A TALE OF TWO CITIES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 4953, 21 August 1918, Page 7

A TALE OF TWO CITIES.

HIS MAJESTY'S TO-NIGHT.

To-night the great photodrama !, A Tale of Two Cities” will be screened at His Majesty's Theatre. ! Never, before this play was produced, had such a galaxv of talent been, gathered together. ‘No expense was spared so that every scene described by Dickens -would be faithfully presented. The play deals with the most stirring and the most terrible ■ times through which the L' rench j nation has passed, a time when all authority was brushed aside by the populace and men and women whose only offence was wealth or nobib I birth were hurried to the guillotine. Countless historians and writers of fiction have endeavoured to describe those times and it is not too much to say that no period, in tlie history of any nation has provided authors with such a wealth of material. Of that material none have made a “better use than Charles Dickens. With wonderful detail he has described the terrifying scenes to be witnessed daily in the streets of the French capital. He gives a true impression of the spirit and temper of the French populace and no finer description has ever been given of the storming of tlie Bastille. The story is mainly one of lov e and sacrifice and if some of the scenes can only he viewed with a fueling of abhorrence, there are others upon which the mind dwells with the deepest satisfaction •and which cannot fail to uplift and ennoble. v The difficulty of producing a play which could do justice to the story told hv Dickens was great, but William Fox', realising its great possibilities, undertook the most stupendous task that has even been performed in the moving picture world. The very nature of the scenes on which the whole success of the story rests meant that tremendous expense had to be incurred. Tlie actors in ono scene alone numbered over a thousand and for the . leading roles stars of the first magnitude were .secured. The production lacks nothing necessary to its completion and after viewing the series one is left with a better knowledge of tbe revolution andi a fuller appreciation of Dickens.,..; The production is on the right lines and marks a groat advance in photoplays. Many people have grown weary of the purely sensational drama which has no purpose other than to amuse, and if more plays, after the style of “A Tale of Two Cities” were produced, picture houses would have much wider patronage and they would count much more heavily as educational factors. To' be entertained and instructed at the same time will lie the priviledgo of those who attend His Majesty s tonight. That great actor. William Farnum will he seen in the dual roles of Sydney Carton and Char es Darney. Hie picture will only run for a short season and all should endeavour to see it. Ih© maiiagoipen departing from the general rule where the .picture has hen shown m not .charging anything a/ld tiomd nor even a hooking fee. .i< oi tne benefit of the children a matinee null be lield to-morrow afternoon, com . mencing at 2 P- m -