AMUSEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 59, 11 March 1930, Page 5

AMUSEMENTS.

THE CIRCUS. CHILDREN'S DELIGHT. Hooray, lads, the circus is in town, camped on the Old Dock site. Last night was the first show. Everything was there; lions, and tigers, and bears, and elephants, beautiful snow-white ponies, clowns with big red noses and baggy trousers, and strong men and women who ; threw themselves into the air and turned i somersaults away up near the roof. ; First, all the animals paraded, marcht ing round the ring two by two just as they went into ark. Then the bears went into a big cage to do their tricks. ■ The white Polar bears did not seem to : like it. They snarled at their trainer and 1 bit the little brown bears, but they were ■ always too clever to do anything that would earn them a real thrashing. Be--1 fore they went back to their cages, they | had to slide down a chute. Some slid ' down on their tails, and some slid down on their noses. None of them looked very happy about it, but once on the slide, they had to go. Even their big claws, long curved claws that would pull a man to pieces, could not hold them. At tlie bottom of the chute, over they tumbled in the sawdust, and then, getting up, they snarled at their trainer until the attendant, with a big fork, prodded them into , their cages again. It was funny to see , the solemn old elephant towing the cages i away, and taking not the slightest notice ■ of his noisy passengers fighting amongst - themselves. , A quaint little clown came into the ring smoking a cigarette, and the ringmaster told him smoking was not , allowed there and took the cigarette , away from him. But the clown produced ; another cigarette, already lighted, from . the air; and as fast as the ringmaster • took them away, the clown brought out ■ others. Perhaps it was meant as a re- ■ quest to the audience not to smoke, but ■ no one took it that way. One of the reasons why father does not mind taking 1 you to the circus is that he can have a smoke there. It would be a pity to disappoint him. After that, the items came on so ' quickly that, looking back next day, it ' all sgemed one big whirl of excitement. The horses were beautiful. Miss Gladys came in with her big horse Bobs, which waltzed round the ring to the tune of the band, and Mr. A. Clarke had six ponies ; galloping round, and dodging in and out. The ponderous elephants did their part ' with a grave, dignified air, as if they despised all human beings, but they obeyed every word that was given to them. They played a game of soldiers, . wheeling and turning and forming line like a well-drilled army, and fought a , mock battle, in which they all rolled over . and pretended to be dead. But when , their trainer, Miss Eileen May, also pretended to be killed, they came to life again, spread a flag over her body, and slowly and sadly carried her away. More horses appeared, and cantered gracefully round the ring. One was accompanied by a pony which it treated as a hurdle, leaping over it quite easily. Another carried a juggler, who performed his tricks standing on its back. The best of the programme was kept to the last. Claudia •Alba is a strong lady. She played with great iron cannon balls as if they weighed nothing, and when her partner held up a notice upside down, she grabbed him, and held him upside down so that everyone could read it. Her greatest feat, however, is to hang from a bar, with a cannon dangling by a strap held in her teeth. If you do not mind watching people apparently in peril of their lives, the tricks of the three Arconas look pretty. A man balances on his forehead a tall steel mast, up which a young lady climbs and does some tricks. Tlie Flying Lamars, also bring your heart into j your throat as they swing from one! trapeze to another high up in the roof. One of the partners will suddenly let go of his trapeze, and go somersaulting through the air, to liis partner at the other side of the ring, who catches him by the bancs or by the feet as coolly as if he were catching the Ponsonby tram. For the boys, the Lias troupe is an inspiration. Turning cartwheels is too simple for them. They throw a hundred different sorts of flips, not on the ground, but on the feet of their partners, who lie on their backs on padded rests. Three pairs of upturned feet are all the stage the tumblers need, and they bounce from one to the other with all sorts of queer antics. PLAZA THEATRE. The newest Fox Movietone all talking picture, directed by Raoul Walsh, "Tlie Cock Eyed World," based on a story by Laurence Stallings and Maxwell Anderson, is drawing large audiences to the Plaza Theatre. It discloses, among other things, the many ardent love affairs of Edmund Lowe and Victor McLaglen as two hard boiled red blooded marines. Their amours are confined to any and all particular lands and languages. They meet with beautiful Lily Damita in the tropics, at an inn where her mother serves bountiful repasts and charming daughter serves the diners. In the battle for her favour, Lowe, hoping to stick at the table longer than McLaglen and have the girl to himself, gorges with chicken sandwiches. Another hilarious episode deals with a little red book, given "Top Sergeant Flagg," played by Victor McLaglen, by his pal and arch enemy, "Sergeant Quirt," played by Edmund Lowe, when the latter decides to leave the service. The little red book contains names, addresses and descriptions of Quirt's various former flames, a goodly number, to say the least. When the transport carrying the marines docks in New York, "Flagg" hurries to the nearest telephone booth and calls the lassies listed in this little red book. He only locates "Fanny," played by beautiful Jean Bary. She is dated for a rollick-

ing trip to Coney Island. All goes well until they meet the last person in the world the expected to find, Quirt, and then trouble begins. Quirt makes a sly effort to get the girl. There is a good supporting programme. "LIDO LADY." In a nutshell the musical comedy "Lido Lady," now reigning at His Majesty's Theatre, is an elaborate revue company, but one, which, for two and a half hours, goes with a zip and sparkle that is delightfully refreshing. Mirth and melody are combined in a series of musical items delivered with a snap and finish which cannot fail to please. The comedy work is led by Freddie Forbes, and those associated with him see to it "that every opportunity is provided him to get off his witticisms. The result is that the fun is good, clean, and continuous from curtain rise to fall, the whole going to make a really bright show. The dancing, of which there is plenty, all neatly and cleverly done, is particularly good, and one detail to which every attention has been given is the frocking of the ballet, the girls, by the Avay, being as good-look-ing a team as would be met with in any company. "Lido Lady" will be presented throughout the week, and is a show well worth seeing. i MOULIN ROUGE. The change of programme at the Moulin llouge, Remuera, features a Warner Bros.' part-talkie picture entitled "Women They Talk About, with Irene Rich, Audrey Ferris and William Collier, jun., in the principal parts. It is a 'drama of modern society and politics. A man and a woman, former lovers, strive to gain the top of the poll in a mayoral election, while the daughter of the aristocrat and the son of the selfmade man make whoopee. Several I talkie featurettes, a scenic and topic complete the programme, which will be screened to-morrow and Thursday.