AMUSEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 148, 22 June 1918, Page 6

AMUSEMENTS.

NATIONAL THEATRE.

Another strong Fox picture theme has come to the (National. • It is being screened . under the title "To Honour and Obey," . aud Is the feature there to-day and ' through the coming week. Miss Gladys Brock well, well known as an emotional ' player for Fox, has the leading part In thl3 " picture, which follows fairly closely the < lines of ordinary domestic drama. The i heroine is In a. position to choose one of , two men as. her husband, and her choice ; falls on the more worthless one of the two. . i Trouble comes to her all along, but It Is not the other man that Is the villain of . | the tale. 'No, It is the .husband himself, a t weak character, who has formed HI- . grounded suspicions of his wife, and who ' goes out of his way to work, sordid re- ■ venge upon her. The title of this picture is rather significant, as it covers several phases of domestic discord. It deals with those things wherein the wife falls of her i duty, nor do the weaknesses of the husband . go neglected'; Yet the .picture Is not sordid, , for its plot Is highly interesting, many of its situations are intensely dramatic, and , the settings are right up to the well-known , high Fox standard. Miss Brockwell has . had but few more difficult parts to play ! than this, pnd yet she throws a wealth of realism into her lines. "To Honour and Obey" has a series of good supports, per- ; haps the best' of them being the two-reel Fox comedy, A Roman Cowboy." The ' musical settings are of a high standard. TIVOLI THEATRE. Mary Plckford has always been such a i hiyh lavourite with picture fans that now i she is at the Tirol! Theatre the management . there has decided to show the brilliant . player every afternoon. Therefore the pro- ] gramme In Mary plays as "Rebecca of Sunuybrook i arm" will be shown at two sessions"each day, the one in tbe afternoon at 2.30 and the other as usual in the even- , ing.' "Rebecca of Sunuybrook - Farm" Is the most recent I'lckford play for Artcraft . to come to New Zealand, aud the winsome little star has put some of her best work , into the part. She has made much of her . great reputation by her acting In girl roles, , and as Rebecca sue plays as a little girl, while the story follows along Rebecca's rough road to womanhood. Romance follows the child all the way, although the little , girl has to spend many an hour of dlsuppobi'tmciit before sbe> meet's for rthc ; second time her Prince Charming. The play Is full to the brim with quaintness and charming, winsome ways. The threads of love are pictured in plenty, and everything in the production aims at the coordination of a pretty story with a sweet, clean atmosphere. It Is one of those rare pictures that show no sordidness. THE PRINCESS THEATRE. The Princess Theatre is the adopted home of Metro picture creations, and all the best of tbe productions from these famous studios come to this Auckland theatre. This afternoon the new programme destined to run through the coming week was first screened, and It met with a reception that was wholly In accord with its merits. Tlie headliner here is by Metro, and has the title "The Call of 'Her People.' The story appeared originally in the book "Egypt," a moving tale by Edward Sheldon, and for the purposes of the screen version the great company have re-named their presentation "The Call of Her People." The tale is a gipsy romance, and the fact that the original gipsies and all their descendants (have always been endowed with the vagabond instinct lends to the visualised form of the story a peculiar, rather a unique quaintness. The gipsies Romanics—have always been a law unto themselves, and no matter where they may be their habits, .customs, and peculiarities never chiuge. All these things have made round the Roinauy ways a great glamour of mysticism, of romance, and thus "The Call of Her People." dealing with all these quaintnesses. Is a story tbat lends itself in a peculiar degree to local colour. It may tmlv be said .that much of the fascination that will be found in this Metro filmplav Is due to the wandering waywardness w'th which the tale has to do. The plot Itself of such a story is quite obvious, but the wfoole charm of the presentation lies in the sympathetic effect which has been maintained in the showing of these strange people, and in the fact that even their weaknesses have been made Into items of interest. "The Call of Her People" naturally has to do with a charming girl who 'has a strain of the romantic Romany blood in her veins. On this the tale centres. She is not with her own people, but she has every reason for staying where she is. Therefore the plot resolves itself simply into dealing with the problem of which Is the strongergratitude- for benefits .received, the strength of genuine " love, ■ or' the call of a blood that holds such a strong strain of the wanderlust. The star of the story is Miss Ethel Barrymore, and she has a vivid role to portray. All . the settings are pretty, and the film holds ii picturesque value always. QUEEN'S THEATRE. "Real Folks" is at .the Queen's Theatre to-day. By Triangle, the play features Barney Sherry and Miss Fritzie Ridgeway, in a story that has several novel twists, and is -.-holly interesting. The tale ls centred round the fortunes 'of. the Dugan family, for the elder Dugan becomes a millionaire, and. while not wishing to discard his old clay pipe, yet cherishes the idea of putting his wife and Jimmy, the son. into "society." The ambition Is not fulfilled, but hope does not die out of the old man's breast, although neither his wife nor Jimmy has the least desire to enter the world of high-fliers. But *he course of events makes a good friend of the family in a certain ' Lady, and Jimmy, after running away from college and running a business on his own. falls in love with a pretty little lady. Then comes opposition .on the part -of the honefnl father, lint Jimniv makes the lovely girl his bride, nnd then'it turns out that' she is a real thoroughbred. So the father's ambition flourishes, the mother comes round to dad's way of thinking, and soon the house is a centre of the desired "high society," without any loss in the happiness of the family. " "Real Folks" is beautifully presented and the" work of Barney Sherry as .Tiriimv is much to he commended. It is a . clever tale, with enough weight and worth in the settings to ' make it very pleasant to see. The Metro serial, "The Great Secret," with Beverley Bayne and Francis Bushman in the cast, is advanced yea another chapter. _ . . OPERA -HOUSE. ' This afternoon the Opera House was crowded again for the usual matinee. Tonight the current bill of variety numbers will be staged for the last time. '-Two Strings To Her Bow." as played by the Tom Haverley Irish players, is still very I popular, and so are most of- the other nuinI hers which are presented. The bUI will change for Monday .evening. KING'S THEATRE. An enthusiastic reception was accorded Omiili last evening at the Kfiig's when he succeeded in escaping from the trunk. j Two local men spent 10 minutes i" I seeurelv lashing the i trunk from all angles," but they failed to win the £10 on offer, Ornah effecting his escape inside three minutes. To-night he will allow them to secure him in an ordinary packing case, and claims that he will escape. A great supporting programme is being staged to-night for the first time, including a very laughable light comedy, entitled •The" Wrong Man." HIE GLOBE. The Globe headliner on the new bill ln season to-day Is "A Gamble In Souls."- The star player in this fllm-drama is Dorothy Dalton, and at the head of the supports Charlie Chaplin gambols about in " The Pawnshop." VICTORIA THEATRE. The best of to-night's pictures at the Victoria is "The Mother Instinct," starring Enid Bennett." "The Secret Kingdom" serial is screened also. ORGAN RECITAL TO-NIGHT. A varied and attractive programme has i been arranged for the organ recital in the Town Hall to-night. The City Organist will play modern French works by Bonnet and Vierne, Wolstenholme's "Question and • -Answer," Nevins' "Good ' .Night," and "Flnlandla," by Sibelius. Madame Ceeile ' Stephano will be the vocalist. , J. C. WILLIAMSON'S SPECTACULAR REVUE. The long-!ooked-for theatrical event in i Auckland, the coming of "The Bing Boys l Are Here." happens at His Majesty's Theatre on Monday, July 8. This farce--1 revue in two acts and eleven "panels," has ; been one of the biggest successes the Loni don and Australian stage has ever known. The New Zealand production, it is claimed. i will be even more spectacular, for several i additional attractions on a lavish scale will be Introduced, and other variations made to ' Conform to the requirements of New Zea- , land audiences. 'The Blng Boys Are Here" , is tuneful, spectacular, full of humour, aad crowded with dances and specialties. It Is 1 stated that over 100 "people will take part > In this production. The cast, which is said , to be one of the strongest ever sent to the ' Dominion, will include a number of old favourites, comprising ' .Tack Cannot, Leslie i. Holland, Clyde Cook. Billy Hearne. Charles " Howard, Robert -McKinnon, John Quinlan, . Minnie Love, Mate . Balrd. Jennie Ople, ( Florrie Allan, Hilda Gnlver, Jessie Caffyn, and others. Minnie Hooper will be "responsible for the ballets, marches, etc.. and the whole -production will be under the personal supervision- of the noted London producer Mr. Jack Haskell.

"COME INSIDE.'' At His aiajeaty «i 'J-n»"i: on Saturday next byuney james iwiii -present ws new ■nev ue .company, including ■ .vie Royal .suoiiers, in .»nu is claimed 10 be the most up-Lo-uate revue ever producer lv ausi.aitsia. 'lv; tltie, 'Vuuio insure," is ungual ami is a o.u-int invitation lo come aiiU see tue show, ine uid-iasu.oned cos-' mine conieuy companies, ot wnicn \>a have aeeri so many, nave lost tneir novelty, ana oyunty Jauiea wad the first 10 realise mat luo puolie want Boineuiiug nigger, uiighier, and more spectacular. -is -en originator auu producer or "j-tjok Vinos -Lieie," he save to Australia something entirety new, ~ud sutxeuitul as mat proujeauu was, he wad not saiisned, .Due set to work writing sketches, uunestjues', and arranging new iiuuiutic, engaged from .England new artisui, and produced "Come inslae," winch, according to report, has met with phenomenal success, and tue New /.ealand tour .lias -proved a repetition or the Australian one. To -amuse and entertain and drive dun care away is .what Sydney nines aims for, and the entertainment to be presented on Saturday next lulhis these requirements. Some people prefer melodrama, others vaudeville, musical comedy, comic opera, grand opera, buriesiiue, part singing, etc.; so when it is stated that "Come Inside" embraces all these It should make a. very wide appeal to theatre-goers and amusement seekers. On their previous visit the Koyal strollers attracted large audiences and made many friends, and Ibis time they all return, but have with them a number of brilliant associates, and the combination is said to be a particularly strong one. During the season of seven, nights three.changes of programme will be submitted, and tbe -box plans for the season open at Wiidman and Arey's on Thursday morning. STRAND THEATRE. Five girls, all of them with coppercoloured hair, are Implicated in the mysterious tangle which ocurs in "Empty Pockets," the new Strand headliner. The novel, as written by Rupert Hughes, made a remarkable hit, and this film version should be even more popular. It Is a daring tale, with a bevy of beautiful stars to Interpret It. Ketty Galanta and Barbara Castleton have the two biggest girlparts, and the two foremost men are personated by Bert Lytell and Malcolm Williams. The settings to "Empty Pockets" are remarkable. EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. . Miss June Elvldge is quite the best of the World actresses, and her work for the company in "The Marriage Market" is remarkably good. This dramatic theme ls taking pride of place at Everybody's this afternoon and evening, and will run there with all its supports for the coming week. With Miss Elvldge fare Arthur Ashley and Carlyle Blackwell. The picture is full of Incident, and at times Is very exciting. GRAND THEATRE. " They're Off" is a racing yarn, and its film version has been made by Triangle. The story combines the sport of kings with a lovely little romance, and Miss Enid Bennett, with her personation of the heroine, makes the film a charming one. "Double Cross" serial is also shown. THE LYRIC. "Empty Pockets," a brilliant mystery picture that combines drama, romance, and a charming atmosphere,- is the new Lyric feature. Many stars are In the cast, but the first four of them are Misses Ketty Galanta and Barbara t_astleton, and Bert Lytell and Malcolm Williams. THE ARCADIA. For the last time nt the Arcadia "Two Little Imps,' a light, bright Fox film, is to be screened this evening. THE EMPRESS. "The Eternal Mother," by Metro, features Ethel Barrymore in a role full of appeal. This is the feature current at the Empress. It has a plot with a deeply human touch, and there is a good range of supports. THE WEST END. The matinee at the West End this afternoon brought pleasure to a crowd. To-night the bill will be repeated. Its top-notcher Is "Mountain Dew," a pretty and exciting story of moonshiners. Then there is the popular Chaplin comedy "The Fireman," together with other supports. BOHEMIAN ORCHESTRA. The Bohemian Orchestra announce their second concert of the season on Thursday, July 4th.