THE Wairarapa Age. MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1912. THE PICTURE "CRAZE."

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10556, 10 February 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age. MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1912. THE PICTURE "CRAZE."

The picture "craze" lias taken quite a hold of the European countries throughout the world. It has become almost a part of the social life, and there is no indication of an abatement in public enthusiasm. In Masterton, as in, other townships throughout New Zealand, the picture theatre is nightly crowded. In view -of the fact thai) the Trust Lands Trustees are now considering the question of utilising the Town Hall' for picture shows, -the interest in this form of entertainment is likely to be stimulated. In. a recent issue, the Melbourne Argus stated that four years ago there was {inly one important picture enterprise in, Melbourne, but now there are inoro than thirty well-equipped picture theatrps in the city and suburbs. These buildings 'furnish accommodation for 50,000 persons, and there is rarely a vacant seat in any of them on a Saturday

night during tho winter months. During tho summer the attendance at the indoor picture theatres is considerably smaller, but it is said that the difference is more than made up by the audiences til)at flock to the open-air entertainments in all tho suburbs. A low estimate places tho attendance at 50,000 in the summer, including tow n halls and temporary buildings used by picture proprietors, there are at least forty .picture theatres in Melbourne and the suburbs, almost all of which are prettily decorated, well ventilated and furnished with comfortable seats. The accommodation has been improved enormously simM? tho early days of tie picture entertainments, but the charges for admission have remained stationary. The Argus says that the average charge certainly does not exceed Is, and probably is nearer 9d ; tho prices of seats ranging from 3d to 2s. Of course, the 300,000 people of Melbourne are not enjoying a monopoly of picture entertainments. There is at least one picture theatre in ev.?ry country town in Victoria, and the number of touring entertainments is considerable. The vogue of tho pictures is equally remarkable all through the Commonwealth. There are four large theatres within a stone's throw of each other in George Street, Sydney, and a fifth, larger than any 'of them, is to be opened in a few weeks, while there are scores of smaller picture concerns in the New South Wales capital. The happiest hunting-ground of the pictures is to be found in the United States. There, it is said, 10,000 picture theatres have been erected in about five years, and 10,000,000 new theatregoers have been created. Enterprising American entertainers claim that they are "providing the masses with wholesome entertainment at prices which suit every pocket," and their remarkable successes indicate the soundness of their judgment.