ESCAPE FROM DROWNING

Evening Star, Issue 23723, 2 November 1940, Page 7

ESCAPE FROM DROWNING

BOYS IN YACHT CAPSIZE TRIED TO CROSS CHOPPY HAtttOUR Two boys aged about 16 years had a narrow escape from drowning wneu tiieir- lUit yacnt, in wiucli mey were crossing from the. boat haruour to VV r averiey, capsized hall a mile from land lasu evening, and tnrew mem into me water. Alter clinging to me upturned craft for about an nour, they were rescued, coin cold and exUaustea. Tlie boys were Gursfian Langley, of (j Begg street, Musseiourgh, and Gavin Man - , of 6 Forth street. A choppy sea had been whipped up by a strong nortii-easterly wnen the pair set out in the small yacht. They were about halfway across the harbour when a gust of wind capsized the yacht and tossed them into the water. They had tlie presence of mind to cling to the boat and await rescue. Messrs C. Pettit, W. J. P. M'Culloch, and J. M'Ara were told of the boys’ plight and after notifying the police, set out. iu Mr Alexander Black’s launch to rescue them. They took the boys on board and towed the yacht back to the boat harbour. Though cold and exhausted, the boys were none the worse for their experience. While the rescue was being carried out, the police notified the Harbour Board’s boatman, and he also set out for the drifting yacht. From the other side of the harbour, five Sea Scouts gamely put 'out iu a rowing boat to rescue the youths, but their services were not required. Experienced yachtsmen last night described the boys’ venture as foolish and risky, especially as there were no boats handy to effect a rescue if necessary. There was a strong, tricky wind blowing, and the harbour was very choppy when the boys set out. No other craft was on the water, and consequently it was some time after the capsize that rescuers were able to get to the scene of the, mishap.

onward had an upsetting effect. That is partly borne out by the fact that prominent actors, some of whom had been in Dunedin, and all certainly leading lights overseas—Maria Tempest, Bir Herbert Tree, Henry Ainley, Charles Hawtrey, Tittell Brune, Fred. Niblo, Marie Lloyd, dancer Maud Allan, and Cyril Maude, to mention a few—became pantomime ai'tists on the silver sheet. Such a happening indicated a presumption at least on the part of the theatre that the new entertainment was going to do untold harm to the stage. Actually, of course, it did do harm; it killed all the glamour and romance which had existed in the theatre till then, something of which it has .been hoped has been caught in these articles. But the. stage survived that blow—a blow which was undoubtedly the harder because of the coincidence of war—and revived only to suffer a harder, more lasting blow when the screen found its voice.

The picture tentacles spread further in Dunedin that year of 1915. On February 17 the Grand Theatre was opened with ‘ The Silence of Dean Maitland.’ On the same, programme was ‘ The Shirker’s Nightmare,’ or ‘ How Willie Whitefeather' Answered the Call of Kitchener’s Army.’ Nine months later, on November 11, Everybody’s (now a department store), opened its doors, presenting ‘ The Dollar Mark,’ with one of the leading players of the day (Robert Warwick) and Barbara Tennant. Also shown was ‘ The Bank,’ with Charles Chaplin, who was appearing almost every week in a new comedy. All the screen entertainment which was offering in those days reached the public at a price against which the stage could nob possibly compete. All theatres charged 6d for adults and 3d for children. SHINING STARS. Among the players who attracted notice in 1915 —in most cases beginning notable careers—were Dorothy and Lilian Gish, not yet touched by the master hand of D. W. Griffiths, Alice Joyce (still occasionally seen), Blanche Sweet, Florence Turner, Mr and Mrs Sydney Drew, Anita Stewart (who recalls her likeness to Norma Talmadge?), Max Davidson, Madeline Traverse, Julia Swayne Gordon, Jane Gray, Francis X. Bushman, Mack Swain (“Ambrose”), Chester Conklin ( “ Walrus ”), Sidney Chaplin (“ Gussle ”), Roscoe Arbuckle (“ Fatty ”), Jaw Dwiggins, Clara Kimball Young, Bryant Washburn, F.dna Mayo, Ford Sterling (for some time leader of the noted Keystone Cops), Marguerite Clark, Henry B. Walthall (eventually to earn undying fame sis “ The Little Colonel ” in ‘Birth of a Nation’), H. B. Warner (magnificent in due course as the Saviour in ‘The King of Kings’), Jane Gail, Gerald Ames, Henry Amley, and Viola Dana. Edna Flugrath, England’s “Mary Pickford ” (first of several similarly billed), and sister to Viola Dana and Shirley Mason, appeared that year, as did William Farnum, one of the greatest actors of the silent era. He appeared first as Marcus Superbus in ‘ The Sign of the Cross ’ —at any rate that was his first important appearance. Animated films, depicting the adventures of “ Bully Boy,” appeared, representing a new wonder of the screen. The big picture of the year, specially screened at His Majesty's, was ‘ Neptune’s Daughter,’ starring the worldfamed swimmer, Annette Kellerman. This thoroughly delightful fantasy, the first of its kind on the screen, up a new field of entertainment, one which the stage could not hope to compote against. Most spectacular happenings in a fairy realm made ‘ Neptune’s Daughter ’ a memorable picture. It has had only one rival, which was really better, and that was 1 A Daughter of the Gods,’ in which Annette Kellerman also starred. 1

A CHARITABLE NOTICE. Another version of ‘ Charley’s Aunt,’ with Frederic Hughes as Charley, Mabel Hardinge-Maltby as Donna Lucia, and Norman Aitkeh as Lord Babberly, was played on March 17, and was followed shortly afterwards by Beaumont Smith’s company in ‘ Seven Little Australians.’ This latter play, which had Harrington Reynolds, G. Emery, Sinna St. Clair, Walter Vincent, Olga Agnew, and others in the cast, created no furore. Our “ notice ”

at the time was charitable; “ Playgoers who attended the Beaumont Smith production of ‘ Seven Little Australians ’ in His Majesty’s Theatre last night with hope of reviving and crystallising a pleasant hour spent over the fire with Ethel Turner’s household of unruly and pre-eminently ‘ live ’ children, must have felt the barometer of hope sink lower act by act. The stage version consists of episodes from ‘ Seven Little Australians ’ and ‘ Miss Bobbie ’ bound together by a thin thread of drama. In the process the charm of these stories, light-hearted frolics both, with a furtive tear lurking b.eneath their fun, has been successfully buried under the cementing veneer of highly theatricalised sentiment.” ‘ DU BARRY.* The most colourful production of the .year was ‘ Du Barry,’ with Nellie Stewart as the feather-brained little Paris milliner suddenly transported, with all her imperfections, from her milliner’s shop to the Palace at Versailles. Miss Stewart gave an inimitable performance as the Du Barry, capturing every possible ounce of charm and delight that the part hold. The com-

pany was a very big one, and it included Allan Wilkie as Comte Jean Du Barry, making his first appearance in Dunedin, although _ later he was to make a name for himself as an exponent of Shakespeare. Dunedin-bom Harry Roberts was fine as the Due de Brassao. Others were Clarence Blakiston, James B. Atholwood, Nancye Stewart, Leslie Woods, James Esses, Daisy Smith, and Agnes Keogh. The settings were magnificent, and the play stood out as an event. The company also offered ‘ Dorothy o’ the Hall’ arid ‘ Sweet Nell of Old Drury.’ Beatrice Day was the star performer of the Plimmer-Hall Company’s visit from May 29, .the plays offered being ‘ The Mummy and the Humming Bird,’ ‘ A Message Prom Mars,’ ‘ Lady Windermere’s Fan,’ * The Second Mrs Tanqueray.’ The Christchurch schoolmaster, Winter Hall, was with the tourists. VARIETY. Among variety offered in June was the visit of “ The Butterflies ” to the Princess on the 12th, a bright little combination, including Marion Armitage (comedienne), who raised the vocal query, ‘ Why Do the Boys Run After Me?’; Wylie Watson (comedian), Ada Smart. R. Foster Hine, Gregory Ivanoff (violinist), and Frederick Dennett (piano). Edward Branscombe’s ‘ Violet Dandies,’ with Otto Collins, Oswald Browne, George Brooke, Dorothy Gardner, and Cuthbert Rose, on June 28, was the first appearance of several “ coloured ” Dandies’ appearances. JOSEPH BLASCHEK. The entertainer, Joseph Blaschek. who was in the Garrison Hall supporting Ellen Terry, in 1913 appeared on June 17 in recitals “ from Shakespeare to Chevalier,” and “ from Chopin to ragtime.” Each and every item in the widely-diversified bill of fare bore the touch of the artist. Indicative of the range of material offered are his excellent rendering of Hamlet’s soliloquy, and his delightful interpretation of a country rustic warbling ‘ ’E Can’t Take a Roise Out Uv Oi.’ He was accompanied by Alyce Austin, who scored with the recruiting song, ‘Your King and Country Need You.’ Patriotism was running high at that time, and anyone singing such songs was certain of “ clicking.” FIRST AND THE LAST. The Corinthian Hall—also known as the City Casino—-the firs* “ theatre ” in Dunedin, passed to the dust and ashes stage in June, when it was pulled down to make room for a store. The hall, the first to be equipped with a stage and theatre seats and scenery, was really the annexe to the Union Hotel, in Stafford street. There were several halls of that sort in. Dunedin daring the early digging days, and they were commonly known as “ free-and-easies.” Girls, sometimes in costume, flitted about and served drinks, or were

available for a dance. Between whiles the customers made their own amusement by going on, the stage and singing, a (professional accompanist being on duty to vamp or play according to the circumstances. Occasionally an impecunious and obliging “ artist ” straying from the regular paths would happen along and do what amounted to a star turn for a modest consideration. These were the crude beginnings out of which Harry Rickards, Joe Small, and other notabilities eventually created vaudeville. The Corinthian Hall never aimed to be greater than those which followed, and it never housed a recognised theatrical company., Charlie Thatcher (“ The Inimitable ”) sang there, together with others, and the place had a certain vogue with the Bohemians,of the period. First of its kind, the Corinthian was the last to he pulled down. (To be continued.)