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Animated Pictures 347 under the title of “ The Birth of a Nation ” at Drury Lane Theatre. The circumstance that the Royal playhouse, which lias witnessed many startling and spectacular productions—wonders of stage craft— should embrace photographic spectacle, surely con- stitutes a powerful vindication of the hypnotic at- tractiveness of the “ pictures.” At the moment considerable rivalry is being mani- fested among the foremost producers of the world, irrespective of nationality, to eclipse one another’s achievements. Twenty years ago a production could be staged for a matter of £5, while 300 feet of film was considered a “ big ” subject. To-day the sum of £50,000 is willingly incurred by the ambitious pro- ducer, while 10,000 feet or more of film may be con- sumed in recording the subject in 160,000 tiny pic- tures, measuring 1 inch in width by J inch in depth, which flit across the screen at the rate of sixteen per second. Despite the enormous strides which have been made, and the firm grip which the “ movies” have secured upon the public fancy, the art is yet in its infancy. At the moment it is regarded essentially as an attractive form of amusement. It is hoped, and indeed maintained, that in the near future it will develop into an equally powerful educational force, but as yet there is no decisive indication of it super- seding, or even supplementing, the textbooks in our schools.