"THE BETRAYER."

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 102, 30 April 1921, Page 9

"THE BETRAYER."

Australian films have come to stay, i and their tenure has been made even more secure by Beaumont Smith's latest production, - "The Betrayer," shown at the Empress Theatre for the first time yesterday. The producer has wisely taken advantage .of the scenic wealth of' the thermal lakes at Rotorua, and it is hero that the main portion of the story is unfoWed. The picture, therefore, has a speoial appeal to New Zealanders.' The story concerns the romance of a halfcaste Maori maiden, Iwa, whose parents are dead. In order that the girl should have a chance in life, her grandfather, a venerable ohief, tells an Australian, who is touring New Zealand, that she. is his daughter. He accordingly takes her to Sydney, and there she enters society. Through an unfortunate set of circumstances, Iwa returns to her home at Rotorua, but. her benefaotor, learning the troth of Iwa's parentage, follows quickly and claims her love. All ends happily. "The Betrayer" must rank as one of the?best Australian-made pictures that have Tieen se«n in Wellington. The scenes of, Maori life at Rotorua are particularly interesting, even to New Zealanders, many of whom have not seen the "wonderland of the Pacific." Interpreting the different roles are Cyril Mackay, Stella Southern, John Cosgrove, Bernice Vere, and Ma^ie Dalton.