FILMS AND THE STAGE

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 92, 12 January 1929, Page 20

FILMS AND THE STAGE

(Continued from Page IS.)

Those who are familiar with life in the cotton mills of Lancashire or the gaieties of Blackpool, will be greatly interested in “Kindle Wakes,” a British picture, leased by Klnema Art Films, Ltd., at the Strand Theatre. Maurice Elvey, the producer, has actively presented the smoky drabness of the . mills and the gay brilliance of Blackpool, whilst Estelle Brody and Norman McKinnel, both well known to the Australian public, give an excellent portrayal of the routine of the worker and the rule of the owner. To those who may not be interested in the romance of a story, no matter under what guise, then the machines of the cotton mills actually at work will surely appeal. “The Golden Butterfly,” the second feature, is the screen version of a story by the prince of humorous writers, P. G. Wodehouse.

The popular misconception that Alaska is a country of continuous winter, ice and snow, is refuted in Universal’s screen version of Rex Beach’s famed novel, “The Michigan Kid,” starring Renee Adoree and Conrad Nagel, which will be screened at the Paramount Theatre beginning on January 25. “The Michigan Kid” is a thrilling tale of Alaska during the gold rush, and takes place almost entirely during the summer. According to Rex Beach, the summer climate of coastal Alaska is as warm as that of the northern part of tlie United States because the ocean currents which pass the territory sweep up from the tropics past Japan and over to North America bringing with them a temperate climate along the Pacific Coast. The only snow appearing in the photoplay is on the mountain peaks. The interior of the country, however, is Arctic, and in the winter both the coast and interior become intensely cold. Conrad Nagel played parts in a small troupe that toured Alaska ten years ago, and declares that the settings used in the screen play are perfect reproductions of buildings appearing in an Alaskan mining town.

“Plastered in Paris,” the Fox comedy featuring Sammy Cohen, is one of the funniest seen herj this season. It is now being shown at the Queen’s Theatre, after having enjoyed a very successful run at the Paramount Cohen, remembered as the amusing little Hebrew doughboy of “What Price Glory?” and “The Gay Retreat,” is again seen in the role of a soldier, but only for a few moments, as most of the film is taken up with his adventures in Paris, along with a war buddy, where they go in search of a cure for Sammy’s kleptomania (the result of being shellshocked) and a cute little French girl that he had left behind. Jack Pennick plays the buddy and gets every bit of humour possible out of his role. “The Farmer’s Daughter,” a Fox comedydrama featuring Marjorie Beebe, a new comedienne, is the second big feature.

For many years regarded as one of the greatest artists in make-up that could be found in the film circles of Hollywood, Lucien Littlefield again gives one of his inimitable characterisations in “Do Your Duty,” a First National picture now showing at the King’s Theatre, with Charlie Murray headlined. Littlefield, by means of a few streaks of grease paint and some crepe hair can make himself look like almost any type you might imagine. He has a penchant for moustaches. They seem to completely transform him, and his personality changes with the use of these hirsute adornments. He plays a Scotch tailor in “Do Your Duty,” which William Beaudine directed. He is the friend and aid of Charlie as the police officer who gets into a scrape because of a couple of crooks who frame him. Doris Dawson plays the feminine lead.

The Chinese in Australia have their own benefit and social clubs, but as yet tile peace of the country has not been menaced by such organisations

as the tongs which started in America over a century ago and still nourish. It is tlie “wars” between various factions that form the novel background to the latest Wallace Beery, Florence Vidor picture, to be produced at the Paramount studio, titled “The Tong War.” Chinese tongs were at first mutual protection societies, and were organised originally on the goldfields in 1860. There were only two tongs at the start, the On Leongs and Hop Sings, but as tlie years passed more and more of the societies sprang up. Soon the tongs developed into nothing more than gangs intent on the destruction of the other. Then started the tong “wars,” which were a series of internecine conflicts and gang fights. Many of the later organisations came about through competing gambling interests, the tong being organised round the game and its owner or owners, as a protective measure.