PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 19763, 13 January 1928, Page 7

PICTURE THEATRES

EMPIRE Picturegoers will no doubt remember Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton in ‘ Behind the Front ’ and 1 We’re in the Navy Now ’ —those two uproariously funny comedies. Here they are together again in a sparkling comedy, ‘ Firemen, Save My Child,’ which opened at the Empire Theatre this afternoon. It, is a tale of misdeeds in a fire station, and features Wallace Beery as Elmer, Raymond Hatton as Sam, Josephine Dunn as Dora Dumstan, Tom Kennedy as Captain Kennedy (the big sergeant of the other two pictures), and Joseph Girard as Chief Dumstam. The story tells how Little Elmer, although a dunce at school, is always a rival of the smarter Sam, and hatred continues until they meet as friends in the fire department. Their funny antics in this department cause a riot of laughs, and the audiences will come to the conclusion that Beery and Hatton are unsurpassed as a team of comedians. On the same bill is the eighth production of ‘ The Collegians,’ entitled ‘ The Cinder Path,’ and a fine programme of songs to be offered by Ernest M'Kinlay, New Zealand’s ( lyric tenor. His numbers include ‘Hail, Caledonia,’ ‘ Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes,’ and ‘My Little Banjo.’ Added to this excellent programme will be a fine musical score by the Empire Select Orchestra, which is under the baton of Mr Chas. Parnell. OCTAGON Patsy Ruth Miller and Glenn Tryon are featured in the all-star cast of ‘Painting the Town,’ an hilarious farcecomedy, which will have its inithll screening at the Octagon Theatre tonight. The story of ‘Painting the Town ’ has to do with one Hector Whitmore, a country town inventive genius who goes to New York to astonish the town with his inventions, principal among them being o front-wheel brake automobile that will stop in its own length at any speed. He also wants to renew a chance acquaintance with Patsy De Veau, a Follies beauty. How he is “framed” by Patsy’s former sweetheart in his quick-stop demonstration for the Fire Commissioner and how he finally gets the best of those conspiring against him to win a big contract for his “wonder car” and also the heart of the Follies girl is depicted in fast action, abounding in laughs. Hector’s ready supply of tricks and his remarks help to make the picture an hilarious farce-comedy. His humor is contagious, and Tryon has injected a pleasing personality into the role. The Universal Pictures Corporation, which sponsors this picture, is said to have signed the young comedian for five years as soon as the completed picture was shown to the company officials. Patsy Ruth Miller is the girl, and, as ususal, is easy to look upon and competent in her acting. The others in the cast are well chosen, including George Fawcett, Charles Gerard, Sidney Bracy, and Max Ascher. _ The picture, which was made by Universal, is the screen adaptation of a story by Harry 0. Hoyt, directed by William J. Craft. George Fawcett never had a richer opportunity to be his lovable, comical self. A pleasing musical programme will be played by the Octagon Orchestra, nnder Mr L. D. Austin. GRAND AND PLAZA ‘ The Prince of Head Waiters,’ with Lewis Stone, Priscilla Bonner, Lilyau Tashman, Ann Rork, Robert Agnew, and E. J. Ratcliffe as the featured play ■ firs, is the premier attraction at the Grand and Plaza Theatres. It is one of the really exceptional pictures of the season, with Mr Stone in his most dramatic role of the year. He is Pierre, head waiter at the Ritz in New York. Priscilla Bonner has the part of 1 aith, Pierre’s bride. Their son, Elliott, is Robert Agnew, and E. J. Ratcliffe has the part of Faith’s father, who adopts Elliott as his own son when Faith dies. With Elliott grown up, Pierre learns for the first time that he is his son. It is in the Ritz, with three other college boys and their “party girls,” that Elliott and his father learn to know each other, though unaware of the relationship. It is through Pierre that Elliott, the son, is saved from the gold digger, Lilyau Tashman, and her gigilo, the comic John Patrick. And it is through Pierre’s efforts that Elliott and Beth (Ann Rork) are brought together. The second production is ‘ After Midnight,’ starring Nonna Shearer, a beautiful and talented actress, in the most appealing role she has ever played. The production is founded on fact from the life of the cigarette girl of the Montmarte Cafe in Hollywood. Gwen Lee and Lawrence Grey support Norma Shearer in this appealing romance. QUEEN'S Olive Borden, noted Virginian beauty and star in Fox Films productions, is announced as the stellar attraction at the Queen’s Theatre, where Irving Curaings’s powerful and dramatic photo-play, ‘ The Country Beyond,’ will be screened. Miss Borden, who is a versatile actress, appears in an exotic and colorful role. In the early sequences she wears nondescript gar-ments—-a fiery, yet pathetic figure of a girl, born in the Canadian Rockies and taken care of, after a fashion, by her guardians, who are shiftless FrenchCanadians. She attracts the attention of a New York theatrical producer on a tour of the primitive forests of the Northland. He takes her to Broadway, and in the course of time she becomes the vogue as a musical comedy dancer. In this sequence Miss Borden wears strikingly original creations, which in themselves are visual delights. ‘ The Country Beyond ’ is Fox Filins’ screen version of one of the most appealing of James Oliver Cunvood’s great novels. The host of readers who have followed this fascinating tale of love and romance will be delighted with the beauty of the country brought home to them through the lifelike medium of the camera. The cast embraces a list of notable names—Gertrude Astor, J. Farrell MacDonald, Fred. Kohler, Evelyn Selbie, Lawford Davidson, Ralph Graves, and Alfred Fisher. A novel theme —that of the rivalry between the fire and police departments of a city—has been utilised in the second feature, ‘ Mulhall’s Great Catch.’ Gerald Beaumont, the noted magazine writer and author of the story, has cleverly brought out the humorous as well as the dramatic elements of the subject, and the picture is an entertaining mixture of screaming comedy and thrilling realism. EVERYBODY'S AND KING EDWARD Reginald Denny and Laura La Plante are cast in an ideal setting in 1 Skinner's Dress Suit,’ a screamingly funny comedy now being shown at Everybody’s and King Edward Theatres. Those two stars constitute one of the most popular teams in filjndom, and their latest effort is undoubtedly the best to date. This is the internationally famous story of a poor young clerk who bought a dress suit and had to “ live up to it.” It was a perfect fit everywhere except in his bank account.

The supporting production is ‘ The Gilded Highway,’ with Dorothy Devore and Johnny Hamm in the feature roles. It is the drama of a middle-class family who inherit millions and are plunged into the glitter, the sparkle, the gaiety of wealth, but who somehow fail to “ fit ” in the golden circle. Here is a modern pilgrim family’s progress [in the realms of the worldly wise, a romance of fluctuating fortunes, and a deeply human story of hearts and dollars.