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A YEAR OF SOUND HAROLD B. FRANKLIN*
In the operation of a vast chain of theaters catering to almost seven hundred thousand patrons daily, with over ninety per cent of our theaters equipped with sound installations, our organization is in a position to study the requirements and reaction of the general public in the acceptance of the sound motion picture. I am glad to have this opportunity to make a few observations on this absorbing subject.
That sound is here to stay is a foregone conclusion. It has brought to the motion picture the added advantage of speech and song and has enhanced the scope of screen entertainment, making possible perfect musical interpretation and bringing greater realism through the intelligent use of effects. Sound of every description is a part of our lives and it is natural, in a faithful representation of life, that speech and song interpret our moods. The public wants sound motion pictures — but those that are either poorly recorded or reproduced are endangering the future of sound.
The sound picture has made it possible to combine the best qualities of the silent screen with the best traditions of the theater. This has made it possible for the sound motion picture to meet the legitimate theater not alone on financial but on artistic grounds as well. A great advantage which sound pictures hold is their ability to present every word so clearly and distinctly that no one need strain to hear what is being said, at least when recording and reproducing is properly conducted. A whisper is clearly audible from the front row in the orchestra to the last row in the balcony. Let me offer my own opinion that when dialog pictures reach the degree of technical perfection now enjoyed by stage productions the latter are going to suffer by comparison.
The manufacture of sound motion pictures has passed the stage of mystery. Those engaged in the business of making sound pictures are now familiar with the medium. Many technical words coined because of sound have already become a regular part of cinema vocabu
* Fox West Coast Theaters, Los Angeles. 302