Crossword Genius

Town's first boozers screened entertainment many years ago (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

talkies

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'years ago' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'town's first boozers screened entertainment many' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'first' could be 'i' (I in Roman numerals eg Elizabeth I) and 'i' is found within the answer.
'many' could be 'l' and 'l' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'takes' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for talkies that I've seen is " The early movies, just after the silent era".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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