PLAZA THEATRE

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 128, 24 February 1938, Page 3

PLAZA THEATRE

“Victoria The Great”

Epic in its sweep as a historical drama, “Victoria the Great” is revealed more I 'intimately as a love story whose charm and beauty are all the more appealing because of its royal setting.. Ihis spectacular motion picture will begin tomorrow at the Plaza Theatre. Of the more tender side of Victoria s character the general public is now made aware. The picture—authentic in every detail, ■ since . it was filmed under official auspices—shows that she loved display. The romance of Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha evokes reminiscences of heartache and ecstasy in the bosoms of the old and tints of rose colour the dreams of the young. Considered merely as an impressive spectacle, ‘Victoria the Great” ranks high, as entertainment. The Queen is brilliantly played by Anna Neagle. When the slim figure of the girl in white descends the grand stairease of Kensington Palace to hear that the King is deal, and she reigns over Great Britain in iiis stead, the spectators throb with sympathy for the inexperienced maiden upon whose frail shoulders such a mighty trust and. burden have been laid/ There follow the idyll of Victoria and Prince Albert, during which the Queen exercises a royal disdain for precedent by proposing to him their marriage; the magnificent Coronation ceremonies; and the happy wedded life, which culminates in one of the most affecting, tear-producing episodes eve.r filmed—the death of the Prince ns his grief-stricken wife crouches beside him to hear his last words. Because of the conflicting emotions it arouses, “Victoria the Great” is replete with surprises. There is never a dull moment ns the film sweeps rapidly through its wide cycle of world-wide Empire events. The audience will thrill to the scene where the Queen, by stern exercise of her royal will, averts war between the United States and England when she checks a too autocratic Prime Minister. Lord Palmerston, from sending what amounts to an ultimatum to Washington, and has a Note couched in milder terms written by her husband, which accomplishes her purpose

Awarded in recognition of service in the Crimea, in the Indian Mutiny, and in the early Maori wars of New Zealand, medals now in the possession of Mr. Lionel Houlahan, Gisborne, represent a portion of, the rewards of lengthy service on the part of his grandfather, "Mr. Patrick J. Houlahan, in the British Army. The family is one which throughout many generations always has been represented in the armed forces of the Crown, and it is claimed that no war in which Britain has had a direct interest in the last 300 years has been fought without a Houlahan in the combatant regiments. One 'of the medals, issued to the late Mr. Patrick J. Houlahan is believed to be the Turkish equivalent of the French Croix de Guerre, and was awarded by the Turkish Government after the conclusion of the Crimean War. The late Mr. Houlahan came to New Zealand with the 57th Regiment of Foot, known as the “Diebards,” and fought in Taranaki before becoming a military settler. Later he'took part in the "White Cliffs incident, and at Wai-iti. when hostilities were resumed in the middle ’sixties. His widow died in 1913, at the age of 82 years.

Communications with the Tokomaru Bay district are still so bad because of floods that supplies of certain commodities in some of the towns have become very low. In response to appeals from bakers at Tokomaru Bay for supplies of yeast, an aeroplane was sent from Hastings, and eight packets of yeast were dropped on the beach. Three townships in the district, Runtoria, Tikitiki and Waipiro Bay exhausted their supplies earlier in the week, and it appears that a 3000 square miles district will be faced with a serious bread shortage. Small quantities have been supplied to Waipiro and Ruatoria.