Edward Talkies

Edward maybe a typical example of a theatre turned talkie, but the transition was anything but straightforward! Edward Theatre was turned into Alcazar Picture Palace and Victoria Cinema. It was briefly taken over by the ambitious Madan Theatres of Calcutta before it was rescued by our dynamic duo M. B. Bilimoria & B. D. Bharucha. Under Bilimoria & Bharucha’s management, it opened as Edward Talkies in July 1933, screening all kinds of ‘ jungle’ movies.

1. Out-Tarzan Tarzan

Edward Talkies opened with Tarzan the Ape Man a ‘giant romance of primitive life and unfettered love’ in which Tarzan lives by the law of the jungle and seizes what he adores. The theme proved so popular that several jungle serials were subsequently screened at Edward, some of which promised to ‘Out-Tarzan Tarzan’. In the thrilling Jungle Mystery two American adventurers find themselves caught in the midst of every conceivable animal from African lions and tigers to elephants, giraffes, leopards, hartebeests and more.

2. The Elephant Trail

From Edward Talkies adventure north on Kalbadevi Road to hunt down the magnificent elephant of Bhangwadi Theatre. This long defunct theatre (located in an area which once had a host of shops selling the intoxicating beverage, Bhang) has only its striking façade to remind us of its heyday. Notice (and imbibe) the maxim ‘Wisdom Above Riches’ engraved on the elephant’s decorative howdah. Now get ready to meet six more elephants from the same family at our next talkie.

A Guidebook to the Talkies of Bombay is a daring collaboration between The Bombay Canteen, Please See and Bombaywalla Historical Works.🍹