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

352 Cf)e C&eattc the world's greatest singers will be heard in grand opera scenes, with voice and action concretely reproduced, and this, too, he promises will be available at extremely low prices of admission. The future of the so-called talking picture, in the opinion of the writer, will depend greatly on the utilization of celebrities, whose artistry has entailed high admission prices for the public to enjoy. How long we will have to wait for a synchronized production of "Pagliacci," with Caruso and Amato in the cast, one may not forecast; yet such productions are possible to-day, seeing that both the motion picture and the phonograph separately have forced famous stars to capitulate, and Caruso has stated that he will welcome the day when real "musical films" are evolved. Some one has said, I believe it was Mr. Hoff, of the "Moving Picture World," that we would know when the talking pictures were perfect only when a new generation of Rockefellers and Carnegies was revealed. The point is well taken, for it is certain that upon the final outcome of the effort to present plays and operas in their entirety, with the players and singers utilized only for the original films and records, will depend the greatest amusement attraction the world has ever known. As an illustration of the benefit to mankind the producer of talking pictures can be, I venture to state that an effort to present film and vocal records of the Adelina Patti of to-day would attract the public all over the world as has no other production of modern times. Patti is 73 years young, and she can sing "Home, Sweet Home," and "The Last Rose of Summer," as only Patti has sung the ballads for more than half a century, yet as there are no vocal records of the Patti