“ZEEBRUGGE.”

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 210, 19 August 1927, Page 9

“ZEEBRUGGE.”

THE OFFICIAL FILM. Made with the assistance of the Admiralty. Screening at the Municipal on Monday and Tuesday, afternoons at 3.30 and evenings 7.45. “The Storming of Zeebrugge” deals with that great landmark in the history of the war. it is interesting to note that the Admiralty lent to the producers of this picture their records, as also they’lent the H.M.S. Vindictive, which played so prominent a part in the action. The picture shows the motley collection of sea craft which the English Admiralty assembled, and which was commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir Roger Keys. Arriving at the famous mole, which was the centre of the activities, they took the enemy completely by surprise; soon, however, the coastal defences were brought into action, and the British were made the target for a terrific deluge of high explosive shells Notwithstand the withering blast of projectiles, all the craft took up their stations and proceeded to carry out the tasks which had been allotted them. Three ships, laden with cement, were sunk in the mouth of the Bruges Canal, the mole was breached, and havoc generally wrought in the enemy’s defences. At length, and at a given Signal, all the ships were withdrawn, and the journey home by way of the North Sea was hegun. It was next day that the world read of the daring exploit, and the British Empire received striking proof—if any such were needed—that the age of heroism had not vanished. This, in short, is the story that this very realistic picture unfolds. ♦ * ♦ * “THE RETURN OF PETER GRIMM.” Starting at the Cosy de Luxe on Saturday. A clear-cut, candid plot or fictional basis deserves, in any story, an equally clear-cut and candid development. Unfortunately, such stories do not always receive the treatment they deserve. Something quite new, even original as far as its actual plot is concerned, is “The Return ol Peter Grimm.” something very daring and fearless, and at the same time something wonderfully consoling and restful. Among a galaxy of emotions which greet the beholder of this film, the foremost is certainly consolation, and unreasonable, indefinable consolation, but none the less pleasant. The picture is based on the momentous question, “Can the dead return?” a question which most writers fight shy of. Obviously, such an idea presents great difficulties, matters of opinion and an ordinary code of good manners demanding their full quota of consideration in the matter of the plot’s development. Out of this foundation the makers of “Peter Grimm” have evolved what is at once a romance and a drama. Alec B. Francis' plays the role of Peter Grimm, one of the most onerous roles ever given any screen star, and he emerges from what must have heen an artistic ordeal with the highest distinction. ♦ • * * “BLONDE AND BRUNETTE.” Starts at Cosy de Luxe on Saturday. If you feel in any way jaded, or your football, or your golf, or your bridge has begun to pall, the programme offering at the Cosy de Luxe will prove to be the panacea, the very elixer of life, the quintessence of comedy and sophisticated romance. “Blonde and Brunette,” the most delicious morsel it is possible for a picture producer to produce. “Blonde ..and BrunetW’ is a- wi«tW little

romance for all its gay and saucy showing of knowledge. There are times when it suddenly deserts the divorce court for the shady lanes and flowery styles of romance. It is safe to say that those who see “Blonde and llrunette” will remember it with smiles and fond remembrances. The two artistes who support Munsiuer Menjou in his legal-cum-marital role are Greta Nissen and Arlette Marchal, both of whom have been seen to distinction in other pictures here. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ “PERCH OF THE DEVIL.” At the Municipal on Saturday only. “Perch of the Devil,” from the novel of the same name by the famous woman novelist, Gertrude Atherton, will grace the screen of the Municipal Theatre here on Saturday only. The unusually large cast, headed by Mae Busch and Pat O’Malley, includes Jane Winton, Theodore ton Eltz, Mario Carillo, Lincoln Steadman, George Kuwa, Martha Franklin, Gertrude Oakman and others. Mary O'Hara adapted Mrs. Atherton's novel to the screen. * * ♦ ♦ “THAT ROYLE GIRL.” Wednesday’s great attraction.at the Municipal Theatre. Carol Dempster and VV. C. Fields will be seen in Griffith’s newly completed picture, “That Royle Girl,” which features also Harrison Ford and James Kirkwood in a story of Chicago’s underworld and jazz districts. In this new picture Miss Dempster will be seen as a cabaret dancei, a dressmaker’s mannequir, a shabby newsgirl, and a devoted daughter of her no-account father, rhe part played by Fields. Although she has appeared in only ten motion pictures during her entire career, Miss Dempster has displayed marked versatility in a wide variety of roles, each of which she has imbued with a distinctive sparkling quality. She is a graceful, accomplished dancer and a pantomimist with an unusually sensitive face. She is sft, 4jin. tall, and weighs 115 pounds. She can swim, ride, fence, play the ukelele, and drive a car. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ “LOVERS.” A great attraction for Cosy de Luxe patrons, starting on Wednesday. The programme which will be shown for the first time at the De Luxe Theatre on Wednesday night sould prove decidedly popular. The chief pictorial attraction is “Lovers,” a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, and a powerful story that tells of the corroding effect of scandal and idle gossip upon the lives of three innocent people. Modern Spain is the locale of the story. Ramon Novarro plays the part of a young playwright, innocently involved through gossip that he is unable to trace or combat, in a scandal with the wife of his best friend. Novarro’s characterisation is remarkable. Alice Terry is seen in the leading feminine role. Spanish streets and a public square in Madrid are included in the setting of ’’Lovers.”