TALKIES CONTRACTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17062, 21 September 1929, Page 3

TALKIES CONTRACTS

MR. KERRIDGE SIGNS UP .FIVE INSTALLATIONS IN HAND LOCAL PREMIERE IN 5 WEEKS. Residents of this district who have had opportunities of hearing the talkies elsewhere will he interested to hear that within the next three weeks tlie installation of a talkies projection machine will be made in the I‘alace Theatre, and the premiere of the new entertainment will take place on October 14. Mr. K. J. Kerridge, who controls the Palace Theatre among a large number of entertainment centres, yesterday signed up with Mr. J. W. Barker, general manager for the Western Electric Corporation in New Zealand, for five installations, the. largest kof which is to be at Gisborne. The other theatres which Mr. Kerridge is to have wired for tire talkies are at Tauranga, Whakatane, Wairoa and Levin. Arrangements have been made for the presentation of practically every successful talkie so far introduced into New Zealand, and capable of reproduction on the Western Electric installation, Among these are "Jazz Singer,” the Warner Bros.’ first effort in the line of music and speech, which recently enjoyed a. re-presentation on Broadway, New York; “The Innocents of Paris,” starring the French actor, Maurice Chevalier; “Interference,” “The Doctor’s Secret.” ■ "The Bellamy Trial,” and “Broadway Melody.” Several other first-class subjects have been arranged for, and the commencement of the talkies in Gisborne will be signalised by the presentation of "The Canary Murder Case.” It is Air. Kerridge’s intention to place the Palace Theatre at the disposal of the Western Electric Corporation fitters for a. fortnight prior to the premiere, and during that period silent films will be shown at the Opera House, which is also under Mr. Iverridge’s management. COST OF INSTALLATION. The cost of installing the Western Electric plant in Gisborne will be considerable. The plant itself will exceed £2OOO in actual rental cost, apart from duty, installation expenses, and, the cost of alterations to the theatre stage, which, tile accommodation of sound-production devices behind the screen will make necessary. In addition to these, charges, there will he a further annual, charge of £250 for the services of a. Western Electric expert, who will supervise the machine constantly, under the agreement with the corporation, so that, at, all limes tho installation will be kept up to the highest standard. Apart from the natural desire of the management to keep tile machine operating at its highest efficiency, the Western Electric Corporation, besides retaining ownership' in its machine, stipulates that it must receive daily service from its own experts, and that, further, all improvements devised by the corporation must bo incorporated in Hie installation as they become available. The object of this stipulation is to keep the Western Electric system iu the .forefront of talkies production and presentation. This system is the sound-on-filin process, which Mr, Kerridge has been informed by independent judges to be the most efficient of all, from the point of view of''the patrons of the theatre. One of its advantages is that cuts taken out of a picture by tho censor do not affect the synchronisation of the sound and the picture. In addition to the feature pictures arranged for, Mr. Kerridge proposes to follow the usual custom of presenting talkie shorts, brief pictures with sound and dialogue which in reality comprise the work of the best vaudeville artists available, and also talkie nows reels, which have a special fascination. The premierp of the talkies in Gisborne will lie awaited with keen interest by all classes of theatre patrons.