LIBERTY THEATRE.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 17982, 28 January 1924, Page 14

LIBERTY THEATRE.

"THE PILGRIM." ] A CLASSIC COMEDY. j Before an audience which occupied all the j available seating accommodation, Mr Claude , Haigh had the gratification on Saturday night oi submitting one of those top-notch, and thoroughly -jp-xo-the-minute programmes for which the Liberty Theatre has become so vrell known, and which have established that popular theatre aa one of the best and most progressive in the Dominion. "The Pilgrim," a. Eirst National produc- , tioz of fun, featuring the popular and vercatile Char.es Chaplin, heads the current programme oi motion pictures, and it is I quite safe to declare that no funnier film ha 3 been seen in Christchurch since the screening cl "The Kid," cf which "The Pilgrim ' 1= a worthy rival. Right iz-m the lust flash until trie final fade out the large auaienej on iiaturday night wti3 caught and he-d in one continuous ripple of laughter. The story is a most ainiiaing and origiml one, and it tells of the humorous adventuied that befei the luckless Lefty Lombard. The Rev. Robert Samuels, emerging from a. refreshing plunge in a secluded pool one ba'.my spring day, was stunned to find that his c.othes had disappeared and in their place was a vividly striped suit of prison armour. There was nothing to do "but to don that armour and foot it to the nearest village. In the meantime., he who had made the rapid exchange was "beating it" fast to the distant railway station. An odd figure, in ill-fitting clothes, the trousers too big, the black clerical coat far too tight—for the Rev. Samucis was an exceedingly thin and long man, and he liked his garments to fit him' s.ing'.y. Charles Chaplin—alias the notorious Lefty Lombard —ambled into the station and the battered timetable. Unable to decide where to go, Lefty Lombard shut his eyes and incidentally his mouth, very tightly and threw all his "fine points" to the four winds and became a man of chance. With determination he poked a spot at random with his finger on that worn timetable and then "gazed, in wonder. It was his last home, Sing Sing! Alas! He cared net—he wa ; * a man of chance—again he tried. This time it was the'dreaded Devil's Gulch. He— Lefty Lombard,' the great—the wanderer—the (pilgrim—was to become a, dweller of the dusty desert wastes. But what cared he? Ho knew no fear; cf that .he was sure. To prove it ho purchased a ticket for that place of bones and dust. Thus the furtive Lefty Lombard charged heedlessly and fearlessly out upon his new and daring career, knowing not whither he was bound, or what Fato held for him. In Devil's Gulch, however, the passive, church community wore making arrangements for the arrival of their new minister. And of the , many clamouring dwellers on this ancient earth none was more innocent of the civic reception that awaited him than the wayward Lefty Lombard. The sonorous voica of the dreamy sheriff of Devil's ■ Gulch' ' staggered the luckless heio as ho lightly stepped off the train, and at once he was alert and began casting furtive jruilty glances around him. But what he expected did not happen. Instead; the possessor of the sonoroua voice mistook the fugitive from justice for the new the Rev. Philip Pim, and with that very much mistaken idea in his head ho welcomed the Pilgrim, to Devil's Gulch. The newly-ordained "parson" followed the sweep of the shaggy sheriffs big hand, and with stupid -wonder beheld a most funereal gathering bearing" rapidly down upon him. Escape was impossible. Indeed, in such a maze was his state of mind that he could do nothing but acoept the situation. Calling an affable smile to his assistance he shook hands mechanicaly with oil and sundry of. that nodding flock of wayward "sheer>," absent-mindedly gTasping the aitcient church warden's silver beard instead of his horny hand, and was further astounded—almost .dazed, in fact—when the portly : leading citizen, whose large eyes, beneath shaggy brows and shielded .by a pair of steel rimmed spectacles, pierced him through and through, told him that he was just in time to conduct a service in their one and only church. The Pilgrim hnd taken many things in his adventurous life, including watches, jewellery and purses, but he could never remember ever having taken a service. However, Lefty was now a man of chance, and -60 with hope in his faint heart that it would (prove a. great "haul," he set off for the church. Sermon—preach—ho who was just out of the terrible Sing Sing and whom the burly officers of the law we're seeking—wSat could be say to them? Visions and scraps of the previous Sunday's sermon in the'prison chapel came to his memory—but they were faint, very faint —and clutching hiß wita he staggered to the front of the church and breasted the pulpit rail with the air. of confidence that was characteristic of Lefty Lombard. He glared at the bewildered expectant throng and coughed a polite little cough. "My sermon to-day will be 'David, and Goliath,' " he began. -, Those words acted as ' wolves amongst helpless lambs. The congregation sat up. The. "Rev Pim," well launched on his subject, forgot that he was in a church and that he was there to deliver to the Btraggling flock the Word. He capered" aSbut the pulpit and the floor, calling upon that startled band to behold the enormous proportions of Goliath in comparison with ''that little feller, David." Itat Eis gaping audience was stunned by his p«rformance did not occur to the j>leased "parson."' According to hi 3 idea he delivered them a rousing sermon, and when he had concluded with brilliant acrobatic "stunt" leaned against the ipuplpit, well nigh exhausted, blowing kisses, bowing profusely, and finally skipping blithely from their midst into "the dusty vestry to await his encore, which did not come. Thus Charles Chaplin, alias the wily Lefty Lombard alias the passive Rev. Pim, made his debut to the world as a parson. To the onlookers it i 3 a joyful proceeding, but the luckless Pilgrim has much to contend with before his identity is finally revealed. Thus the fir.it fragment; do not miss' the others.

'•'Duicy," another First National picture, based on tho big Broadway stage auccesa of the same naxiLe, 13 tile second: feature on the new programme. It is Constance Talmadge's lateßt film. Here is rich, humour in abundance; amusement for everybody; . a sparkling production that the censors had no cause to slip.' the shears through. "Dulcy" is a dumb-belle. • Constance makes her the very personification of a bonehead with enthusiasm. She playa the role of a young wife whose forte is to spill the beans. Supporting films include tho latest Topical Budget, an interesting Hepworth animal picture and on entrancing scenic. Brilliantly played was. the admirable musical programme submitted by the Liberty Quality Orchestra under tho direction of Mr Howard Moody. The musical numbers included:—"Prelude" (Jarafelt) ;. "Serenade** (Era); "Lilac Domino Selection" (Curvillcr); "Cortege do Cupidon" (Po">y); "Musical "Switch" (AJford); "Bebe" (Silver); "Barney Goggle" (Conrad): "SittTn' In a.Corner" (Kahn); "Barcarolle (Entr'acte)" (Offenbach). The same programmes of pictures and music will be repeated throughout the week.