The theatre of science; a volume of progress and achievement in the motion picture industry (1914)

of^cicnce 335 that the projected light when it strikes this surface is all diffused. The mirror behind the surface returns the light with power and brilliancy to the viewing space, and does not scatter it as with a white wall. The vast audiences which have crowded the Strand Theatre since its dedication as a photoplay house have been impressed almost as much through the musical side of the entertainments given as from the excellent film productions. The orchestra at the Strand Theatre has been praised so highly in the press that it is not surprising to see the musical portion of photoplay productions greatly improved all over the country. The organ installed at the Strand is said to be the largest m^ade by the Austin Organ Company, of Hartford, Conn., though Mr. Austin informed the writer that his company is now building even larger instruments. Ever since the advent of the two and three-hour photoplay, which also inaugurated an era of building palatial playhouses for their exhibition, there has come an increased demand for these so-called organ-orchestras and the one at the Strand has attracted so much attention that the writer ventured to ask Mr. Austin whether he believed that the mechanical orchestra — though operated at the console by a competent musician— was destined to eventually replace the large orchestral bodies in our play-houses of various grades. "The organ from a theatrical standpoint," said Mr. Austin, "has not appealed to us very strongly up to very recently because of the tendency on the part of the managers to purchase only the cheaper instruments and there were other features of this phase of our business that caused hesitation to embark heavily in that field.