IN FILMLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17651, 11 December 1920, Page 3 (Supplement)

IN FILMLAND.

Moving pictures of the > Pope Benedict ;■■ %V., the first ever taken of any supreme head of the Roman /Catholic/Church;. se- ; cured after many- months of effort Vie- ■' more the barrier against camera-men?; at the Vatican, have -arrived in America. These remarkable pictures/ ei istitute -..the first opportunity ever given the thousands of Catholic • churchmen in America toview the Pope in action, as well -asi to see the performance of the most . sacred : ceremonies at the' Vatican. A memorial ; service has been held at a Los Angeles studio for the late Olive Thomas, Robert Barron; Clarine Seymour, ; Omar Lockyear, and Frank Ellit. More than 1000 cinema,' artistes attended the service. _ • - '. i. " A Message from Mars' 5 is again to be ; filmed. This was a famous stage play by ' Richard Ganthonyj in which Charles Hawtrey scored the success of: two continents on the stage. Bert Lytell is to play the leading part in the film, version; When " Heart of the Hills," a Mary Pickford film, was first ishowh in America, some of the critics wondered whether it really was Mary ; who performed the daredevil horseback feats in this pictured When and where did Mary learn to gallop round and round a tree on a barebacked horse,' and shoot accurately at '/ a small target on the tree trunk? The fact is that Mary Pickford has an understudy who resembles her very closely, and ; this young lady has now emerged from obscurity into stardom. Her name is Louise du Pre, .and she hails 2'ora Georgia. American film production has made a', genuine contribution to ethnological - science, as it has been discovered that the North American Indian- cap deputise for; almost '' any of -. the ''- world's J native -".races,?; including Egyptians, Mexicans, Syrians,: Turks, Chinese, and Japanese. One • old: chief regularly' poses as an Eskimo. It ■is estimated, on carefully * worked ; out. figures, that the weekly attendance at picture shows throughout Australia lis approximately 5,000,000 people. In other-. words, practically every.' man, woman, ! and child in Australia pays homage; to the picture "stars" every week throughout the year. Of. Thee 800 odd theatres that are "devoted entirely, to the , presentation '; of moving pictures in Australia '303 are ,in New South Wales, 199 in Victoria, 143 in Queensland. 66 in South: Australia, 61 in Western Australia, and the i- balance /in! the island State..- And about 50 more of J them are being erected in'the different;] States at the present moment. - .. '"\

That the public taste in Australia for movins pictures is growing is _evident from the fact that one firm alone is erecting new theatres, each' costing between £20,000 and £30,000, at-Croydon, Mar-; rickville, Neutral Bay, Ashfield, North Sydney, Bondi Junction, Bondi Beach, and Manly. It- is also about to start the construction of -what is claimed to be the biggest theatre in ■ Australia Regent, in George Streetao a cost of £250,000, and with a. seating capacity of 4000. It will be on the name nrmciples as the big; American picture theatres. In' these plans alone there is practically half a. million involved. The sum© firm _is building in Perth, in conjunction with a local citizen, a, theatre at' a cost of over. "- £100,000, and in Melbourne; in the middle of nest year it is erecting a big: place of the Resent type. The Regent theatres, it •-'■' is stated, will be built in conjunction i>; with J. C. Williamson's. ; These, buildings, H ; it is stated, will be the first .of a chain. /'■, "It seems probable," says?ah• observer,; Si: "that within the nest view :;; years the greater number of the; London theatres > will have become picture palaces. That "ate has already come upon the London Opera House, and nothing apparently can save our three most famous: music halls—/ the Palace,' the 'EmpTre'r/and'tlieAlhambra —from similar humiliation." Ii has already been decided thatthese halls are :"•-- to become picture "palaces." ■.-:■■-■:"■ (.;•:;; • Mvsxqo DiuMATicra ' •;'■ : S .•+-:'■: ,■:■■.■/.'■;' - :-. .- -..'. , r .-j,~;~ .■■■ r^v;..--,.^'. 1 ■--:-■■'- i-i--.'- ■'■ _"' ■ i&:i-';="f..;i;-::'.