TALKIES IN JAVA

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 928, 22 March 1930, Page 24

TALKIES IN JAVA

Theatres Contract for Equipment Despite the fact that English is spoken by only about 1 per cent. j of the inhabitants of Java and the Dutch Elast indies, fourteen theatres in that territory have contracted for the installation of talking picture equipments. That, is the information given by Mr. Austin Levy, branch manager for Paramount pictures in Soerabaia, who visited Sydney recently. “The Luxor and Princesse Theatres in Soerabaia opened with talking pictures in January,” said Mr. Levy, “and so successful did they prove that the majority of the better class theatres in the Far Bast will be wired within the next six months. “The success of the talkies in the* East is due to the fact that the inhabitants there are now able to see' first class musical shows. It is the music and the dancing that is ‘getting’ the natives. Of course, the dialogue is only understood by a very small section of the audience. Take the average theatre in the East; the 700 seats are filled generally by 400 Malayans and Chinese, 200 Dutch, 50 Arabs, 25 English, and the remainder other Europeans. With such a cosmopolitan audience it would seem improbable that talkies could be the success that they are. “But music is understood by all nationalities and the effect of the big stage, choruses and ensembles on the native is nothing short of a sensation. It seems like a dream that we ‘whites’ In the East and the natives and Chinese too, are enjoying the best musical shows in the world. “One of the first talkies screened in the East was the musical comedy, ‘The Cocoanuts.’ Of course, the comedy of the Four Marx Brothers was not appreciated, but the huge choruses and the singing and dancing of Mary Eaton caused a sensation. “In. the last two years,” concluded Mr. Levy, “we in the East have only seen two first class shows. One was an Italian Opera Company, and the other Pavlova, otherwise we have been cut off from all great stars, operas, musical comedies, etc. Now we will not only be on a level of Sydney, but * New York and London too."