ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 19173, 18 February 1924, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS

CIVIC PICTURES. MADGE KENNEDY AND JACK HOXIE. There are two splendid features on the new programme at the Civic. Widely differing in nature and composition they, together with strong supporting items, provide a wide range of entertainment in which every individual taste should find enjoyment. Madge Kennedy, popular stage star and kinema comedienne, returns to the screen after devoting two years to legitimate stage work in “The Purple Highway,” a superb Kenma production for Paramount. "The Purple Highway” provides Miss Kennedy with an opportunity for emotional acting which has never previously fallen to her lot on stage or screen. At the same time there are bright spots of humour of the sort that Miss Kennedy is known to interpret so well. And there are moments of spectacular interest—for instance the fireworks and carnival display—to cause many a gasp of astonishment. The supporting feature, "Men in the Raw,” is a hard-riding, swiftmoving drama of the West, staged with a touch of phantasy. The story deals with a modern cowboy, a rival to Munchausen and de Rougemout, whose tall stories as told in camp are visualised during the first part of the picture. Then follows a reallife adventure, in which Jack Hoxie, as the hero, battles to save the girl in the story. A daring chase over the plains, the thrilling water battle, and a remarkable scene in a cave, mark the high spots in the story. Throughout the thrills runs an intensive romance. Marguerite Clayton plays the principal feminine role. The News is more than ordinarily interesting and the new chapter of “Perils of the Yukon” is as exciting as ever. ALBION THEATRE. EXCELLENT CURRENT PROGRAMME. She -was the beautiful daughter of an English aristocrat; he an Arab sheikh, his veins flowing with the passionate Wood of the East. They loved, and she went with him to live among the sanddunes of the windswept desert wastes. And there was fought the fight of love against tradition. The ancient customs of the desert, in direct conflict with the ideas of the modern western world, brought finally unhappiness, till the climax showed that love transcends all else—habit, custom, tradition, faith—all succumbed to the love of man and woman. That, in brief, is the theme of “The Sheikh’s Wife” now in season at the Albion. It is one of the best recent pictures dealing with the problem of racial intermarriage. The English girl, ignorant of the irrevocable laws and customs of the Arabs with whom she is to live, leaves her home to go to her desert lover, totally unprepared for what is to follow. “Notoriety,” the first feature, depicts in a manner at once amusing and pathetic, the adventures of a small

slum girl who dreamed about becoming a noted personage, without ever expecting to be more widely known than at the beginning. To catch a glimpse of life, she one night gazes through the window of a stately mansion where a ball is in progress. A --shot is fired, one of the guests drops dead and all is confusion. “Pigeon,” as the little waif is called, departs hurriedly and while crossing the grounds discovers thejavolver with which the murder was committed. The police accuse her, and she is put on trial, defended by a noted attorney who has interested himself in her. After further society adventures, she falls on her feet; to live untroubled by fame The supports are of high entertainment value, completeing a programme of which for interest and variety it would be difficult to imagine the superior. The season continues this even®" ing, concluding to-morrow night. “NERO IS UNSURPASSED.” Nero in all his glory will be shown at the Albion Theatre on Wednesday. The William Fox super-special founded upon the fife of the greatest tyrant known to history has been generally recognised as the supreme achievement of the motion picture. Interwoven with the crime and dissolute luxury of the Roman Emperor’s court is a charming love story between a general in Nero’s army and a Christian princess. For massiveness of interior and exterior sets, beauty of landscapes and thrilling situations, “Nero” is in a class by itself. The burning of Rome is the biggest of the sensations. An international cast of Italian. French and American actors, under the direction of J. Gordon Edwards, were occupied for over a year in making the picture. WESTMINSTER GLEE SINGERS. "’Opening concert to-night. For the first concert of the Westminster Glee Singers, at the Municipal Theatre tonight, Mr Edward Branscombe has arranged a programme of attractiveness, embodying not only an excellent series of national melodies, but also a fine selection from wellknown operas. For instance the “Faust” numbers include the famous “Calf of Gold” song, and the two equally well-known choruses “Waken Idle Maiden” and “Be Mine the Delight." whilst the ever-popular “Barcarolle” from “The Tale of Hoffmann” will be rendered with vocal obbligato and special lighting effects. Of the National Folk-Songs which these accomplished singers have been so successful in bringing once more into prominence, “The Girl I left behind me,” “Ye Banks and Braes,” and “Mary of Argyle” merit particular mention, other delightful arrangements including ‘The Village Blacksmith,” “Oh hush thee my Baby,” and “Now is the Month of Maying.” One very strong feature of these entertainments has always been the singing of the soprano boys, who will be heard in “A LeSfland Lullaby” and “The Cuckoo’s Song,” whilst in solo work Edmund Walter will essay “The Bells of Twilight” and Gounod’s “Serenade,” and Albert Cooper “Love’s a Merchant” and “The Swallows.” The gentlemen of the company, whose individual efforts will be remembered in Invercargill, will be heard in an extraordinarily diversified series of songs, Mr Donald Reid contributing “By the Waters of Minnetonka,” Mr Ellis Vizard “Cigarette,” a distinctive and picturesque novelty, Mr Alfred Cunningham “The Prologue” from “Pagliacci,” and Mr John Andrews the Old Sea Song “A Sailor’s Life.” Additional to the above will be a delightful number of comedy quartets and (by special request ) the anthem “God is a Spirit.” There will be a completely new programme each evening, neither of which has been previously performed here.