AMUSEMENTS.

Marlborough Express, Volume LIII, Issue 276, 24 November 1919, Page 4

AMUSEMENTS.

"THE BETTER 'OLE."

"Fragments from France!" Who has not laughed, yea, and wept, over them ? for Captain Bairnsf ather's; genius has produced something of a. blend of humor and pathos. The picture is a remarkable exhibitionits fame has travelled before it round, the chain of Empire, and it is nowonder that it everywhere draws' large audiences. His; Majesty'sTheatre on Saturday night was morethan crowded. The people weresimply packed in, and when "The End" was projected on the screen. the unanimous verdict was ia acquiescence with the reputation that preceded the film. There is, of course, a story, but it is a very simple one, and serves to point thecomparison between the safety aiidl quiet of home life and the hellish, conditions in the trenches. The por— trayers of the "Three Musketeers,"1 Old Bill, Alf, and Ber,t, are good types, and, although the pictures are so well-known, something may be; told here of the story that joins ttp<, the various links. Old Bill catches sight of a spy, and follows up theclue, with the result that he unearths a plot to blow up the bridge after the French troops have passed across it, thus cutting off their retreat. He goes "over the top" at night tocatch the spy, and finds him in a ruined building waiting for the signal, to blow up the bridge. After dealing him his quietus Bill prematurely sets off the explosion, before the* troops pass, and saves the day. On getting back to the trenph he "is arrested, and the following morningis brought before the CO. Just then the French general comes into to* make inquiries about the soldier wha saved his men, as he has received! information from one of the esta~minet girls that it was the "old walrus," and Bill is decorated on thespot. ' The. three musketeers then get leave for' Blighty, and on arrival Bill finds that his wife Maggie y hasbought a little "pub" for him,' whichi she has christened "The Better 'Ole." AH the neighborhood is there to welcome them, and the vicar presides at a merry social. One scene in the return, where Old Bill and his Maggie walk again the old laneis and visit once again the hallowed* spots of their courting days, caused!' quite a lump in one's throat. Thetrench scenes are covincing enough, and, the- whole atmosphere ip saturated with the glorious spiritthat made it possible for a mere-, handful of British lads to hold back the millions of the modern Hun. His Majesty's Orchestra—Mrs Millington'(pinno), C. Cimino (violin), and W. MoAlister (cornet)—plays; music suifc.ibl? to J-he film suid giving" a good denl of" pJeimira to its listeners.' "The Better 'Ole will beshown again to-night.

DOROTHY (DAI/TON AT. THE PALACE.

The Paramount feature, -"Tyranto TFear,," \produeed by Thqs., H. Ince> will be shown to-night «.t the Palace. The story tells iqf life in t'4ie'Canadian.. woods. Dorothy Da'lton playsthe part''of'the bride—a girl of .18, sweet and,l tiixthful, forced to obey the manriage laws of th© Great North—and <o>n heir brow rested thecrown of her -soul—purity. Herihusband, Jules La Toui;, more brutal. than the animals he trapped ' drunk: before her. Then home—the insultAnd the lash, and as the last' slash, of the knotted cord cut into her flesh? *the dboir opened. Dei-mot wasspeaking—Dermot the loathsome boss of the NortJi Star saloon. "The North.Sifear needs new faces. Let m©take her with me, Jules! I'll pay you good wages.." Also showing aroithe 16th chapter of "The Eagle's Eye," a Pietograph, and! tho Australian Gazette.