fFILM THE STUDIOS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 648, 27 April 1929, Page 29

fFILM THE STUDIOS

TALKIE week—k ZJCKLAND’S first talkie week A- has come to a close, and. exhibitors are, or should be, jubilant. The ikew films have intrigued and not only motion-picture lovers, but hundreds of citizens to u;hom a cinema shore is a rarity. It is from the latter section of the community —still a surprisingly large one—that talkies will attract a host of supporters. As a class, hardened playgoers are not regular patrons of the silent screen, but talkies are a compromise which xviU interest them. Last week’s season has been a repetition of practically every opening season since talkies were introduced. First-night audiences were cautious and uncertain, but each succeeding session has seen bigger houses and greater enthusiasm. The taste for talkies requires a Uttlc cultivation, and established views must be adjusted. It is necessary to become used to the mechanical nature of the entertainment as a whole before one can sit hack and examine things in their right perspective. At present there are lots of faults about talkie shows. That is admitted freely by all concerned. On the other hand they are immeasurably better than were silent films two years after their inception, and they are improving every month. The experiences of the past week have proved one important point. It is that cinema patrons are quiteprepared to be audiences as well as onlookers. There may be truth in the suggestion that the public has learned to Jove its silent drama, but speech it a most compelling medium, and it explains action quickly, definitely and immediately in a way that subtitles could never do. All power to the talkies. They are the canned fruit of the entertainment larder, but canned fruit has become exceedingly palatable.