CIVIC THEATRE.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19814, 30 December 1929, Page 6

CIVIC THEATRE.

"COQUETTE** PROVES BIG ATTRACTION. A strong, romantic drama that will take its place among the most remarkable that have been presented on the new speaking screen, a superbly acted play and Mary Pickford's first all-talking picture is "Coquette," now drawing capacity houses at the Civic Theatre. For the first time Mary Pickford's voice is heard from the screen, and gives a thrill to her countless admirers. "Coquette" is an adaptation of the ( original stage play which has become a classic of American drama. The story tells of a little flirt wfcn finally falls in love, who becomes the victim of a misunderstanding and the cause of a deep tragedy, and who then deliberately faces the shame and pain of blackening her own and her lover's names so that she might save her father's life. For the first time Mary Pickford is seen in a highly emotional roll as Norma Besant, and gives one .of the finest characterisations of her screen career, and one that will increase her army of admirers. In the final scene she rises to histrionic heights never previously attained. Her pathetic attempt to blacken her lover's name and her own to shield her father's crime is among the finest things the screen has given us. It is done superbly, the heart-break-ing smile that shines through her tears being a poignant sequence that only a -great actress could make so convincing. "Coquette" has provoked more discussion than any other film of recent yearß. It is poignant drama, and filled with tense emotional situations with no concessions to popular ideas. One feature of the discussion on which thera is unanimous opinion, is the fact that Mary PicMord proves herself to be an actress of extraordinary power and amazing versatility, and that she has made the transition from silent to talking pictures with characteristic skill and efficiency. An exceptionally fine array of shoi;t films are included on the programme. The chief item among these films is a norel presentation of a talking picture conception of Tschaikowsky's "1812 Overture," accompanied by an orchestra of 70 instrumentalists and a choir of 100 voices. It is a very popular item, and one of the finest short pictures seen in Ohristchurcb since the talkies w*>re introdftced.