WHAT THE MOVIES ARE DOING

Free Lance, Volume XV, Issue 818, 3 March 1916, Page 7

WHAT THE MOVIES ARE DOING

* e The Rose of the Rancho." THIS is the top-notcher at the King's this week, and it has a twofold, interest for the people who have been crowding to see it. It is the picturesque presentation of one of David Belasco's exciting dramas taken from the early history of California when it passed from Spanish hands into t'hose of Uncle Sam. It illustrates the graces of life among the old Spanish families and the stormy ©vents that happened when the American land-jumpers came along and attempted .by fraud and stealth to dispossess the Dons. Therein lies one point of interest; the other is furnished by the charming person of Miss Bessie Barriscale. a very pretty and graceful actress, who fills the role of Juanita, a young Spanish beauty and heiress as if -to the manner born. There is a Spanish lover, of course, but he is euchred by Kearney, the young American official, who risks his life to safeguard the . lovely senorita and her. family. The Pathe Gazette gives us warlike and military impressions gathered in England, STrance, Russia, and Belgium. There is a very nice scenic of Rieti, an Italian town lying to the north-east of Rome. And the usual dose of laughing gas is liberated in "His Fairy Godmother," which pictures Cutey as a henpecked hubby. J * •* # «• A film of extraordinary moving interest is promised for Monday. It is entitled "The Martyrdom of Nurse Cavell." A private screening was given on Tuesday afternoon to which the members of the Government, the Mayor and City Council, and representatives of the Press and the various patriotic societies were invited. Mr. Henry Hay ward, in the course of a short introductory address expressed his hope and belief that _ this picture would stimulate the recruiting spirit. It certainly impressed the private audience by its sympathetic treatment _ of Nurse Cavell's sad story, and the views of Belgium under German rule gave one a graphic idea of the state of things. Everyone will want to see this striking picture-drama. # ' * * "Gretna Green." That dainty Marguerite Clark has a big following amongst local patrons of the movies is proved conclusively this week by the crowds that have attended the Empress Theatre to see her in the Famous Players' version of "Gretna Green." It is a charming picture of the early Victorian period, and the unanimous advice of all who have seen it is "Don't miss it." "Gretna Green" is a very romantic story, and in the hands of Marguerite Clark and others of the Famous Players Company it loses none of its charm. The last screening is to-morrow (Saturday). The supporting subjects are a ' well-assorted lot. * * « @ - Another strong attraction is promised for the Empress commencing next Monday. This is a big Lasky feature, entitled "The Unafraid." A rather interesting coincidence attaches to the screening of this film. It features an actress new to New Zealand's movies patrons in Rita Jolivet, who had the

unenviable experience of being a passenger on the Lusitania when that vessel was torpedoed by the German "kultnrists." She was one of the fortunates to be saved, and fittingly enough she makes her debut on a local screen in "The Unafraid." < A tt i The Pathe Gazette in future is to be un added feature of Empress Theatre programmes. This will be welcome news to Empress patrons. * * «■ * " The Only Son " at Everybody's. This week's programme ; at Everybody's embraces a strong drama, "The Only Son," -a fresh screamer with Charlie Chaplin filling the role of a janitor, and the latest edition of "Gaunt ont Graphic." Taking them in inverse order, Gaumont is possessed of deep interest. It depicts German prisoners in Russian hands being drafted off to Siberia. The difference between the German officers and the German soldiers is, very marked. The French are shown in trenches hewn out of the solid rock. There are also pictures featuring a pageant in Washington, v and there are others. •» « <» » "The Only Son" fills the major part of the programme, and the various parts in it are played with great artistic force. A successful American engineer neglects his wife after amassing a fortune, and the neglected wife yields to the addresses of an artist. The millionaire husband casts her off, but the only son, hitherto a spendthrift and a waster, sticks to his mother, develops strength of character, becomes a rival of his father in business, and eventually brings about" a family reconciliation. It is a capita] play.

As the new janitor, Charlie Chaplin throws the audience into shrieks of laughter, and keeps tickling the funnybone for fifteen minutes straight on end. On Monday the charming, bewitching, dainty Blanche Sweet appears on the screen at Everybody's in a new Jesse Lasky feature, entitled "Stolen Goods." In the early stages of the

photo-play Blanche Sweet made her appearance with the Biograph Co. under the stage-name of Daphne Wayne, and was seen to great success in many star dramas, notably "The Massacre." In next week's four-part feature, Blanche Sweet —which, by the way, is her proper name —is said to be seen to great advantage, especially in the scene where. she is confronted by a German officer in battle-seared Belgium. She plays the role of Margaret Huntly, whose fight with adversity supplies a theme of compelling interest in this picture representation of Margaret Turnbull's emotional drama. Other screenings include: "Welcome to Bohemia" (Vita. comedy), and the Gaumont Graphic. A refreshing cup of tea is served free to all dress circle patrons at day sessions. * * * * Willard=Johnston Fight Film. The screening of this feature film, descriptive of last year's great "stoush" match, when "the white hope" recovered the world's championship, is arousing much interest, and •booking is accordingly heavy for the Town Hall to-morrow (Saturday evening). A private screening of the fight was given one day this week. It showed that the cinematographer had played his part well, the photography being clean and the contest easily followed to the end of 26 rounds. * • «- * The New Zealand rights for the Wil-lard-Johnson fight film have been secured by a private company formed in Wellington this week. Mr. W. A. Low is manager of the new company. * -tr The last American mail brings a rumour that Charlie Chaplin has joined the Triangle Film Company, and will in future play in comedies of an entirely different sort. * ■ * " * -siWord also comes that Mary Pickford has entered into a fresh arrangement with the Famous Players Company. In future she will receive half profits on all films in which she appears. #***■- Further news is that Maurice Costello has left the Vitagrap'h Company. This well-known actor has been associated. with the Vitagraph for many years and shares with the late John Bunny the distinction of . being one of the earliest favourites with New Zealand patrons of the movies. He is seen in one of his typical parts at the Empress this week.

A gnome village built in miniature will be shown in one of the scenes of the new Annette Kellermann picture for William Fox now being made at Kingston, Jamaica. A thousand native children, ranging in age from 3 to 9 years, will people the village, acting the characters of fishermen, millers, boatmen, farmers, shepherds, and other adult workers. This is said to be the largest number of children ever used collectively for stage purposes. * *• e The Lasky Studios have finished the first of the series of pictures based on Mark Twain's best-known works. It is a picturisation of "Pudd'nhead Wilson," and in order to retain the flavour of the original some of the scenes were photographed along the Mississippi. Theodore Roberts, Thomas Meighan, Alan Hale, and Florence Dagmar were some of the players who acted, for the picture. * «• What has been described as the finest battle-film that has yet reached us is "The Bombardment and Attack of Reichackerkopf," in which 8000 German prisoners were taken after a terrific bombardment, in which the elements fought for us —a sudden change of wind driving the poisonous gases back on the enemy. The photographer took his life in his hands and escaped with a slight flesh wound and a shattered tripod, but got a great picture. The film is included in nest week's programme at The Bang's.

When Pavlowa reviewed the first print of her performance in ' 'The Dumb Girl of Portici," which she made for the Universal Film Company, she was not satisfied with a few of the dancing scenes, and asked that they be retaken. So arrangements were made to retake the scenes at the Imp studio in New York. She went from Boston expressly for the purpose, but the moment she stepped upon the stage and a saw a red-headed property man she turned right back and informed the studio manager that she would not go on if there was a red-headed man- in the employ of the -company. The manager said he would lay him off for the day, but Pavlowa insisted that he would still be in the employ of the- company, and she refused to perform. * > * ft * Louis Fraunhar, married, was the uni ordinate red-headed property man He had been associated with the company as , property man for a long time 1 , out he had to be sacrificed to Pavlowa's superstition. Before leaving the" studio to return to Boston, Mme. Pavlowa told the director that she- was exceedingly sorry such an unfortunate occurrence should mar her visit, but she insisted that had she continued to work - with a red-headed property man on the stage, and any ill-luck had attended her thereafter, she would always have felt that this was the cause which led to her misfortune. * ■* * . # Syd. Chaplin recently recovered from a fire-cracker injury to his eye, stistained during the production of a Keystone comedy, just in time to get somebody's boot in his other optic, also received while picture-acting.: * Presumably. a picture-comedian runs terrible risks. * * * Marguerite Olark, who has been a source of great attraction. at the Empress Theatre this week in the portrayal of "Gretna Green" by the Famous Players Co., has recently been appearing in a film , version of "Mice and Men" in New York. -In this latter photo-play the leading role is that of a scrubby little orphan. She was handed the scenario of the play to read., "How old is that child supposed to be ?" she asked the producer. "Eight or nine," replied the producer. "I'll play it myself," she added decisively—and she did. * » « * "The Birth of a Nation" has had a, big run in the United States, and it is reckoned that fully" 5,000,000- people have been to the movies to see it screened.