"THE VOLGA BOATMAN."

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18918, 5 February 1927, Page 19

"THE VOLGA BOATMAN."

MEDLEY OF DRAMA AND SENSATION. GRAND THEATRE, MONDAY. It ia all verv bewildering. There is *° much, so very much to absorb into the mind and into the heart; there it so much to bcr, so much to dwell upon, a profusion oi emotional colour, stark tragedy interminglce; n-ith lilting humour, the loves and hates ol Kussians, plebaians and patricians at dagger* drawn—everything that is "The Volga Boatman" quietly enters the mind and tema.nj there. So much enthusiastic publicity has been aftordea this picture which is >o tteaa the bill at tho Grand Theatre next week, that words and phrases become warped even in the art of eulogising. The picture is one which instinctively sonds the super-sensitive and the merely fastidious running from • terrible realism. Apart front its «^ ulslt ° love scenes, there is nothing dainty oi rre,tabout this sombre and rutlilcs page of peas ant life. Russian peasant life was never Utopian, and do Mille, the producer, has fearlessly brought this tragic hopelessness vivify ar,d effectively to the screen. The "»""", rair of the serfs is shown with a touch or veritable genius, and is also the irresponsible, gilded Urea of the srlstocrats. There were no happv mediums in Czarist Russia, just as there are none in Bolshevik Russia. '«« Volga boatmen v. ere harnessed to the mid lowed thorn alone tho ice houtul »■"";* of the river, the rhythmical swing of the r untamed chant darning strangely with tie highbred voices of prince* and noblos who gathered occasionally to marvel at sucn >t.i -.-ar strength, and to apply tK- knout whenever some wretched slave dropped in _exhaustion. The rebellion of tho thing is immense. It is not only the hands of the sens that were raised against an existing order. With infinite ingenuity, tin director shows lit very souls of the people striving for senexpression The savage weapons they employ revolt tho polished Instincts of happier lands, but despair and suffering are shown as the roots of the evil, and at the end of tho picture, with onlv tho strains of the famous song to serve as a reminder of the past. a measure of understanding and sympa'hy f« towards the now powerful peasants. in» Volga Boatman" tells a wonderful story in a wonderful way, a combination which is met with r«r«ly even in these days, AYny reiterate the drama Is thrilling! So many pictures have claimed It that the phrase loses all significance Yet never a moment passes, nevar a scene is acted but which carries its tingle and ita sparkle. Some people cannot understand Russian comedy; it is so very dose to tragedy, It laughs ao sardonically that to some it does not ring true. But the humour of this piece is finely tempered ana Infectiously gay. The players In "The tolgt Boatman" were drawn from only the most experienced schools of mlrao. William Boyd plays the title role, and therein bounds to universal eminence. He Is a Volga Boatman, consumed with blazing and Ignorant hatred of the other order, dull with thoughts OI revenge, until Fate steps in and his whole philosophy la shattered, wholly through a woman's eloquent eyes before a firing squad. Elinor Fair appears as the aristocrat turned woman, and Julia' Faye supplies piquant colour as a Tartar camp-follower, whose hobbles are the regard of her soldiers and tho white necka of royalists. During the Presentation of "The Volga Boatman f ' the Quality Orchestra will play Incidental music to tne drama, "The Bong of the Volga Boatman. »a sung by Foodor Chaliapin and the Don Cossack- Choir predominating in the programme. The box plans are now open at Xho Bristol Piano Co., where seats may bo reserved.