Talkie Wonders

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 643, 20 April 1929, Page 25

Talkie Wonders

STARS SING AND SPEAK

Limitless Possibilities Ahead

TALKIE FILM, the most Important contribution to the world of entertainment since the introduction of motion pictures at the beginning of the present century, has come to Auckland, and come to stay. There can be no question about the future of the talkie. It constitutes a clear-cut step in the advance of cinema art. Colour and the third dimension lie ahead on the road to Perfection.

BHERE should be no false notions about the pres-ent-day worth of the new sound and speech films. Their quality speaks for itself in amazing fashion, and the wonder is that a new device can be so successful. But it must be remembered that the talkie is an infant, struggling to find its feet as its parent film struggled in the past 30 years. The new art is improving .every day, and its possibilities are limitless. What imperfections there are to-day should disappear as rapidly as those of the silent cinema. In 30 years silent films developed from flickering, badly-produced and unconvincing pictures to the perfect article oil the market to-day. It may

be said confidently that the old, silent screen has reached the topmost rung of the ladder. the quality of 1927 to 1929 would be virtually impossible. LOGICAL PROGRESS Thus the talkies have been the natural outlet for progress—progress beyond all reckoning—for the starting standard of the sound and speech' device is high, and present-day competition will keep the ball rolling. Talking picture schemes and attempts are not new. They were introduced in imperfect fqrm several years ago, and from a point of view of practical utility, were failures. Yet the seed had been sown, and experts laboured on. Now Auckland is offered an entertainment that is sweeping the world. Two programmes of typical worth are now being presented. In the near future there will be others. Thursday’s double premiere was awaited with impatience, but it was worth the wait, and no one who knew anything of the invention was disappointed. What is one’s paramount impression after enjoying the new shows? Surely it is this: if such effects can be secured after barely a year’s operations with the new devices, what will be the cinema entertainment of 1940? By all present indications it will be a shadow theatre in which the greatest artists and companies will appear under absolutely life-like conditions. They will appear in a man-made mirage that will deceive all senses but that of touch. EARLY EXPERIMENTS The first talkie experiments began 19 years ago, two of the early inventors being Theodore Case and Earl Sponable, who invented the Aeo light bulb, a most important contribution to the science. Nothing very successful was achieved, however, until April, 1926, when production work began in real

earnest. In March, 1927, the first complete sound and speech programme was screened In New York, one of the short subjects being Lindbergh’s take-off for his famous Atlantic flight. Since that time, progress with talkies has been steady and continuous. Thus Auckland is being introduced not to experimental Aims with crude and unavoidable imperfections, but to productions which are the result of two years’ careful work and improvement. Certain adjustments of outlook on the part of the talkie audience are necessary before the new films can be appreciated to the fullest. For instance, when actual talking sequences are being shown, it is necessary to give the same silent attention as that

accorded a legitimate play. Dozing, gossiping, and sub-title discussions are things ot the past. THE SILENT FILM Will the silent film become obsolete? That is a question nobody can answer, for it depends entirely on the commercial success of the talkies, and at least another full year must elapse before this can be gauged with any degree of accuracy. The present opinion among experts is that talkies will gradually carve for themselves a definite niche in the cinema world, and in this position they will run side by side with silent drama. It must be remembered that the silent screen is still the darling of countless entertainment seekers who, while welcoming the talkie innovation, will not be prepared to forgo their old love with any abruptness. So, for the present, sound anjd talking pictures, in all probability, will share the cinemas with the parent film. The past few days have suggested that, in Auckland at least, the partnership will be an exceedingly happy one for all concerned.