By 1928, the first "talkies" were being imported, providing some heavy competition for the silent Thai films. In the tradition of the benshi in Japan, local cinemas had entertaining narrators to introduce the films as well as traditional Thai orchestras that were often as big an audience pleaser as the films themselves, and but within two or three years, silent movies had given way to the talkies.
The first Thai sound film was Long Thang (Gone Astray), produced by the Wasuwat brothers, and premiered on April 1, 1932. Considered an ideological film in the period of political reform, the film proved a big success and led to the building of the Sri Krung Talkie Film Company in Bang Kapi. It produced three to four films a year.
