends in motion-picture production ■were discussed by Mr M. Toomey on his arrival from Melbourne yesterday jby ’the -Maunganui to take charge of the vVellington branch of the ••Fox -Film • 'Corporation (Australasia), Ltd. Mr Toomey said there wag definite reaction frd ; m HS the ultra-sophisti-cated sex drama 5 whi’ih' had held sway for soras considerable time past, and in its place was a keen and real demand for pictures of a simpler and .more human type.

‘ Producers were now realising that pictures must b e mad© down to earth to meet the average mind and to appeal to the average audience, Mr T«o----mey continued. Highly gophisticated pictures were fine, for a limited claks .but deadly for the masses. They were prepared to get • back to first principles and make , pictures from simple, human stories of universal ..appeal.

entertainment, not education.

(Eight out of ten picture . patrons ;were people .that did not think, very deeply,, he said. They, were drawn, from thg workshop, factory, office, or home. Life for them wag.' not .particulary full of interest, ' and after their, daily task was over they sought a place to ue entertained. They did not desir 6 to be educated, but amused. This they found .in the .picture theatre. Taken for a brief -hour or two from the monotony of a humdrum life, many of -these people found tiu motion picture -the only source of amusement At the .theatre they were transported to a new world, as it were ; there they found a 'little bit of comedy, a little bit of romance, or a little bit of pathos. And it wag to this lighter type of entertainment —stories of real Gfe free from sophistication, that the •world public was demanding. •Mr Toomey said that pictures had to' be made in response to the .public debiand.-It was futile for any producer to try anything in -the--way of-mould-ing public' taste ; if he did &o he would •very soon be in the bankruptcy court. ■The making of motion-pictures wag too expensive a matter at the present day to ; try any experiments as to what might be a good film, and producers had to follow box-office receipts’ as their guide. .

WORLD-WIDE REPORTS.. Headquarters in America were regularly -supplied with reports from their branches .throughout the world to* bow»» p*tr<J*«|,*!»!*wi§ KWftorded to certain types of pictures. For instance, Spain might report a popularity iof mystery drama, New Zealand simple stories, or , Germany musical comedies..'. In this way, the producers •were'•able:.,to get _som 6 idea of worldwide opinion, and as their pictures were made 1 for a world market, mould them .accordingly. i - When the talkies first mad e their, debut, the greatest num'-er dealt with mystery- and crime pictures; these were.. followed by a large number of musical productions, which in turn gave way to the smart and snappy modern drama typo. Finally simple and. natural stories . had come into vogue, and indications were that they •had come to stay for some considerable time, Mr Toomey added.