AMUSEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 174, 25 July 1928, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS.

LYRIC THEATRE. "Man, Woman and Son," John Gilbert"* latest starring picture for Metro-GoHwyn-Mayer, will Lave its Auckland premiere at. the Lyric Theatre to-morrow. The picture is a story of newspaper life in Washington by Mourn Bell, who also directed the production. Bell covered many big events, such as the Taft inauguration. Many of h;s own tasks wrre "written into the play. It was decided that in making the picture, imitations ot the real locales would be useless, to the company went to Washington, n hei e most of exteriors were '"shot." In Washington Gilbert and his director weic "fined by Jeanne Eagels, to whom the feminine lead was given. Miss Eagels, a stage artist, had previously scored a great success as Sadie Thompson in the Broadway production of W. Somerset Maugham s play * Pain.' Gilbert and Miss Eagels work well together on the screen, and their team work snould meet with the enthusiams of all picture jovers wTio s-e "Man, Woman and Son." Gilbert piaTs a reporter, and Miss Eagels a society editor, and a notable supporting cast includes Marc McDermott. Gladys Brockwell, Cosmo Bellew and Philip Anderson. The railroad yards in Washington, beauty spots in the park surrounding the Capitol, and the \\ hite House grounds are among the most interesting scenes in the him. There will be a strong supporting programme at the Lyric. "ROOKERY NOOK." ■At His Majesty's Theatre this evening and three following nights the J. C. Williamson, Ltd., management will present for the first time to playgoers of NewZealand, their New English Comedy Company, in the initial production here of Ben Travers highly amusing farce-comedy. Rookery Nook," which has been attracting record audiences in London for the past two years, and is being played in England by no less than six different companies. It has proved one of the mo#t successful comedies staged in Sydney and Melbourne during the past twenty years. . Rookery Nook" is full' of interesting incidents from the rise to the fall of the curtain. There is the arrival of the pyjama-clad girl, Rhoda Marley, in the hall oi Rookery Nook."' There are Gerald Popkiss, the newly married husband, arriving at an empty seaside cottage without his wife, and confronted by the lovely Rhoda, whose brutal stepfather, Herr Put 2, has run her out from his house, next door to Rookery Nook; Mrs. Leverett, the suspicious '"daily woman," engaged bv Gerald's si6ter-in-law, tie feline Mrs. , Twine, to look after Rookery Nook; Clive, Gerald s willing accomplice; Harold Twine, Gertrude Twines rabbit-like little husband; the Prussian Putz, the hardswearing Juddy, and other quaint characters. The^ problems are: How to clothe Rhoda, how to punish Putz, and how to allay the suspicions of Gertrude and Mrs. Leverett. Alter the Williamson management had purchased the Australian and New Zealand rights of the Ben Travers' comedies they sent Mr. George A. Highi. to engage the artists for the different character types created by the author. Mr. Travers himself selected Mr. Hastings Lynn, a popular London comedian, for the chief comedy parts, and he aJso rehearsed him in them. Mr. Basil Radford was then selected for the part of C^ v e Popkiflg, in "which he has eclipsed the fiuecces he achieved in "The Ghost Train.*' Miss Minnie Rayner, who will make her first appearance here in the character oi Mrs. Leverett, is one of England's best known comedy artists. Mr. Cyril Vernon and Miss Jane Comfort, and Miss Helene Simon are other Londoners who will make their debut here this evening. Great interest centres in the debut of Mies Donalda Warn, who, although only 16 years of age, has already established herselt as one of the finest actresses Australia has produced. Box plan arrangements are advertised. NEW HIPPODROME AND EMPRESS. Two big pictures have been arranged for presentation at the New Hippodrome and Empress Theatres this evening. Thev are "Singed" and "The Branded Sombrero.'" "Singed" is a William Fox vehicle for Blanche Sweet, who shows by her excellent performance that an absence of so many months from screen work has not affected her ability to offer her audiences a first-class characterisation. ' Singed"' is the story of a woman who could not hide her past, etched against a picturesque and colourful backPT° U ? d that carries the spectator from an Oklahoma oil-boom town to a wildcat oil well in California, and on to San Francisco, where the greater part of the action takes place in luxurious surroundings. Miss Sweet plays the part of a dance I hall girl, who becomes wealthy through ,an oil gusher, and Warner Baxter, that of her lover. Their riches turn the man'i t head, and he attempts to discard the girl i in order to marry a San Francisco society debutante. It is this situation that brines about one of the most tragic and power- , ful climaxes that has been written into la scrip for many a season, according to advance reviews from Hollywood and New 'The Branded Sombrero," a Fox Production, is a Western f Etarr - 1 ? s Buck Jones - There i. # excitmg action from beginning the star and his wonderful horse have several chances ot displaying the work which has made them so popular with film fans. EVERYBODY'S AND TIVOLI. Comedy k the keynote of the progi amme which will be offered for the fiiwt time at Everybody's and Tivoli Theatres to-morrow, when "The j "The Wreck" ££ line attractions of a well-varied enterCWerV l i? hat • comedian, Chester Conklin, is starred in "The Bi~ v tte fi*«t picture in which the Press has been dealt with in term* of satirical comedy. Here are sho ™ £ terns of burlesque, the methods of a v e A nv ° lved 111 a political | campaign. From the pen of Ben Hecht, I auth » r >."The Big Noise" gives ! publ f c a damymg peep behind the i 01 Pities journalism and great, j and shows one clearly the props which j old U P the synthetic "heroes" o: the , our - . The noise" involved in the j story is none other than Conklin himself ' fii a eaard (and a very mediocre j one at that), ne portrays a man without i outstanding merit of any description. L nconscious.y, he becomes the central ngure in a political_ battle, all because ne tails off the platform on to the sun-

wa >' rails. Alice White, First National's I new flapper star, is m the cast, which also ! includes Jack Ezan and Sam Hardy. Harrison I ord and Phyllis Haver share , 'he honours in "The Nervous Wreck,** | while a strong characterisation also comes , from Hobart Bosworth. One cannot follow j the adventurer of the two "wrecks"' in ; th:s story without lauzhing. Ford is a ■ droll tijijTe as the 3ead;nc "wreck." who iroes to Arizona, presumably to die, but wLo«> escapade*; nearly cause him to_ be '■ lynched by the sheriff, his jealous rival m lovi for a rancher's daughter, played ■ by Phyllis Haver. ST. JAMES' THEATRE. "Sunny." which the Prince-Godden-M-.tou i-onij>any has staged with such s-iccess in St. -James' Theatre dur:ng the last few* nights, will be presented for the last time this evening, and to-morrow audiences will see._ ( for the Srst time. "Mercenary Mary, another delightful j musical comedy, in whicn the members of the company again have plenty of scape If,or their talent. There are many bright ■ songs in 'h p piece, while the mu«ic and j the rosniminc are said to be a feature 'or the prod.i ''-on. Mercenary Mary" « the last oi tne tnree comedies to be played in Auckland oy this company Ther* win be a matsnee next Saturday arrangements are vettmaj, -