“LIVING PICTURES.”

Otago Witness, Issue 2935, 15 June 1910, Page 73

“LIVING PICTURES.”

There is evidently an impression abroad that the public taste for pictorial display has reached such a stage in Dunedin that there is room for further adventure in that line of entertainment than already exists. An evidence of this lies in the fact that another candidate for public favour appeared on the scene on the 9th inst. in the Art Gallery Hall, and drew a patronage as large as the hall—by no means a small one —would accommodate. Certainly the exhibition, so far a.s it went, was to be commended, but unfortunately misfortune followed misfortune, and the entertainment finally came to a somewhat abrupt ending. First a tube went, and then a fuse gave out, but by that time it was getting near 10 o’clock, so that the spectators got full value for the modest sum they bad been required to pay for admission to the hall. The pictures were distinctly good, but the results attained led to the belief that the operator manipulating the lantorn was not completely at home in his work. The focussing was at fault, and the pictures were by no means as sharp as they might have been when they were projected on the screen. If this was not continuous, it was of sufficiently frequent occurrence to be plainly noticeable. As just stated, no exception could be taken to the pictures themselves!. They were quite on a par with what the public has been accustomed to see of late years, and the fact that several were not new did hot detract to any considerable extent from the pleasure of seeing them. No doubt to many of those present they were all new. The first was a most interesting picture of a ride over the Alps, in which the photographer bad done his work wall. Following this came “ The Dancing Girl of Bute,’' a story picture in, which a captivating danseuse attracts the attention of a young artist. Mutual love succeeds a somewhat romantic meeting, but the girl’s occupation prove® a serious bar to the union of the pair. Social status is, however, ignored in the end. “ Calino l goes Travelling ” belongs to the humorous order of moving pictures. Th© hero proves quite amphibious, and is none the worse for the extraordinary immersion he undergoes. A more amusing film was, however, “ FooLshead at the Ball.” This was intensely funny, and caused great merriment among the spectators. “ The Heroine of Mafeking ” pourtrayed dramatic incident, and was full of stirring military scenes. The work carried on in a marble quarry proved interesting, and the picture following it was cut short for the reason before mentioned.