AMUSEMENTS

Nelson Evening Mail, 17 April 1917, Page 8

AMUSEMENTS

PERMANENT PICTURES

"'. There will be a complete change of ■programme at the Empire Theatre this evening, when two star films will be presented. "The Moth and the Star" is an episode of E. W. Homing's "-Stingaree" stories, wherein this famous character, in the space of 24 exciting hours, escapes from prison, goes to a concert, sees a former sweetheart, and lands, by cool audacity carried too far. once more behind prison bars. Bracket ed with this exciting feature is a Triangle Keystone side-splitter, "The Love Riot," which, as its name implies, is a pretty tangled one. Three flirtatious households in one block of apartments are liable to produce complications at any time, but in this case the trouble resolves itself into a series of uproarious situations, which end in a hair-raising-chase over the roof-tops. The programme also includes scenes from the British Headquarters in IT ranee, war cartoons, and other pictures. M'otueka will be visited as usual to-morrow, and Richmond on Thursday. PEOPLE'S PICTURES. "THE FLOWER OF NO MAN'S LAND." To-night, at the Theatre Royal, the chief picture will be another of the wonderful Metro, dramas, entitled "The Flower of No Man's! Land." It introduces a new. star (new at least to the Metro programme), Viola Dana, the beautiful and winsome girl whom someone has described as the "daintiest star of the screen." .Besides this splendid picture, there are others that possess qualifications quite as good, though different in character. There are, for example,, some magnificent views on the Columbia River, and, as far as most of them go, nothing finer-in the scenic line has been seen. The. tinting is most artistic and effective,, and the spots selected by the camera man are most picturesque. However, "The Flower of No Man's Land" will be accepted as the leading feature of a good- programme. It is, m a sense, an Indian romance of a superior, and is remarkably presented. It show's how Echo, a little child, is left through her father being murdered in the desert. She becomes the bright spot in the mining camp jwhere Kahoma takes up his abode, and when verging on womanhood, wins the love of a sturdy digger named Bill, who is not, however, to her taste. She loves him as a brother merely. Then there .enters upon the scene Roy Talbot, a great operatic tenor, who has been ordered away by his medical adviser to a more bracing atmosphere to recover his lost health. When the vehicle conveying Talbot is near the Indian's humble - abode it breaks down, and Talbot is slightly injured. He is carried to the Indian's hut, and nursed by Echo, who falls in i live with the easterner. Her bright, pretty ways are not lost upon Talbot, and the love becomes mutual, to the great sorrow of Bill. There is a '■. love arrow, to which is attached a and this arrow is handed by Kahoma to Echo as a parting gift. It is at first productive of sorrow,' but ultimately tears are changed to rejoicing, ands supreme happiness reigns over all. Miss Viola Dana is cast as the heroine, and plays her part exceedingly well, the other characters, being very capably presented by well-known picture artists. ''Echo" is, of course, "The Flower," "and "no mau's land" the arid waste of the American desert. The romance is very prettily placed before patrons, and some splendid scenery is by no means an insignificant feature, of the picture. There' are quite a number of other pictures of interest, including some of the coast of Maine, Indian customs and ceremonies, "Corpus Christi" at Santa Fee, , and "Grace's Gorgeous Gowns."', The last-named is a comedy, the chief object of which is' to,show off some very -handsome costumes.