AMUSEMENTS;

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20586, 8 December 1928, Page 19

AMUSEMENTS;

OCTAGON THEATRE, \ “Hot Heels,’ 1 one of the features predicated at the Octagon Theatre last night, in the usual weekly change of programme; is not lacking in thrills—both humorous : and dramatic, The .story relates the misfortunes, which befall Seth Higgins. (Glen Tryon) before at last the fickle ! dame smiles .on him. In the opening scenes we have Seth doing his best to carry,- on -a, dramatic company which has been -unloaded on him. Seth is the Whole orchestra, arid he plays many instruments, and urges on his company in ■an ■ endeavour to achieve success. The company is shown , in-a play in which the horse, Hot Heels and its jockey, Patsy Ruth'Miller, play a prominent part. Cer-. tnjuly the audience applaud loudly as the plays’rune on, but there is. nbt a 'sufficient,number in; the audience to enable the, members of the company, to pay their hotel' bills. Seth (or Tryon). .is no mean exponent of sleight of hand, and his . wprk in this i direction is both amusing and clever., Seth‘tries to be friendly with ■ Patsy, and for a time he appears to win her esteem, but then a cloud comes beAweenr them. , Seth decides to t&kehis ■ company, to Havana, and Patsy goes with; it under a contract. The passage On' ■ the- steamer enables . Seth to again demonstrate his humorous procilivitiea in an endeavour to win the favourable at-, tention of Patsy, but she looks, on " his advances .with a cold eye. Nothing daunted, Seth manages- to oust Patsy’s real partner in an Apache dance, and he makes a real cave man affair of it. Patsy fights desperately against the whirlwind dancing tactics of Seth, but all to no purpose. . He finally dances her.' to a.; stage . of ' complete i exhaustion, but, naturally enough, under the circumstances, this does not assist him in restoring friendly relations with Patsy. Ar- .. rived at Havana 1 more "trouble awaits Seth, as a plot is hatched'between a confidence man- and bis colleague-to .again make the company bankrupt. Seth is in-' formed that the theatre has been burnt down, and that Patsy is looking for an excuse to break her contract with the company. That is the position when Seth falls back on Hot Heels to win the Havana Steeplechase and save his financial reputation. But the plotters are . again , hot on. his trail, and one of , their men handles his jockey so badly just prior ■ to the time of starting that he is unable to ride. Patsy ( discovers what has occurred, and in a wild motor drive arrives at the course in time to tell the anxiously waiting Seth .what has happened. "Patsy grants to ride the steed herself, but Seth . rejects the "offer, jumps on to the horse,- ■ , and gets-to the starting barrier just in time to gallop away with the field. Of - course Hot Heels literally shows the other horses his heels, but Seth falls off after the race has been won. Patsy, however, has Jearnt. by enow that Seth loves her ’ for herself alone, and she is quickly on ■ the scene to bring Seth round. Timely explanations’ follow,, and these result in ft permanent contract being entered into between the " two. The photography is vety fine,-that depicting the scenes on the /Havana racecourse being very clear and I \ Rod La Rocqtie, is another highly diverting comedy, with some,dramatic incidents in which La Rocque plays a chivalrous' ,• part. The story has to do with certain mysterious happenings on'-a stormy night in -an, old -castle in Scotland. There "are also a party of crooks,' and a valuable pearl necljlace, but, of . course, virtue triumphant, and; the machinations of the crooks are brought to nought. The programme is ’Opened .with' .a screamingly; funny comedy, and, a .tone picture, “In a .. .Camp of/the Ancient Britons,” is also included. in the-programme 1 . The music of the orchestra, under M. do -Rose, is, an added attraction to a most enjoyable picture programme.-, ’ '' - empire. Theatre. All the mystery and Oriental atmosphere -pf Chinatown are realistically portrayed inThe Hawk’s Nest,” the cur- '■ feature ,at .the Empire- Theatre. As the Hawk, a man whose face has been badly disfigured through wan injuries, and who panders to the love of excitement of the tourists 'in the city- by running'm Chinatown a night club known as the Hawks Nest^Milton Sillatgives a characi tensatipn which must be numbered amdngt .his. best. The leading feminine role is. played by Doris Kenyon. The story .opens with the appearance; of Dan Dougherty, a,-gang leaden and crook,; who owns a night club- which is in competition with the Hawk's Nest. He visits the latter place, accompanied ,by Madelon, a dancer ' in/ his cafe, and attempts ',i ‘find out owns'jthe-plate. .After'an altercation with 7 Kent, the .manager of the cafe, Daugherty forces his way to. the private office of the Hawk, and ia" horrified to find that his competitor is a sinister man, with , a face horribly disfigured He offers-to buy “ The Hawk’s Nest,” and when the, offer is refused, threatens to run the cafe out of business.. The Hawk tells Him that; the Chinese of the district' are his friends and intimates. Later in tho evening, when a little excitement is staged in,the cafe fpr the benefit of the tourists who are “ doing ” .Chinatown, Daugherty shoots an employee of the place whom he had seen . dancing with Madelon. Daugherty swears it was Kent who shot .M'Guire, and the cafe manager is sentenced to death. The Hawk determtoes to pave the life of his'friend, and by the aid of plastic surgery regains his former, appearance, thereby obtaining a perfect di^gui se so that he can move about in his old haunts without fear of discovery. He takes the name of FinchJoy, and is introduced to DaugL.e,rty, pfsing as a crook to, gain his confidence. Hr also wins, his way into the good graces ' Madelon. When Kent’s last appeal Is denied, and he has but a few more days to ; live, Finchley tries to persuade Madelon to declare; that she saw Daugherty shoot" M'Guire, but mainly because of the intense fear with which she regards Daugherty she refuses to break her silence.- On the night before the execution the council" of China- • town holds a final meeting and. decides that Daugherty must die at "their hands, unless Kent, their friend, is saved. The n Ju J ea^er , * 8 beside himself with fear . of the Hawk, who has been sending him covert threats, and the Chinese tongs, and calls on Finchley to help him. His cabaret is surrounded by the Hawk's gunmen, and he .sees that a fight is useless, and therefore accepts when Finchley shows him a yeans of escape. He is decoyed to aroom directly over the council chambers of the tongs, and when Finchley confronts him-, with Madelon, reveals his identity, and accuses the gang leader of the murder, Daugherty, still trying to save himself, swears that Madelon really hilled M'Guire, and when he refuses to retract the accusation' they are both, taken to the tong room below. The story then takes a highly sensational turn, the climax coming when- Daugherty confesses that it was he who committed the murder. The second. attraction on the programme is “French Dressing,” a comedy drama featuring H. B. Warner, Lois Wilson, Lilyah Tashman, and Clive Brook. The plot commences as a hum-drum drama of domestic life in Boston, where a husband-and wife ’ —Lois Wilson and 'H. B. Warner—are obviously bored with each other, and then the action changes swiftly to Paris, where the wife has gone to get a divorce after a misunderstanding leads her to believe that her husband has become too familiar with her gay school chum, Lily an Tashman.' While in Paris the wife realises that she. still lo.ves her and her attempts to win back his affections provide the piquancy which is suggested by the title; '.Two pianists, Athol and Brendon, supply an’act which, judging from the reception accorded it last evening, will prove i»n attraction in itself,, their turn consisting ■of a piano duo in which they introduce a,number of tho latest musical •accesses.

' STRAND THEATRE.", : . ' “ Sadie Thompson,” which opened its Dunedin season at the Strand Theatre last evening, the public will have an opporunity of seeing Gloria Swanson in a role that is, to say the least, unusual. Relinquishing her rich frocks and gor-geous-settings, Gloria plays the part of a cheaply-dressed girl determined to see life, as it appears to her. The story is adapted by Raoul Walsh from the short stroy by Somerset Maugham, the trenchant modern satirist. Among the passengers on a tramp steamer putting in to Pago Pago are Oliver Hamilton, a tyrannical reformer, and his wife, Dr and Mrs M’Phail, and Sadie Thompson. On account of a smallpox quarantine they are obliged to stay at Pago Pago and obtain lodging at Joe Horn’s trading place; A romance springs up between Sadie Thomp-son-and Sergeant Tim O’Hara, one ot a group of marines, to whom she is introduced by Quartermaster Bates of the tramp steamer. Sadie and her newly-made friends, dancing to the music of a phonograph in her room, arouses the anger of Hamilton, who accuses her of being from Iweili, the Honolulu vice district. Hamilton later tells Sadie she must accept, his guidance in the salvation of her soul or .face 1 destruction, and she learns that he has interfered to prevent the journey to Apia. O'Hara proposes to Sadie and urges her to go to Sydney, where he will join her in a few weeks." At this stage a.lbfter arrives from the governor ordering'her to leave on the first boat for San Francisco. Pleading for a chance to remain, Sadie, is trapped by Hamilton, into confessing that a penitentiary term ,is hanging over her head in San Francisco, although she. claims that the charge was ‘■framed.’’ O’Hara, in the meantime, has been confined on a charge trumped up by Hamilton. Sadie, alone and frightened, calls on,Hamilton for aid, and, at his direction, devotes hours to prayer*: Under his domination she becomes reconciled to the idea of returning to San ' Francisco, and when O’Hara tells her he- has arranged for a junk to put her aboard the Sydney she stubbornly refuses. Mrs Hamilton, sensing Dr'M'Phail’s lack of sympathy, with her husband’s efforts, tells him that after three days of prayer with Sadie, the reformer had returned to his room exhausted. M'Phail and Joe Horn continue to be sceptical. Hamilton then tells Sadie he has changed-his mind, and that- she need not return to San Francisco. Sadie 'is puzzled and goes to her room.

Hamilton, after a violent struggle with his follows her. ■ Next morning it- is discovered that he has committed suicide on the beach. Sadie, not knowing of the tragedy, startles the group by playing‘the rasping phonograph, and startles - them even more when she emerges from her , room, once again painted and flashily, attired, a noisy greeting'on her lips.' Dr MThail breaks the news to her; Sadie, very subdued, bids good-bye. to the doctor and the trader, and departs. At the gate, however, she is met by O’Hara, who bashfully. tells, her. that his Sydney offer still holds good. ' Sadie accepts, and the two who have been so strangely, brought' together, sail away over the horizon. A musical programme specially arranged for this gripping.and.poignant drama is supplied >by the Strand Orchestra, under the direction of‘Mr L. D. Austin. , ' ■. REGENT' THEATRE. . ■ The , programme offered this week at the' Regent, Theatre is one that, should hr warmly welcomed by theatregoers, and it is'quite up to this theatre’s reputation for.;; variety. ■ In “Ritzy,”- Miss Betty Bronson, the piquant.’little English actress, who starred in “Peter Pan,” takes a role in which she loses none of the dainty charm ' that has previously, endeared; her to the jmblic. . As Roslyn B&wn, life daughter of a wealthy steel magnate, in Ivor. City, she /is. the hostess of a young English nobleman, the Duke of Westhorough,'-whov is travelling in America; incognito/ as-iffr Smith. Roslyn hisgiyen'a party’ in 'honour-.of- the •guest; to which most of the'local “younger set” have been invited to witness her triumph. She is overheard telling Mr Smith that her ambition-is to rise above the “ ordinary” society in-which she moves, and to marry a real duke. The next morning a reference to this is made in one of -the society papers.- Furious-with indignation, “Ritzy,’’ as the paper has nicknamed her,. persuades her father to take her with him to England, where she is determined to have her-revenge upon .the gossips by capturing a nobleman. Smith, .who has concealed from her his true Identity, devises, with the aid of her father, . a scheme . to . cure her of '. .her snobbishness. He -. secures the ' co-ope'ration of Algie. Yorke, a .foppish young Londoner, who who is returning to England on the same ship. Algie is made to pose as ■ the ; Duke of Westborough, while Smith remains incognito. The bogus ■ duke, however, conceives an ardent love for Ritzy's cousin Mary, and bis anxiety to avoid the flattering attentions of Ritzy considerably hampers the success of the scheme. 'On arriving in London, the conspirators arrange a mock wedding, .after which it is hoped that Ritzy will come to her senses. When the fraud is exposed, she is furious, and. goes off to spend the evening/with Mr Ali Hassan, an acquaintance whom.she met,bn the ship./ Soon she becomes repentant of her daring, and the puzzled Hassan, who has been an innocent accomplice, is about to sendlier back in a taxi to her hotel, when Smith and Algie enter upon the scene to effect an altogether unnecessary rescue. Ritzy is how completely' cured- of her foolishness and is quite; willing to marry “ plain Mr ■ Smith,” whom she has come to love. The second feature • is “Warming Up,” a thrilling , picture having the' American baseball championship as a background. Richard Dix-plays the part of Bert Tolliver j an ingenuous, rustic who has come to the city to. seek fame as a pitcher.. He is made the subject of some practical jokes by the craqji batsman of the “ Yanks,” the premier. team in the city. Abandoning hope of getting into a team, he accepts a position in a side show, where his skill in throwing balls at dummies attracts the notice of Mr Post,. the president of the , Yanks’ Club. It is at the booth that he meets the daughter of the .president, who tells him she is Minnie Zilch, a governess in Post's house. Bert ■is given a trial , at tha team’s quarters and proves successful, but arouses the jealousy of v Masher. Macrae, the batsman. 'While Macrae is entertained at the bouse of Mr Post, Bert cultivates the acquaintance of the daughter in the kitchen, believing her to be an employee, Macrae is transferred to a rival team, and Bert rapidly becomes famous as a pitcher, until eventually his team meets Macrae’s in the final round. There he fails to produce his form and is sent off the field, but towards the close of the "match .he is recalled and succeeds in winning the match for his side. Minnie reveals her identity, and all ends happily. -The remaining item is one which will be new to most-theatre-goers. Shistt’s Marionettes present a unique and entertaining spectacle. The curtain rises disclosing a beautiful miniature stage, upon which these various puppets perform very cleverly. ' Some remarkable optical- illusions are presented, one being the transformation of an eighteenth century sedan chair into a modern Ford car which splutters merrily off , the stage. Magicians, giants and dwarfs, acrobats and chorus'girls appear in bewildering succession. The Regent Orchestra, conducted by Mr Neville Ravell, provides a particularly well-chosen programme .of music. EVERYBODY’S THEATRE. ’ A programme of outstanding merit is now being', screened at Everybody’s Theatre. In reality it is a double-feature programme, and one of the best shown at this theatre for some time past. The main feature is entitled “A Race for Life, in which Rin Tin Tin, ’the famous moving-picture dog, is one of the leading figures.. Eia Tin Tin has played many

important partis in moving pictures, and his remarkable sagacity has endeared him to young and old alike, wherever the picture, in which he appears has been shown. He has appeared as a wolf dog, as a friend of the famous mounted police of Canada, London waif, mountaineer, a hero of the wilds of the West. In “ A Race for Life " Rin Tin Tin is a follower of the race tracks. In the picture the wonder dog is first seen with his pal, Danny O’Shea, on board a box car making a trip south. It is in the south'that O’Shea hopes to meet a racehorse owner who will give him an opportunity to become a jockey. The train journey has its interruptions, as there is some excitement when the tralu crew discovers the two just as they reach the .race tracks.. A girl appears on the scene at this stage in the person of Miss Calhoun. She intervenes on the part of Danny and his dog pal, and saves them from an unpleasant ending of their train journey. She induces her fiance. Bob Hammond, to take O’Shea in hand* Danny makes good, and is given the mount on a champion horse in the season’s big racing. The subsequent sequences, are most' absorbing, and a splendid story is unfolded, the dog, Danny, and the girl being the foremost figures. The second picture is just as entertaining-as the first. It is an authentic motion picture of the hazards of the Polar regions, being the dramatic record of the H.A. and . Sidney Snow expedition. Remarkable scenes gathered over thousands of miles of ice floes and scenes showing the hardships General Nobile and his rescuers must have encountered after the Italia was wrecked, are clearly deleted. Then there are the battles with the animals that inhabit the Polar regions to add to the engrossing nature of the. production. It is a Fox picture entitled Lost in the Arctic." The picture was filmed by H. A. Snow, who went into the Arctic for two purposes. His main purpose was to. learn the fate of four members of Stefansson’s Expedition, who had disappeared 10 years before. Snow not only found the remains of the men and their camp on Herald Island, but h* also secured a wonderful pictorial record of the Arctic regions. Several other inPlCtULes are als ° included.in the current programme.

GRAND AND PLAZA THEATRE. Two special pictures comprise the flew pss"s, e r w er..aS Plaza Theatres. M is an all-round attractive programme. The principal picTh re 18 “titled “Diamond Handcuffs.” prodnrtwn can ..be described as an entirely new kind of entertainment, as it is separated from all established moving Er,,n edent - In most pictures the story usually concerns one Or perhaps Trir/ 1 b£ l inefi ’ but in " Diamond Story * in the main, deals with the fateful career of a valuable and magnificent Kimberley diamond. Of course, men and women are in the story, but they are subsidiaryto the flashing gem that is responsible 'for a storm of drama, intrigue, and conflict wherever it appears. The story of the diamond from the time it is clay lying far below the earths surface until its hectic history ends in all manner of violent deaths to human beings, is told in three sequences. ™ sequence is in Africa, the second and third in large, cosmopolitan cities, iiach sequence is a connected part of the whole production, • and the two central figures go right through the entire production. These two central figures are the. diamond and a strange exotic beauty hopelessly under the lure of the gem. The picture may. be described as the last word in thrills and mystery. An amazing drama develops from the very first scene, when the diamond is stolen by a Kaffir labourer. There is a long list of well-known picture players, in “Diamond Handcuffs.” The list is headed by Eleanor Boardman, who displays all her talented versatility to the very best- advantage. Others in the’ cast are Laurence Gray. Gwen Lee, and Conrad Nagel, The second’ feature picture provides plenty of'thrills and action. ■ The production is" entitled. “ The: Merry Cavalier.” Richard Tal-’ madge is the featured player, and he provides an endless number of thrilling feats. The story, is swift moving and, interesting. A number of supporting pictures are also shown, the-new programme being complete ahd entertaining.

KING EDWARD THEATRE. Tlie new programme at the King Edward Theatre/ to ,be shown for _to-night only, is headed by the Fox special pro-, Auction, “The Escape.” • The . featured players are Virginia Valli and -William Russell. The picture is based on one of the'greatest plays ever written by Paul Armstrong. The theme, briefly, is closely allied/with struggle. It depicts a girl’s struggle ,to escape the sordid surroundings in .which she ■is submerged. The scenes' show a drunken father and'the plans made bl the underworld denizens to defy, every form of decency in their efforts to bring the girl and her sister to a state of moral destruction. “The Escape” depicts all the squalor of the tenements of the underworld, and shows the glitter of society and the 'life associated with the night, clubs of New York. The second picture is “A Race for Life,” which features Ein-Tin-Tin, the wonder dog of moving pictures. In this production Rin> Tin-Tin is seen as ii follower of the race tracks. MOSGIEL PICTURES. Reginald Denny, the popular comedy star, takes the leading role in “ Good Morning, Judge/ w’hich will be shown at the Mosgiel Theatre to-night. This clever comedy interpretation would make him a “hit” in any part, but here he has a role, that matches his good looks, his breezy manner, and his flare for farce to perfection. He is Freddy Gray, young and wealthy, who fallsMn lp--e with the owner of a mission for reformed criminals. When brought before the judge after in a fight,-he cannot pay his fine, as someone has stolen his wallet. A mission worker who believed .that hardened criminals can be reformed, advances the sum, and Denny falls in lo.\e with: her, and, in order to become an inmate of her mission, confesses to a series of crimes. ERNEST DRAKE RECITAL. To-night, at the Princess Theatre, Mr Ernest' Drake's pupils recital will be presented. Lovers of song should find the programme interesting, as. all class of music will b e represented. The Christmas carols, which the choir will sing, should he welcome, and are quite in keeping with the season. The box plan arrangements are advertised. RETURNED SOLDIERS’ CHOIR. _ ' The programme prepared for presentation at the last concert by the Returned Soldiers’ Choir of the 1928 season .will constitute one ot fhe best and most varied selections yet offered. The following new numbers will be included in the programme:—“Peace to the Souls of tlie Heroes,” an effective anthem, varied in thought and expression, by Calcott; a colourful, melodious number; “Evening Pastorale”; “The Sword of Ferrara” a graphic arrangement, with dramatic intensity, and-“ Drink to Me Only,” two arresting virile part songs, “To Arms” and ‘ The March of the Regiment ” ; “Billy Boy” and “Bound for the Rio Grande,’” a couple of sea chanties the broad and bold “Land of Hope and Glory,” and “Peter the Cat." An interesting addition will be the debut of Mr C. Roy Spackman, late of Napier. The Lyric Club Sextet will sing the sextet from “Lucia di Lammermpor,” one of the greatest ensemble numbers in"opera, whilst the debut at the soldiers’ concert of Miss Dorothy Skinner, a contralto with a fine rich quality, should be a decided pleasure to both patrons and choir. The choir soloists are‘Mr Stan Jeffs (tenor) and Mr D.- Mason (bass). The box plan arrangements are advertised.

DUNEDIN PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY. The Dunedin Philharmonic Society’s finaj conerfc this year will be held in His Majesty’s Theatre' on Tuesday mext,'when an interesting programme will be presented. 'The programme will open with the grand, march, ' Fame and Glory ” (Matt), and will be followed by the captivating minuet in A minor (Elgar), Arthur ■ Sullivan’s overture, “In Memoriam,” the “Valse Trieste,” • from the music to', the ■ drama “Kuslema,” by Jean Sibelius. The first part of the programme will conclude with Grey’s - “Norwegian, Dances, Nos. 1 and 2,” which should prove a popular item. The second part will open with Tsehaikowslty’s Symphony No. 6, " Pathetique.” This was the last symphony composed by this, composer shortly before his death, and at once made its mark as an outstanding and remarkable work. This will be followed by two lighter pieces, “Trantes Dommer and Sturdclien,” by Kohler, for strings only, and Saint Saens “Le Cynge.” The violoncello solos will be played by Mr Phil Palmer. The programme will conclude with Flotow’s popular overture “Stradella.” The vocalists will be Misses Clare Dillon and V. E.. G. M'Curdy. The box plan arangoments arc advertised.