IN these days the cinema attracts greater notice even than the theatre. The series of talks which Mr. Bernstein opens tonight is, therefore. certain of a wide and attentive audience. Two years since, it might not have been possible to discover seven leaders of our home film industry to give such a series on ' The Future of the Cinema.' The chaotic days are now happily past. British films are well established and beginning to challenge America and Germany on their own ground.
Tonight's talker, Mr. Sidney Bernstein , is ' a man of ideas.' Though he has for years been keenly interested in the production side of the films (he was one of the original founders of London's Film Society), it is not in this sphere, as it happens, that his ideas have found most concrete expression. The presentation side has more largely claimed him. He has built cinemas, experimented with special programmes for children, circulated questionnaires in order to test the likes and dislikes of his audiences—done much, in fact, to insure that films are properly enjoyed.