“Designed for “talkies,” the Palace had to open [in 1928] with a silent motion picture [Excess Baggage] because the needed equipment for sound motion pictures had not arrived. The success of talkies, a new technology only two years before, had been widely successful. Vaudeville could not compete, and its own stars contributed to the demise of its popularity as they recorded their acts on film, resulting in no demand to see live acts that had already been seen on film.” Hoffman, Scott, A Theatre History of Marion, Ohio: John Eberson’s Palace & Beyond, p. 11 (History Press 2015).
“Designed for “talkies,” the Palace had to open [in 1928] with a silent motion picture [Excess Baggage] because the needed equipment for sound motion pictures had not arrived. The success of talkies, a new technology only two years before, had been widely successful. Vaudeville could not compete, and its own stars contributed to the demise of its popularity as they recorded their acts on film, resulting in no demand to see live acts that had already been seen on film.” Hoffman, Scott, A Theatre History of Marion, Ohio: John Eberson’s Palace & Beyond, p. 11 (History Press 2015).