MUNICIPAL PICTURE ENTERPRISE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1075, 27 July 1912, Page 2

MUNICIPAL PICTURE ENTERPRISE.

Cr Stewart is to be commended lor suggesting, at the recent Council meeting, that a reduction should be made in the prices of admission to the municipal picture entertainments. The Mayor also stated that he intended to move in this direction. We hope the suggestions will take more definite shape at the next Council meeting. At present the admission charges are: is 6d and is, children 6d to any part of the building. Such prices should entitle patrons to witness first-class films, and with the splendid plant installed by the Council for projecting same ,the best results should obtain. We are satisfied, however, that the films are not good value for the admission charged. Take last Saturday’s programme as an instance. The first scenic, depicting Winter in Finland, was marred by the wear and the film appeared to have been chopped off and joined at random. Worn films have a very bad effect upon the sight and the beauty of the moving scene is blurred and marred, and the topical Gazette was decidedly stale and uninteresting. Then, again, of what earthly value are the sensational Red Indian faked scenes ? Such pictures convey entirely wrong ideas to the minds of the rising generation as concerning one of the most peace-loving peoples in the world. These fakes are utterly useless except to pander to a sense which does not square with modern civilisation. Is it any wonder that educationalists are asking for a censorship of this kind of balderdash. The comic films were good and the dramatic scenes had a good moral setting. But the point is, the programme was below the admission value. We do not think there will be auy falling off in revenue if the charges are reduced as suggested, and as for an opposition show starting well, whoever contemplates investing money in such manner will ultimately fall in, because the municipal pictures are the people's own enterprise and auy profits accruing therefrom go back to the people instead of into the pockets of one or two. When Foxtou doubles its population it will be time enough to run two picture shows —at present it would be starvation lor both. There is just one more point in connection with local picture entertainments, and that is the necessity for prohibiting the ringing of bells and working of other weird noises in order to make the pictures appear more realistic. These noises create ridicule rather than added interest and should be abandoned.