Talkies For Suva

New Era of Entertainment

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, January 24.

SUVA had its first real experience of the talkies on January 20, when the Universal Theatre opened with its new equipment under the joint man agership of Miss Bayly and the Noerr Brothers.

For a long time past there has been talk of such an installation being made in Suva, and experiments have been made with a couple of low-priced plants. These did not prove satisfac tory, at any rate, on a commercial scale, and so the opportunity has been offering for a combination of skill and capital to explore this new field of en tertainment in Suva.

We have had two picture theatres for many years in Suva and are shortly to have a third. Dr. Beattie is putting up a large concrete picture theatre, which will be equipped in the most modern manner and wired for “talkies.”

As the doctor is also an expert on acoustics, the result should be as nigh

perfect as possible.

The “talkies” at the Universal The atre were produced on “Vocal-tone” equipment installed by an Australian, Mr. George Glynne, and as he aptly re plied to a critic in a letter to our local paper, “Sound has routed the local blacksmith or street sweeper from the easy job of projecting silent pictures with single projectors, to the discom fort of the audience.”

In the opinion of those who have heard talkies in Australia and New Zea land, the installation at the Universal Theatre is an unqualified success.

But the fact that the films chosen were American productions, with the “American language” very pronounced, caused a good deal of hostile comment among those who know that first-class British films, employing the English language, are now available.