"GLORIOUS NEW ZEALAND"

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18682, 4 May 1926, Page 13

"GLORIOUS NEW ZEALAND"

I BEAUTIFUL SCENIC FILM. AT THE LIBERTY THEATRE. A country of the size of New Zealand should be familiar in every aspect to the great majority of its inhabitants. But even in the comparatively small Dominion there arc many thousands who have beou unable to get far away from the town in which they live and its immediate precincts. And that is just where the value of the motion picture comes ill. Ope can be a glohe-trotter without going further than Cathedral squure, ami revel in joys of scenic features entirely foreign to a home-town. Never before in New Zealand has there been a picture shown a.ich as "Glorious New Zealand," which wa3 screened (or ilie first time at the Liberty Theatre yesterday. During the afternoon large numbers of school children visited the theatre and were transported to all the many beauty spots whioh New Zealand contains. Films have come here from time to time proclaiming the geographical wonders of America, o; Italy, and of other countries, but for Bbeer beauty and grasideur there has been nothing shown heretofore npproaching the comprehensive r.ature of the current picture. And then there in the valuable comment on various features delivered in an interesting manner by the acU-r-orator, Mr Tano Fama. The wonders of the world, lakes, rivcis, ficrds, studies in reflection, the awe-inspiri.ig thermal regions, and the contrasts tiiey present are all beautifully pictured. Two years of cinematographic work by the New Zealand Government Publicity Department have resulted in a revelation of undreamed of leautv, ar'd the film travel sea the Dominion from Auckland to the Bluff, taking _ m "shots" of highways and by-ways teeming with interest to New Zealander and tourist alike. Altogether there arc 10,000 feet of film, "and crowded into this comparatively small are ajl the elements of the camera-man's paradise. All tastes have been considered—that of the scientist, the naturalist, the scholar, and the merely curious. From the semi-tropical delights of the north one travels down to the cold glitter of the soutfi, taking in a small piece of Ohristchurch by the way. Then there is the short excursion to the haunts of the Maoris, picturing all their customs, savage and civilised, and a halt at Rotorua, with vivid pictures conveying its weirdness and amazing cqntrasts. It is impossible to enumerate in detail the very many spots of beauty and of industry visited, but outstanding among them is the fishing grounds where the famous novelist, Zane Grey, has been so successful in his quest for the wily and powerful swordfish.

Many thousands of people visited the beauty pots of Europe ' annually, and n small number from New Zealand, instead of seeing their owii country first, went elsewhere, .said Mr Fama. The film would go abroad, and the valuable publicity thus obtained would result in an influx of overseas tourists. This would help New Zealaud in finance and population. Adding greatly to the enjoyment of the audience was the programme of special and incidental music played by the Liberty Concert Orchestra. The numbers included: Overture, "King Cotton" (Sousa); selections. "Primrose" (Gershwin), "La Boheme" (Puccini); "Da.jauir" (Saint-Saens), "French Hongs" (Langey), entr'acte, "Turkish Patrol" (Michaelis), Jos-trots, "Red Hot Henry Brown," "Sorry," "Teach Me," "She Showed Him," "Waiata Poi" (Alfred Hill), "God Defend Now Zealand" (Wood), and "Land of Hope and Glory." Prior to the big feature a Century comedy was shown.