ENTERTAINMENTS THE COURT CARDS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 57, 9 March 1915, Page 2

ENTERTAINMENTS THE COURT CARDS.

Wellington appreciates costume comedy companies if they attain even a moderate standard of merit. The Court Cards, now appearing at the Grand Opera House, are much above .this mark, and appreciation rises accordingly. Thts j greater part of the entertainment is ; comedy, with an approach to burlesque, i but a careful avoidance' of the ridiculous. Sir. Edgar Warwick, the Joker of tho | pack, is well-known in Wellington j but the quij)s and oddities he brings with him on this occasion are new. Mi. George Tilchener is another comedian who does a great deal of work during the evening, and supports the strain very well. Miss Maud Fane is probably the most popular member of the company, and she deserves her popularity. Her cleverness is marked in such numbers as "My Great Big Blue-eyed Baby" and "Little Boy Hans." Miss Renee Maude sings most sweetly, and Miss Winifred Mitchell displays ability above the average in her violin playing. Mr. Albert Keals, the pianist, Mr, Sydney Mannering, the tenor, and Mr. George Grayjtoiie, the baritone, all fill their parts with distinction. HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. At His Majesty's Theatre last night the Fuller-Brennan management presented the new programme for - the week. The first part was provided by the Randell Jackson English Concert Company— a combination which, on its initial appearance at this theatre last week, achieved well-deserved success. The new selection of itemß is one that more than favourably compares with that which delighted patrons last week. Among the numbers calling for special mention are Mr. Randell Jackson's sing' ing of "The Floral Dance," Mr. H. Winter's "Modern Singers," and the whole company for their rendering of the "Finale Maudy." The refreshingly clever and refined comedy provided— which is the outstanding feature of an all-too-short hour's entertainment—entitles the Randell Jack'sons to be placed among the best of their class seen here. The principal performer of the new arrivals is Fred Dyer, billed as "The Singing Boxer." Mi\ Dyer, who is ex-welter champion boxer of Wales, is the possessor of a pleasant baritone voice. But it was in his impersonations of characters to be found among audiences at boxing matches in London that he scored his greatest success, and created any amount of fun. Mr. Dyer also gave an exhibition of various training methods. Poincaire, an accomplished bird and animal mimic and whistler, provided another new and much appreciated turn; as also did Saltley and "His Nibs," who were responsible for some clever and daring work on a wire. Reappearances were made by Mann and Franks in a novelty sketch, and Mr. George Whitehead, who pleased with his singing of "Man' dalay" ; while the turn of Max, Martin, eccentric dancer, was not' the least enjoyable. The programme, which does not contain a single dull turn, will be repeated during the week. THE KING'S THEATRE. "In Tune With the Wild" is the titk of a magnificent picture film screened at the King's Theatre last evening. -The story told is of an English missionary, Robert Wayne, who, on his way to the coast with wife ahd daughter, was ambushed by hostile natives. His wife and child were rescued by friendly natives, but he himself lost his reason, • and wandered far into the interior, where he lived unharmed, with ' the wild beasts. Seventeen years later, some photographs of the "wild creature of the jungle," obtained by some adventurous travellers, were exhibited in London, and Robert Wayne was recognised by his daughter. An expedition 'subsequently discovered him, and, after many exciting adventures, the missionary is restored, both to reason and to his family. Wild beasts, lions, leopards, elephants, and many others, all play important parts in the various scenes. The picture- is a marvel in kinematography. Another very fine film was that picturing the German fleet at Kiel ; the photography was strikingly clear, and no detail of the great ships in hiding was missed. The Pathe War Gazette was another fine production. An exceedingly funny study, fea' fcuring the inimitable Flora Finch, was included in "The New Stenographer." Other good pictures are "When Kings were Law," "The Suspended Ceremony," and "Through Brandenburg." PEOPLE'S PICTURE PALACE. The People's Picture Palace is at present starring an Aquila drama "The Millionaire Brigand." The brigand in the play is the outcast son of a millionaire who has taken to the mountains when the plotting of a villain has robbed him of his father's favour. His adventures are many and varied before he is finally reconciled to his father, and the girl who has waited faithfully for his return. A feature of this production is the beauty- of the scenes, which are reproduced with great faithfulness. "The Millionaire Brigand" and an excellent supporting series of films will b» shown again to-day and this evening. SHORTT'S PICTURES. The Sherlock Holmes story, " A Study in Scarlet," is proving very popular at Sliortt's Continuous Picture Theatre. All sessions yesterday were well attended, and in the evening especially seats were _at a premium. _ The story is an exciting one, concerning the vengeance wreaked by Jefferson Hope upon a party of Mormons, who have robbed him of the girl he wished to make his wife. Such a film, with a Sherlock Holmes interest, would be a sufficient attraction for any picture theatre, but "A Study in Scarlet does not stand alone. The supporting programme is highly meritorious. i MACMAHON'S NEW THEATRE. " Life's Bitter Dregs " i s the star film now showing at MacMahon's New Theatre. The story deals with a beautiful girl, Frances, who is in love with her cousin. Contrary to her wishes, but to please her ambitious parents/ she marries an eaTl. After some time she finds he is a gambler, and when this viceleads him into serious trouble, and he "is sent to gaol, she secures a divorce. She then returns to her first love, only to find that his love in the meantime hats been Avon by another. The supporting numbers are all very good, and include some fine cornice. THE EMPRESS THEATRE. The Empress Theatre continuous pictures were liberally patronised last evening,, the > premier attraction of the new series being the Lubin Company's feature drama, "On Suspicion." This is a play in which Maud, a young lady, disagrees with her fiance, John Maddox, a district attorney, as to the justness and value of the third degree system of extorting "confessions ' from arrested persons. Maddox favours the third degree, but when^ Maud is arrested wrongfully and subjected to the system he changes his opinion. A collision between a runaway engine and a passenger train i.i heroically averted by a charming young lady in the Kalem drama, " Tho Girl at the Throttle." "Making Steel Rails" (industrial), "The Eclair Journal" (with up-to-date war Bcones). and comic films complete the list. The selections by the Empress, full orchestra include "The Mountaineer* " and the reverie "Longing."

FLORENCE YOUNG COMPANY. To-morrow morning, at the Bristol, tho box plans for the 'Florence Young Company's season will be opened. Commencing in the Town Hall Concert Chamber on Saturday evening next, the season will be a limited one, the company being due in Australia again shortly. Miss Young herself plays a prominent part in "The Climax," and is ably supported by a picked company of favourite artists, notaWy Messrs, Reginald Roberts, Claude Bantock, and lidmund Sherras. "The Climax," according to the Sydney Daily Telegraph, is "a clever and artistic play, skilfully constructed, and endowed with the quality. bo frequently elusive, which is described as 'heart interest.' " RENE QUEREE. Mise Rene CJueree's pianoforte recital will be given in the large Town Hall oil Thursday evening next. Items on the programme will include selections from Bach, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, two movements from the Grieg Concerto, and a novelty in the shape of three short Norwegian pieces by Signe Lund. Miss Queree will be assisted by Mrs. J. .A. Rosewarne, the Napier contralto, and Mr. Hamilton" Hodges, the well-known baritone. EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. A picture story of German spy methods at ' present occupies a prominent position in the bill at Everybody's Theatre. "On His Majesty's Service" is the title of the film. It tells of an attempt by German merchants in England to blow up a railway bridge, and so wreck a troop train. The plot is discovered by a young lady who, as a typiste in the German mercantile office, watches the movements of the aliens. The details of the attempt and its frustration are* most cleverly portrayed. A Keystone comedy, "A Gentleman of Nerve," is an excellent supporting number, in which Charles Chaplin and Mabel Normand take the principal parts. Other films of interest are "Gaumont Graphic" and a series of pictures of the German Fleet and the Kiel Canal. BRITANNIA THEATRE. ; "Never Again," described as the limit of laughter, is the principal picture in the present Britannia Theatre programme. It is a two-part Vitagraph production. "An Affair of Dress" is another of the "Dolly of the Dailies" series, featuring Mary Fuller. "The Hidden Message" is a Western story, "Love's Triumph" an appealing and sympathetic^ drama, while "Butting In" is pure comedy. The latest Gaumont Graphic and war topica-ls complete tho programme. • ' STAR. PICTURES, NEWTOWN". The Selig Polyscope Company, the producers of "Kings of the Forest" and "Wamba," have been successful with yet another wild animal picture, "In Tune with the Wild." This nlm, which is ol a very high standard, is being screened as the star feature of a splendid programme at the Star Theatre, Newtown. The programme will 'be re' peated to-night and to-morrow evening. A lecture , will be given to«morro\v (Wednesday) evening in the Conceit Chamber, Town Hall, at 8 o'clock, by Mr. Harry Barnard," of London (representative of Messrs. Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Ltd., Etruria, Staffordshire, Eng land, who is on a tour round Aus tralasia), entitled, "Josiah Wedgwood F.R.S., Master Potter, His Life and Work," illustrated with a collection of lantern slides and a kinematograph iilio which will take the audience throng! the historic old works, showing the prr cesses of manufacture.