THOMPSON-PAYNE PICTURES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9696, 21 January 1910, Page 5

THOMPSON-PAYNE PICTURES.

Instead of making a change of programme on Wednesdays and Saturdays as hitherto, Messrs Thompson an Payne have decided to change on Mondays and Thursdays. As the halfholiday in Masterton is on the Thursday the new departure will meet with general approval. There was onje of the biggest audiences ever seen at the Foresters' Hall last evening, and some very beautiful and interes ing films were screened. Scenes fiom the Royal Regatta at Cowes is a very tine specimen of marine cinematography, and conveyed n very clear idea of yachting on the magnificent scale as indulged in by the monpyed enthusiasts of the Home Land. The Ugly Girl is an Indian drama in beautiful colourir.g performed in In c ia, so that the true native colouring is rendered. The River Ganges is another very fine specimen of the Patbe Frere's colour cinematography. The pictures have been taken from a boat sailing down the great sacred river, and as the vessel proceeds on ] its way the gorgeous temples of the j land of mysteries are seen on the banks. The teeming, busy life of India is brought vividly to our nolice, and hundreds of natives are seen pursuing their daily avocations. The many-hued dresses of the people i and the marvellois tropical colouring of the country, reproduced with j wonderful fidelity by the Pathe process, all contribute to make up a rasr- j vellous scheme of colouiing, such as would have been deemed impossible to reproduce by photography, but a couple of years ago. In more enlightened day the cinematograph wit'"> such scenes as the River Gardes will always accompany geography lessons in our schools, and by no other means can the manner and custom of the people of a country be brought to the knowledge of the average scholar. The Romance of a Gypsy Camp is a very finely worked out drama and was received with great applause. The Prize Camel is a very hilarious comic, in which a man wins a camel in a lottery, and has a very exciting time riding the beast through the crowded streets of Paris. Scenes about Piana is a very fine and interesting series of pictures. Messrs Thompson and Payne are very enterprising entertainers, and each programme wlr'ch comes along reveals to us that tney are ever on the qui vive for something better than the best. They have firmly established their reputation here, and tthey are meeting with the hearty appreciation which their energy merits. Not only are these entreprenuers giving us the pick of the picture film market to ensure us an entertainment of a very high grade, but the fact that they are studying the comfort of their p-atruns ia evidenced by the fact that tu-day a sliding- roof will be commenced, and will be pushed on with all possible speed so that on warm nights the sky will be the only roof, and an ample supply of cool air will be ensured. To enable those sitting in the back seats to see perfectly without discomfort the seating is tu be rearranged so that each row will be higher than the row in front. The hall is to be lengthened also, and four 16-inch electric fans have been cabled for. When all these arrangements have been completed Masterton will have one of the best and most comfortable places of amuse ment in the Dominion.