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During this period the cinema battled with the music halls and variety clubs for entertainment away from the home. The first talking picture came to England in 1927. The cinema was also less class conscious. Special Saturday morning films were put on for young people to watch, usually involving cartoons, like Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse or westerns involving cowboys and indians. Actors and actresses became famous. Dance halls with live bands became the new big thing. Dance crazes came over from the United States of America such as the Charleston (in the 1920s) and the jitterbug (brought over by the servicemen who were stationed in Britain during World War Two) in the 1940s. With the invention of the gramophone, people could then buy recordings of the music they had danced to and play them in their own homes. BBC Radio started in 1927 and most homes, even among the poor, had a radio within 10 years. The first regular television broadcasts were made by the BBC in 1936 although, as television sets were more expensive, their popularity grew more slowly. Better transport meant more spectators at sporting events. Entertainment continued throughout the blitz years of World War Two and beyond and many entertainers would fly out to perform for the British troops both in North Africa and in Burma.
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