“BLIND HUSBANDS”

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 91, 11 January 1921, Page 8

“BLIND HUSBANDS”

"Blind Husbands” was screened at the Grand Opera House for the first time last night. Far removed, as it proved to be, from the ordinary ruck of photodramas, the picture deserved more liberal .patronage than the public accorded it; and if merit counts for anything, the attendances at future screenings will be limited only by the capacity of the house. At the very commencement ot last night’s exhibition, one noted «with relief that the story betrayed no relationship with the smart problem plays frequently inflicted upon the public. Nowhere does the cheap artificiality of Vhe "society” drama intrude to turn real people into foolish puppets. The characterisations are wholly true to life, and impressive in their reality. The scene of action is Cortina d’Ampezzo. on the Austro-Italian'frontier, where the great Dolomites rear their crags, and the ter rible Pinnacle stands like a silent challenge of Nature to the courage and the enterprise of man. At the hotel of the Croce Bianca three persons meet Dr. Armstrong, his wife Margaret, and Lieutenant von Steuben. The last-named i“ an Austrian cavalry officer, a practised seducer of women, in manner self-assur-ed, and at heart a coward. 'Armstrong neglects his wife, simply because his interests and pursuits have put her in the background of his existence; and she suffers, not from a sense of wounded vanity, but from the anguish of unrequited affection. In the estrangement Of the pair, Steuben believes .he can she his opportunity. He lays siege to. the heart of the woman, flattering her in a thousand different ways. . . . Little incidents arouse the husband's suspicions, and one day a.letter; addressed in the wife’s writing to the Austrian lieutenant, falls into Armstrong’s nands. Together, Armstrong and Steuben have scaled the Pinnacle, Steuben showing his inborn cowardice throughout the terrible climb. The letter drops from his coat, and Armstrong snatches it. The guilty and the wronged confront each other on a few square yards of rock, with sheer cliffs on every side offering barely a foothold for the descent. Here the climax of the play occurs, gripping and almost terrific from the appalling grandeur of the setting. The issue is what Justice demands it shall be: the mountains hold a terrible reckoning with the craven soul that has dared to defile their sanctuary with his boasting, his cowardice, and his lying. Erich Stroheim, author of the story, appears in the role of Steuben, and his eplendid performance contributes greatly to the success of the play. As Armstrong and Margaret. Sam de Grasse and Francelia Billington give two interesting and convincing character studies. In this brief notice. it has not, of course, been possible to do more than hint at the nature of the plot. In fairness it should be stated that the picture contains a wealth of incident well calculated to hold the attention of the spectator. The splendour of the mountain scenery amid which the action develops can hardly be over-rated, nor can too much praise be awarded tho ingenious producer who was able to present the great mountaineering scenes that me the outstanding feature of the play. Before the screening of “Blind Husbands” Mlle. Irma Caron, a versatile and talented entertainer not altogether unknown to Wellington audiences, whiled away a pleasant quarter of an hour with music and dancing. Mlle. Caron’s opening number was the exquisite "One Fine Day” (from "Madam Butterfly”), which she rendered with good dramatic sense. Gounod’s "Serenade,” sung in French, followed, and then the versatile performer took the violin and played Mascagni’s popular "Intermezzo.” Something of a novelty was a love song in the Malay tongue, and equally interesting was an Egyptian "Invocation to Love." The last two items Mlle. Caron gave in appropriate costumes. To-night "Blind Husbands” will be screened onco more, and Mlle. Caron will again appear upon the boards.