AMUSEMENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20705, 1 May 1929, Page 13

AMUSEMENTS.

EMPIRE THEATRE, iut-h-class vaudeville turn and two excellent pictures constitute the current l programme at the Empire Theatre; The' first Picture “ The Gate Crasher/’ fealm res c ? lemi Tryon and Patsy Ruth Miller, ine him, as the title may indicate, is a comedy, and an' excellent one at that. iJick tlenshaw, an amateur detective, gets Air?. t a sta ? e starj namely, Maia-di-Leon, and falls in love with hex’. ii a i PJ” lceruat i. he is more or less compelled to save the young lady’s jewels, stolen by her maidservant and a press agent Ihe hunt for the jewels takes the lieio to the city, where he is forced to assume the burlesque character of an heroic Roman. After many failures to obtain the jcVels, he finally succeeds, and also wins the girl. "The Butter and Egg Man is the supporting attraction, and has Jack Mulhall and Greta Nissen in the leading roles. The story in brief conccuis a young man from the. country who is induced to invest his money in a theatrical show. Mr, Martin MacDnff and Miss Ivy Jermyn add considerably to theevening s enjoyment. Mr Mac Duff, known in earlier days as Mr Martin Duff, has a line tenor voice, while Miss-Jermyn man able and accomplished violinist. The Empire Orchestra, under the baton of Mr Charles Avcs, plays some attractive music. “THREE WEEK-ENDS.” The chief film feature, at the Empire ueatre tor the coming week, commencmg on. Friday, will be “ Three Weekends, in which the principal role is taken by the fascinating, and- popular ClaraBow The story, is. by Elinor Glyn, and. tlie leading male role is taken by Neil Hamilton, with another star, Harrison I’ord, in. a,lesser vole. It is, a colourful tale, lull of fun and clean, wholesome ■ humour, should .find ready accent-, ance with alb classes of ■ audiences. TSie ! talented actress is noted for the persouality and, dashing originality which she displays in all her. productions, and . for that reason all her pictures are eagerly awaited. Three Week-ends ” should P™,' -6 le9s - successful or popular than such j films as Wings,” “Red Hair/' It, and The Fleet’s In.” The allstar cast with which she is supported should provide all the excellence that an audience could want in the way of enter--comment.- The second picture is “ Eye’s r Leaves, another fine comedy, ,in which Willifm Ü Boyd art,St3 arC LeatricG Joy and OCTAGON THEATRE. If the enthusiasm ‘ of the audiences which have .witnessed the third programme ox movictsne pictures at the Octagon R h^ e j can F regarded as-a criterion,it can be said with . safety that - the ta.lues have come to stay in Dunedin, in the current programme the more popular spoken matter is a speech made by nr™ B f. OI F, V> previous to the recent illness that has so much disturbed the public mind. The occasion upon which his Majesty speaks is the opening of a new bridge at Newcastle-on-Tyne. The synchronisation of sight and hearing, so far ;as those present at the Octagon is concerned, is wonderful, and is a .striking/ example of the strides made in scientific' .research and-.knowledge in one direction at least. General Godley also, talks from the screen. An incident in. the life of ~ « letl ' Roster, who composed the old American plantation melody, “My. Old Kentucky Home,” to say nothing of many other simple, quaint, but beautifully tunexui melodies forms the basis oi i( In a Music Shpppe,” a small light musical, play. The feature of the evening is “The Red, Dance,” in which the chief .artist is, the beautiful.and dainty Dolores del Rio. .The music connected with this plays a most.important part in the undoubted success it achieves. Charles -Farrelt takes the leading male part, and the Russian Revolution is the source of the plot. Tasia (Miss del Rio) is left alone in the world' and vows vengeance against the persecu-. tors of her father and mother. There is a grand duke, introduced into the picture, whose sympathies are with the people. Then comes a romance between Tasia and the duke. The singing of the, Roxy Male Choir adds to the effectiveness of the picture. REGENT THEATRE. Once - again the management of ■ the, Regent' Theatre has provided, a wellbalanced programme of pictures which should not fail to' interest, entertain,; andamuse. Shadows of the Night ”, is one of tlie, attractions, in which “ Flash,” a remarkably clever dog, is the-star. The story is of a dog and a newspaper man who set out on the trail of an unscrupulous set of characters. Feagan is the head of this gang of ruffians, and, getting news of the capture- of one of the gang, the newspaper man (Jimmy Sherwood) scents a .possible “ story.” There is a plan by Feagan to kill Sergeant O’Flaherty, and -a dancing girl is used-as a decoy to-lure the sergeant to destruction.- However, the plan fails, and instead of the fiergeanu a constable is killed by mistake. Incidentally, Jimmy, who- - goes to-the rescue, is “ knocked out.” Then “ Flash ” comes' on the scene. Jimmy recovers, and in due course meets Molly, with whom he falls' in love. Much more’ follows of an interesting and exciting nature, but Jimmy, -with the'assistance of “Flash,” wins through, and there is a very happy scene at the end.. The other_feature is “ Midnight Madness,” an inkling. of the nature of which may. he. obtained from its name. As usual, the Regent Orchestra provides an excellent musical programme. STRAND THEATRE. Patrons of the Strand Theatre should find much to amuse and entertain in the current programme at this popular house of amusement. Norma Talmadge is - always attractive, and her impersonation of the leading female part in “.The Woman Disputed ” must be included amongst her best efforts. The story may. be somewhat grim, but there is a good deal of; realism about it, and it is/not made too grini to be unpalatable. ' As Mary Ann Wagner, Miss Talmadge is seen in a great pictorial character, Mary mets with two army officers,.. and the acquaintance changes the tenor of her whole life. Both Paul and Nika (Austrian and Russian respectively) fall in love with Mary. Then war breaks out, and Nika gets his • first bloxv in by telling the girl he loves her. Unhappily for him" he discovers that the Austrian has got in ahead of him, and that Mary loves the Austrian. Naturally the Russian is furious, when he, finds he has been beaten in a matter of affection. He, unfortunately, obtains his opportunity when Mary is brought in amongst a number of other prisoners.' A terrible torture is devised, but to save the other prisoners, the girl sacrifices herself. Eventually the lovers are united, and everything is ex- , plained away. Though the’story is as old as the hills, it is wonderfully portrayed by Miss Talmadge and those associated with her. . The' supports are very good, while, under the baton of Mr L. D. Austin, the Strand Orchestra provides some well chosen music. 1 . i GRAND AND PLAZA THEATRES. Two contrasting pictures are being shown at the Grand and. Plaza Theatres this week. The first attraction, “ A Lunatic at Large.” is a hilarious comedy, while the supporting picture is of a more serious nature. “A Lunatic at Large” is a clever adaptation, with Dorothy Mackai.ll in the’ leading female role. The lunatic is tricked into a private asylum, established for wealthy men of feeble mind. He escapes, but not without adventure and misadventure, and'finally confronts a quartet of guards. He makes a very picturesque and dramatic escape over a stone wall and lands in a gravel pit. There ho is picked up by an automatically worked steam shovel, and deposited, more dead than alive, on a huge pile of debris. On another occasion the lunatic makes an hazardous jump from a balloon. The other attraction is “The Woman in Pawn,” in which one man receives another man’s wife in pawn. Strong situations arise, and the climax is a very powerful one. “ THE LUCK OF THE NAVY.” The management of the Grand and Plaza Theatres announces the screening in Dunedin 'of the special production, “ The Luck of the Navy," commencing on Friday at the afternoon session. The high quality of the new- British releases in Dunedin’has been tlie subject of favourable comment, and since “ The Luck of the Navy” is generally reckoned to he its producer’s most outstanding film production, entertainment of, a high class is sure to be offered. Miss Evelyn Layc. a '