ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19480, 9 November 1926, Page 13

ENTERTAINMENTS.

"THE MIDNIGHT FROLICS." SOMETHING NEW IN REVUES. It is always a pleasure to record a musical revue which is clever, healthy and good, and when it stands head and shoulders above its contemporaries as does Edgley and Dawe's "Midnight Frolics" the task can be taken up enthusiastically. When eight o'clock struck last night every seat in the Opera House was filled and people were being turned away from the doors—a striking tribute to the enormous popularity of two inimitable comedians.

Edgley and Dawe first made their acquaintance of New Zeaiauders through the medium of pantomime and have since visited Auckland in vaudeville, but this is their first appearance in New Zealand with a company of their own—easily the best company of revue artists that has appeared at the Opera House for a decade. Though dispensing with the "keep your eye on my umbrella" gag, which identifies Clem Dawe as effectively as any appellation, the two inseparables .retain all that was funniest in their wellremembered work and put their heart and soul into comedy that is refreshingly new. Four sketches give Clem Dawe his opportunities and ail of them manage to upset the gravity of faces. The first introduced him in the familiar role of the stage navvy— bowler hat, walrus moustache and trousers tied at the knee—a rig that would have been funny enough even if their owner did not possess a rare knowledge of comic posturing and an indiarubber flexibility about the face. These acquisitions, together with a natural comedian's voice and the peculiar whistling sybilant that is his own singular property, were used alternately to the huge delight of the house, which for once became insistently clamant and called for encores that were never given. "The Man Down the Hole," as the sketch was called, contained much that differed from the usual "working man" burlesque and boasted a little snatch of song that was unadulterated humour. In "Home Comforts" Dawe sacrificed the comedian to the situation rather more than usual, but he was once more his own self as a burlesque Don Juan in a Romeo and Juliet farce. The last sketch was a riot of laughter with Dawe as a waiter. His greatest triumph, however, was in a musical trio, in which his flare for comic interlude was seen at its best. It was one of the few occasions when he vouchsafed the audience a sample of his comic dancing. When it is added that he played a saxophone and other musical instruments with the best of them, and sang a comic song, it will be appreciated that Clem Dawe is an artist of no mean genius. The revue, however, is far from being all comedy. Musically, it boasts some stars of unusual magnitude. Oscar Beck, for instance, is a Norwegian tenor with a voice of great clarity, which he used with good effect in "My Dreams," and "Marcheta." Gregory Ivanoff is a Russian violinist of undoubted proficiency and unerring touch, playing "The Dance of the Goblins" (Razzini), "Indian Love Call" (from "Rose Marie"), and the latest dance music with equal facility. Aiec Regan has a good voice and a breezy personality, Violet Lester an ear for song, Nell McGuire a dainty presence, and Dorothy White a musical and dramatic versatility. Phyllis Amery, moreover, is an extremely dainty danseuse, and a distinct acquisition to the company. The revue is mounted on an unusually attractive scale, the lighting and scenic effects generally being quite out of the ordinary, and the show goes from start to finish with almost breathless haste. The programme, which occupies the entire evening, will be repeated every' night this week and at the Wednesday and Saturday matinees.

VAUDEVILLE AND BEAUTY. There was an overwhelming demand for seats when the booking opened at Lewis R. Eady and Son, Ltd., yesterday for the International Vaudeville season commencing at His Majesty's Theatre to-morrow evening. So keen has been the interest taken in the event that fresh records are likely to be set up. Every qualification for success seems to be possessed by the artists to be presented by New Entertainers, Ltd., and Salerno should take the audience by storm. The sensational " Leah, Maid o' Mist," presented by Professor Horace Sierak, is claimed to be the greatest mystery ever staged. The Monroes, " the two Jolly Bounders." are aptly named through their acrobatic tendencies on rubber mats, and their jollity is said to be most infectious. Comedy is also pronounced in Osborne and Perryer's act, which is denoted bv Cockney humour. Then there are Hilda Nelson, a charming soprano. Brian Lawrance (a pleasing young boy singer). Arthur Pond, in burlesque studies, and Ngaire and Tointon, in a musical pot pourri. In addition, there is the Miss New Zealand Beauty Pageant, with the final judging. NATIONAL AND LYRIC. Corinne Griffith is the most recent star to adopt a famous musical comedy to the screen. The world-famous operetta "Mile. Modiste," by Victor Herbert and Henry Blossom, is the latest to be filmed, with the charming Miss Griffith playing the dynamic Fifi, a role which brought international fame to Fritzi Scheff a score of years ago. The picture, which is a First National production, will be shown at the National and Lyric Theatres for the week commencing on Thursday. Several musical comedies have been filmed in recent years, but it is said of " Mile. Modiste " that it possesses more real plot, romance and basic drama than any of them, plus a delightful French atmosphere both piquant and decidedly original. Miss Griffith has. in the creation of her latest First National picture, reviewers of " Mile. Modiste " maintain, enhanced the operetta greatly and, with the advantages of the screen, given her production a realism that is entertaining and accurate in every detail. Norman Kerry plays opposite the star. Others in the cast are Williard Louis, Rose Dione, Paulette Duval. Dorothy Gumming and Pat Somerset. A bevy of the most beautiful girls in Hollywood act as mannequins in a colourful fashion pageant especially ; created for the picture by Adrian, the noted Parisian designer. The programme will also include a second First National attraction, " Miss Nobody," with Anna Q. Nilsson and Louise Fazenda in the principal roles. STRAND THEATRE. A delightful Al. Christie comedy, " Reckless Romance." and a Hunt Stromberg production, "The Crimson Runner," are tne chief attractions at the Strand Theatre this week. "Reckless Romance" tells the story of a newly-married couple who must secure an immediate divorce if they are to inherit the vast fortune of i their grandfather. All their efforts to ! compromise themselves as a preliminary to securing the divorce end in failure, and only serve to estrange the principal characters. The film is adapted from a Broadway stage success. " What's Your Wife Doing?" The principal roles are played by Wanda Hawley, Harry Myers and T. Roy Barnes. " The Crimson Runner " tells of life in Vienna after the war. the storv being written by Harvey Gates, author of "The Mcrry-Go-Round." DRAMATIC RECITAL. A dramatic recital will be given by pupils of Mrs. Edgar Webb, assisted by the Dorian String Quartet, in the Unity Hall next Thursday and Saturday. The concert will commence at 7.45 each evening.

MAJESTIC THEATRE. * An excellently varied and attractive programme is being presented at the Majestic Theatre this week. An operatic gem, the prison scene from "II Trovatore," is presented by Madame Irene Ainsley with the assistance of a number of capable artists. The Government Publicity Office's film of the swordfishing adventures of Zane Grey and Captain Mitchell is screened and enables the audience to enjoy all the thrills of big-game fishing in the northern weters of New Zealand. The picture is most realistic and exciting. Also included in the bill is "Soul " Mates," a Metro-Goldwvn drama, in which Aileen Pringle and Edmund Lowe are the stars. _ The picture is adapted from Elinor Glyn's "The Reason Why." dealing with the tempestuous wooing of a handsome young English peer.

RIALTO AND REGENT. The film version of H. De \ ere Stacpoole's famous novel, "The Blue Lagoon, will commence showing at the Rialto and Regent Theatres to-day. The book has been most widely read "and discussed. The picture was produced by African I'ilm Productions," and the cast includes Dick Cniickshank, Mollie Adair and Arthur Pussev. The story concerns the adventures and life of two small children cast up on a lonely island with an old sailor as a companion. The producer has managed to get the naive charm and naturalness which characterises the story, and has set it in surroundings which admirably convey the intended atmosphere. The island scenery is magnificent—a realisation of the fine descriptive passages in the novel. The little island, with its fringe of coral reef and sandy shore, is a paradise. Palms wave in the wind above, thick tropical undergrowth, birds flutter in the trees, and it is in this environment that the lives of the two children are cast, totally innocent of life itself. The supporting picture at the Rialto will be " Chip of the Flying U," and at the Regent, " A Trip to Chinatown." On Wednesday evening the Paramount Pictures exploitation shield will be presented at the Rialto Theatre by the Mayor of Newmarket. Mr. John W. Hicks, chief of the Paramount organisation in the Southern Hemisphere, will be present.

PRINCESS AND TIVOLI. " Say It Again," a laughable comedy to commence showing at the Princess and Tivoli Theatres on Thursday, presents Richard Dix as a young man who attempts to find the pretty nurse who took care of him when he was a wounded soldier. He follows her trail to Spezonia, in which country she is a princess, and enters in the Crown Prince's bodyguard. As he wishes to tell the Princess of his love, the " standing army ".of 19 men, being well versed in the arts of love and war, go through their manoeuvres for him. Therefore, when he goes to visit his lady love, they go out on the castle balcony and at a given command Dix's henchmen proceed to tell the Princess of his love. First a heart is formed, then the sentence " I love you " is spelled out, and so on. In this w'ay Dix, only speaking English, and the Princess, knowing nothing but Spezonian, manage to come to the realisation of their love. " The Lodge in (Tie Wilderness," starring Anita Stewart and Edmund Burns, will be shown in support. The picture tells of the love of a handsome engineer for the girl who is the owner of a large forest tract. The manager for the estate also shows his love for the girl, but aftei he has sought every means possible to win her for himself sees his rival the winner in the end.

PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer comedydrama, " An Exchange of Wives," will commence showing at the Prince Edward Theatre to-day. The story concerns two husbands married a little more than a year, and each suddenly discovers the other's wife to be more attractive and desirable than his own. But when the cold, reserved wife of the one brings about an exchange of wives, each, after a short time, realises what a pearl his own wife is. In addition an Australasian Films production. "Fighting the Flames," will be shown. Of the usual type of melodrama it concerns the efforts of a young man to reinstate himself in his father's good graces after having been in prison. He obtains a position with a fire brigade, and his zeal quickly brings him promotion. Several exciting fire scenes are shown, and a happy ending is reached when the young man displays exceptional heroism at one fire. MR. BARRY CONEY'S CONCERT. A programme which should appeal to all lovers of good music will be presented by Mr. Barry Coney in the Town Hall concert chamber this evening. Attractive vocal and instrumental items will be given. The box plan is at Lewis R. Eady and Son, Ltd. "THE ARCADIANS." The successful season of "The Arcadians," presented by the Auckland Amateur Operatic Society in His Majesty's Theatre will conclude this evening with a special long night. Her Excellency Lady Alice Fergusson and party will be present, and a brilliant finale is expected. Reserves are at Lewis R. Eady and Son, Ltd. MUNICIPAL CHOIR. The programme for the municipal recital in the Town Hall on Saturday evening will include choral works, to be sung by the Municipal Choir, vocal solos by Mr. Barry Coney, and organ solos by the city organist, Mr. Maughan Barnett.