PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 19781, 3 February 1928, Page 2

PICTURE THEATRES

EMPIRE AND OCTAGON .fifteen miles out in the Mediterranean from Leghorn, .Italy, a fleet of one hundred galleys of the time of Caisar Augustus enacted the greatest naval battle ever staged ior a motion picture. These galleyfc, which took six months to make, were exact replicas of those used by tire ancient Romans, and were constructed to appear in one of the most spectacular, episodes of Fred. Niblo’s epic production of ‘ Ben Hur ’ lor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The filming of the scenes necessitated the employment of thousands of people to appear in the sea - fight, including a large number of negroes brought to Italy from the North of Africa to act the roles of galley, slaves. Ramon Novarro, who plays tfie title role of 1 Ben Hur,’ and Frank Currier who appears as the Roman commander, Arrius, have prominent parts in this sequence. It is in this part of the story that Ben Hur, imprisoned by the Romans as a galley slave, saves the life of Arrius in the groat battle with pirates, and is adopted by the commander. A collapsible ship, such as was used by naval commanders in the first century, was built for this episode. The galley is an exact copy or an ancient one, put together with wooden spikes and conveniently arranged clasps, so that if the commander wished to rapidly convey his ship from other waters without wasting the time necessary to sail round a distant point ho simply gave the order to undo the hooks and take the ship apart, and had the pieces transported across terra firma and later put together again. May M'Avoy, Francis X._ Bushman, Carmel Myers, Kathleen Key, Claire M'Dowell, Betty Bronson, and many other well-known players arc in the cast of ‘ Ben Hur,’ which opened at the Empire and Octagon Theatres this afternoon. As an introductory prologue two of Dunedin’s leading vocalists sing ‘ The Star of Bethlehem.’ The soloists are Air Leslie Dailey (tenor) and Mr Reg. .Richards (baritone). A special musical score is played by the orchestra, of each theatre. GRAND AND PLAZA Laughs and thrills, interspersed with deft dramatic touches, constitute the prime ingredients in Hoot Gibson’s Uni-versal-Jewel Western, ‘Painted Ponies,’ which will be screened at the Grand and Pinza Theatres to-night. The rodeo scenes depict some of the most exciting cowboy stunts ever filmed, for they were made at the famous annual event at Saugus, California. Gibson, who performs on the back of a maddened steer, proves himself to be a real cowboy, still able to do the tricks that won for him the world championship in cowboy .athletics three years in a row at Pendleton, Ore. Ethlyne Clair, in the role of the heroine, brings to the screen the refreshing, entrancing beauty for which a great many movie fans have been shouting since her last appearance with Gibson in ‘ A Hero on Horseback.’ Far away from the palatial New York homes of Park avenue and Riverside drive, two favorite movie locales, is ‘ Paradise Alley,’ the setting of the second attraction. This play by the author of ‘ Tho Old Homestead,’ Denman Thompson, is set in the little known, but highly picturesque, East Side of New York city. Here in the drab, crowded confines of her own little world lives Sunshine O’Day, a veritable diamond in tho very, very rough. Facing hardships, bearing the brunt of her own and the worries of others, almost falling through the treachery of a gentleman of the “upper crust,” she smiles throng]), a brave, sturdy, lovable girl. Barbara Bedford, a winsome beauty of compelling personality, is the star in this production. QUEEN’S Lon Chaney, always a master of mysterious roles and belief-defying disguises, and Tod Browning, who is to the screen what Edgar Allen Poe was to_ mystery in the printed word, have triumphed again. The combination that produced ‘The Unholy Three,’ ‘ The Road to Mandalay,’ and ‘ The Blackbird,’ has gone another step forward into the mysteries of life—and the result is ‘ Tho Unknown,’ now being screened at the Queen’s Theatre. To say that it is Chaney’s strangest role is putting it mildly. He plays an armless _ sideshow freak in a circus—performing everything usually done by hands with his feet. He ties his owii necktie, shaves, eats and drinks with his feet—and, in his “act” before the audience, throws knives, fires guns, and otherwise duplicates the feats of professional “ armless wonders.” Joan Crawford is a beautiful heroine and Norman Kerry is a romantic figure as the strong man in the odd romance. John George and Nick do Ruiz are others of note in the cast. An entire circus was reproduced, and is a spectacular incidental, as is Norman Kerry’s terrilic tug-of-war against two galloping horses. The screen* version of ‘ Tho City,’ the famous melodrama by Clyde Fitch, is the second attraction. ‘The City’ is a drama of the effects of metropolitan life on an ambitious and prosperous family. Walter M'Grail, Richard Walling, May Allison, Robert Frazer, and Nancy Nash head the cast. EVERYBODY’S Presenting spectacular scenes of the actual Battle of the North Sea and tracing through reels of pulsating action a history of the Navy at war, ‘Convoy,’ the premier attraction at Everybody’s Theatre, is undoubtedly one of the greatest sea pictures ever made. Unfolding along with the thrilling tale of the Navy’s service, a romance that is so vivid and true and touching it brought tears to many eyes the epic film lias the story star, and setting combination that insures a top-notch hit. Dorothy Mackaill, Lowell Sherman, Lawrence Gray, Buster Collier, and lan Keith head an excellent cast. The work of each far outshone anything they have ever done before. Included in tho programme is ‘The Lawful Cheater,’ a rapid-fire action romance which gives full scope to the dynamic personality of Clara Bow. ‘ The Lawful Cheater ’ is a picture with punch and action, an excellent cast, and well directed. KING EDWARD With more than 1,000 people, a complete circus, and a, notable cast, Lon Chaney will be seen at the King Edward Theatre to-night, in what is jierhaps his strangest role, as an armless side show freak in a circus in ‘The Unknown.’ In addition, ‘Convoy,’ featuring Dorothy Machaill, Lawrence Gray, and William Collier, juin, will also be screened. ‘.Damaged Goods’ will be shown at the King Edward Theatre on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week.