ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19416, 26 August 1926, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS.

V ' COLLEGE DAYS." Harold Lloyd has the role of an unsophisticated freshman» in * his latest comedy success, 45 College Days/' which opens at the Princess, Tivoli and Everybody's Theatres to-day. Lloyd appears as Harold Lamb, who goes to college with the worthy ambition to be the most popular boy in the school. fV.llege means tearing himself away from all the associations of his - boyhood—away from his mother's loving influence and his fathei s wise advice, away from his admiring friends, into a new yjorld, a world that he wants to see at his feet, worshipping him as the best fellow it has ever known. But. when the young man reaches college his schoolfellows see in him nothing but a youth trying his hardest to he popular, and his efforts appear' so amusing that he immediately becomes the butt of the school. The college bully takes full advantage of Harold's innocence to play practical jokes and the other boys - nnd endless delight in " ragging him. Then when he thinks he has almost dethroned the college hero from his proud position he is told that he can never win the coveted place himsijlf until he has played lor the college football team. aliantly he seeks - a place, hut the only position available for him is that Of dummy for tackling practice? He finds the task qt' the "dummy " much less, to his liking than ha had anticipated, particularly as the team is in poor form and the coach is bent on giving it plenty of practice, but the youth shows unexpected, spirit and determination and endures the ordeal to the end. Finally-, on the day of the fateful game, one piaver after another is injured until at last the "dummy is called upon to play. In the• last few minutes of the game the opposing, team is still in the lead, but the. freshman, with the aid of both good fortune and pluck scores a try which gives the victory to. bus side," This is said to be Lloyd's most ambitious comedy effort to date. It has large "and imposing sets and a large ' number of well-known 'player® support the star. Included in the cast are Jobyna, Ralston, who has already played opposite Lloyd in several of his most successful productions, Hazel Keener, Fat Harmon, Brooks Benedict, James . Anderson and Joe Harrington. Hundreds of college boys and girls appear in some of the-scenes and the football sequences were taken before a crowd of 8000 - spectators, gathered at Berkeley Stadium to watch a game between Stanford and the University of California.

.. " HAVOC." . Both Rowland V. Lee. who directed the screen version of the international stage success " Havoc." and Edmund Goulding, who adapted the story for picture purposes, spent • many months on the battlefields of Europe in order to study conditions before attempting to bring this story of a war-dazed world to tbn screen; Manv. additional months were spent in research work, all of which has resulted in the first big .dramatic story founded upon the World War. The picture, which is a William Fox, production, will commence at the National and Lyric Theatres to-day week. While the background of' the story is the western front in France.' the plot has more to do, with the devastation wrought by a woman than with that done by shellfirc* and bayonet. -The war serves to emphasise the havoc motif, and the picture ..contains numerous sequences of trench fighting. Three hundred soldiers appear in the film, who saw active service overseas in either the British or American forces. The cast is headed by Margaret Livingston and Ge'orge O'Brien and is well supported' by Madge Bellamy, Walter McGrail. David Butler, Harvey Clark, Wade. Boteler, Edythe Chapman, Eulalie Jensen,' Leslie Fenton and Bertram Grassby.

MAJESTIC THEATRE. The Tayler and 'Carlton "London Pierrots" will again appear at the Majestic Theatre during the coming week. They have been - enthusiastically at all their performances, so far and for the change of programme they will present an entirely new fund of song and dance. There are six performers in the company, each being a talented-artist .with considerable experience on the concert platform. At the flight sessions the ■ Metro-Goldwvn picture, "The Wine of'. l Youth," starring Eleanor Boardman and Ben -Lyons, will be shown. It is a picture of the "Flaming Youth" variety and points out the moral that- after all it pays to be conventional in marriage. Several young people set out on a trial honeymoon, but disillusionment follows their experiment. Jackie Coogan's "Old Clothes" will be featured at the day sessions. Those who have seen "The Kid" or "The Rag Man" will welcome Jackie's reappearance in a picture on similar lines. The supports include an overture and news pictures.

GRAND THEATRE. "A fine cast and splendid direction unite to make this Zane Grey story a real feature," says a critic of "Desert Gold," a Paramount picture which will head the now programme at the Grand Theatre tomorrow. The film was directed by George B. Seitz. and the cast includes Neil Hamilton,, Shirley Mason, Robert Frazer, Wiliiam.' Josef Swickard and George" Irving. The picture is lavishly staged and mounted, and many of'tlie scenes are, extremely beautiful. The story is highly exciting throughout-, and contains two unusual thrills. One is provided by a great sandstorm which, drives the outlaw gang back when they attempt to cross the desert, and the second is caused by a huge boulder which rolls down the hill above their' stronghold, bringing with it a huge quantity of earth and rocks, and completely smothering the gang. Also included in. the programme will be /'The Kid," featuring Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan. " '• •

QUEEN'S THEATRE. Harold Bell Wright's novel, "A Son of His Father," adapted .to the screen by Paramount, will be the .principal attraction at the Queen's Theatre commencing to-morrow. It is a tale of cattle-smug-i gling on the Arizona border, and the actual scenes where the incidents are said to have occurred arc reproduced. The film was directed by Victor Fleming, and the cast is headed by Bessie Love, Warner Baxter and Raymond Hatton. On the same programme is "A Happy Ending,'V with Fay Compton and Jack Buchanan in the principal roles. I PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE. An appealing Master picture entitled "Reveille" will head the new programme commencing at the Prince Edward Theatre to-morrow. "Reveille" is a, picture of heroism and of pathos, of the hysteria and abandon of war, and of <the failures of peace, through which runs.the threads of a poignant, story of the victory of courage. Betty Balfour, the dainty English actress, lias the principal role. The story deals with incidents in an English town in 1918 and in 1923; a year of war and a year of peace and it contains such contrasting scenes as the hectic gaiety of London and the death-haunted trenches of Flanders. The second attraction will be "Silk Stockinged Sal." COMMUNITY PICTURES. The Paramount picture of early America " The Covered Wagon," will be shown in the Mount Eden Congregational Hall this evening. A special children's programme will be given on Saturday afternoon. PI A N OFORTE R ECIT AL. An excellent" programme was presented by Miss Ivy Siubbs at her pianoforte recital in: the Grafton Library Hall. Her brilliant playing of sevdraL difficult numbers won applause from a large audience, and the items by the assisting artists, Miss Myra Monk, soprano, Miss Iris Blewden, pianiste, and Miss Doris Messer, elocutionist, were also well received.

NATIONAL AND LYRIC. " Recoil," a now Goldwyn-Cosraopoli-tan production, adapted from a short story of the same name by Rex Beach, will be the principal attraction on the new programme at the National and Lyric theatres commencing to-day. The director of the picture took his* company to Franco to Jilm v the sequences in the locations where the action is supposed to take place. He engaged ' Betty' Blvthe and Mahlon Hamilton to play the leading roles. Other parts are played by Give Brook. Fred Paul and Ernest Milliard. Some of the most important scenes were photographed at Deauville, the famous French bathing resort; others at the Casino at Monte Carlo and in Faris. The entire picture was made abroad. The story is a melodrama filled with stirring action. Gordon Kent, a modern Croesus, who made his fortune in South America, falls in love at Deauville with a penniless American girl who lives by her wits. They are married after a whirlwind courtship. I." nhap pin ess results and the woman soon leaves him for' Marchmont, a famous criminal, who had been following her about. Kent decrees that the two shall live together forever and employs his great wealth to see that his orders ' are carried out. However, the girl's husband is not dead as she had supposed,- but' is living in New York. He is killed bvMarchmont, and Kent, who ha.s become convinced that the girl really loves him, takes her to South America. On the same programme " The Shamrock Handicap,". Fox Films' latest release, will be shown. It is a drama by Peter B. • Kyiie," America's famous magazine writer, and it was directed by John Ford who produced "The Iron Horse," and 17 other Fox Films masterpieces. It is the story, of a heroic Irish jockey and an Irish steeplechaser on an American track. A fine cast headed by Leslie Fenton and Willard Louis includes . Janet Gaynor, J. Farrell Mac Donald, Claire McDowell, Brandon Hurst, Andy Clark, Louis Payne and Ely Reynolds.-