Entertainments.

Manawatu Times, Volume XL, Issue 13581, 21 December 1916, Page 6

Entertainments.

THE PALACE. "THE WOMAN'S LAW." A five-reel Gold Rooster production, "The Woman's Law," featuring Florence Reed, is the principal item in the f new programme at the Palace Theatre. The drama is a most thrilling one, and holds attention from beginning to end. Florence Reed, who fills the principal role, gives a clever interpretation of the fond mother, .gbUpitous'-'for the welfare of'her son. iThe story depicts a husband addicted to dissolute ways, who during a quarrel engendered by jealousy kills an artist friend. The wife not wishing to have her son's name besmirched by his father's crime, is forced to adopt the desperate expedient of taking a strange man, temporarily bereft of memory, into her home as her husband. Taking the law into her own hands, she, by clever manoeuvring, baffles the police and attains her desire. The plot is finely worked out, and interest is sustained right to the climax. There is promised a good supporting programme. EIOSY. "MACISTE." People who saw "Cabiria" will remeber the giant Maciste and his enormous strength. It appears that he has made a hit with the public, for the producers have had a five-reeler written for him. In it he works off a lot of superfluous energy in assisting a young lady to escape from the clutches of three villains. The young woman appealed to Maciste on the great strength of this fine actor being suddenly revealed to her through her taking refuge from her pursuers in a moving pictue show where"Cabiria" was being screened. In aiding the cpung woman he performs some wonderful feats, and the villains are made the butts 6t SOrae unpleasant samples of his strength, whjefc. includes the tearing up of a tree trunk and blocking the road with it, and later carrying two o'f the miscreants away like a couple of portmanteaux. The picture is not only produced with - the idea of showing this giant's wonderful strength, but has a good plot running through, and further interest is excited by a .tender romance which is brought to a happy climax by a clever ruse that will be better seen and appreciated than by having it divulged beforehand. The supports are consistent with the big feature, and include scenic, comedy, and excitement.

POPULAR PICTURES & PRICES.

" HER BECKONING." Tho Zealandia Hall was taxed to its capacity last night when "A Million a Minute'' was shown for the last time. To-night an exceptionally entertaining Metro programme will be presented. The star subject will be ,the emotional domestic drama, "Her fteckoiT 1 "*-" Jt is a vivid account of who was the favourite 9* »» the Jg* versity students of her town", *« imagination was stirred tm, honeyed phrases of a wealthy young student. He proposes marriage and too girl consents. His idea is to have a mock marriage, and later to basely desert the girl. He tells his, chum for the proposed arrangement, and, asks him to obtain someone to impersonate a minister to carry out the ceremony. His friend agrees to carry out the plan. Instead, ho engages a real minister, who marries the young couple. i Dick, his friend, then leaves for the West to practice law. The rest of the story concerns the lives of many persons whose careers are completely changed by the fact that a real marriage ceremony had been performed. Pour supporting subjects form the remaining portion of the programme. Two of these are comedies, one of which features Mr and Mrs Sydney Drew.

M. EUGENE OSSIPOFF. After an absence of five years, M. •Eugene Ossipoff, the Eussian baritone, is returning to the Dominion to fulfil a second tour. Those who had the pleasure of listening to Mm on the occasion of his first visit will have vivid recollections of his vocal qualities. \ M. Ossipoff is the possessor of an exceedingly line baritone voice of wide range, while he has also a dramatic force that is both entertaining and educative. At times his singing is a form of semi-conversation, at other times passionate, declamatory, and again beautifully modulated passages. This brilliant vocalist was for a number of years a leading singer of the Grand Opera, Moscow, and has also sung at all the leading theatres in Europe. He makes a special feature of including in his programme a number of Russian folk-songs, and also arias_ from the old and modern operas. For his present tour he will be supported by Miss Ethnee Clegg, a young Australian mezzo-soprano, Miss Bessie Rogers, elocutionist, and Miss Sylvia Roberts, pianiste. M. Ossipoff will give two recitals in the Empire Hall on the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday, for two nights only. Plans as usual.

THE NORWOODS.

Professor Norwood, the hypnotist, who created so much laughter in Palmerston North on a previous visit, is now playing a few more short engagements in New Zealand before he returns to America, when he expects to retire from theatrical work. The season will commence on Boxing Night at the Opera House. A Sydney paper says Professor Norwood is a great public benefactor, creating as he does in this time of gloom such, hearty laughter as to make whole theatres full of people forget their troubles and -worries for oven two and a-half hours. The good houses are assured in view o the fact that it will be the last opportunity of witnessing his clever work.