Taiaha Duel in Dominion Picture

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23145, 17 September 1938, Page 20 (Supplement)

Taiaha Duel in Dominion Picture

"REWI'S LAST STAND" READY AT END OF YEAR Keen interest in the progress of Mr. Rudall Hayward's historical romance, "Rewi's Last Stand," was evidenced by those present at a private screening of the battle and other sections of tho film given recently by the directors of Frontier Films, Limited, at To Awamutu. Titled after a silent film made by the same producer about 14 years ago, tho 1938 version of "Rewi's Last Stand" breaks entirely new ground in story, character, and treatment, and to audiences jaded by the sameness of much of the overseas studio product it should come as something distinctly original and refreshing. The story concerns Ariana, a halfcaste girl of great beauty, brought up by a missionary family, and in time of war torn between her love for tho peoples of the two races. This exacting role offers exceptional opportunities to Miss Ramai Te Miha, a Christchurch girl, whose work is something of a revelation. As Ariana's father, a rough-hewn whaling captain of the days when North Auckland shores were tho backgrounds for wild history, Mr. Stanley Knight, is giving another good characterisation. The most extensive role in the film is taken by Mr. Leo Pilcher, who plays Robert Beaumont, a young trader of the days when the Maori-grown wheat from tho Waikato was milled and shipped to the Californian goldfields. As well as being able to ride and swim, Mr. Pilcher has had to master the intricacies of handling the Maori bayonet-spear or taiaha, a weapon that

in capable hands, proved on more than one occasion during the Maori wars, more dangerous than a sword. A taiaha duel between Robert Beaumont, a pakeha supposed to have been trained in his boyhood by Ngapuhi chiefs, and Tama, a young chief of the Maniapotos (played by Mr. Rongo Paerata) will shortly bo filmed outside Rotorua. Done in traditional fashion it should prove one of the highlights in an already novel film. Considerable delay in production plans for "Jlowi's Last Stand" has been occasioned by unsuitable weather and the fact that all negatives photographed in New Zealand, have been forwarded to Cinesound Studios in Sydney for development, returning to the Dominion for cutting and editing, thence back to Cinesound for final printing. With the advent of more suitable weather tho company is in readiness to push forward the completion of the film. Location trips will be made to Rotorua and elsewhere to secure necessary backgrounds. An extensive musical score is being prepared to accompany the film. Efforts are being made to have the production ready for release toward the end of December.