ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 19434, 24 December 1924, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS

CIVIC PICTURES. “CYTHEREA” (GODDESS OF LOVE), AND “THE ARIZONA EXPRESS.” Great holiday attractions are advertised by the management of the Civic Pictures for to-night’s change of bill. Lewis S. Stone, Alma Rubens, Norman Kerry, Irene Rich and Constance Bennett, a quintette of screen players whose appearance in a picture is sufficient in itself to guarantee the height of excellence, head the cast of “Cytherea,” Goddess of Love, a First National picture which heads the programme. Adapted from the famous novel by Joseph Hergesheimer, it was produced and directed by George Fitz- I maurice for Samuel Goldwyn. Stone has a I typical role, that of a husband whose boyish spirits have not kept pace with his years, and who finds that marriage is not the continuous romance and love affair that he had imagined when he led Fanny to the altar. As Fanny, the wife who thinks of nothing else than to conduct her home in the most efficient manner, and without a trace of sentiment in her nature, Miss Rich has, without a doubt, the greatest role of her brilliant career. Miss Rubens is cast as Savina Grove, “the other woman.” Although he had never seen her, Lee had kept her features in his memory as his ideal of a. woman. In his home, handled as sacredly as an idol, there was a doll which he had purchased because it resembled the type of woman he craved. Then he met its living image. New York and Cuba are the locales of the story, and many of the scenes are coloured by a new process which makes them an outstanding feature of an outstanding production. Lincoln J. Carter’s forte, established by a lifetime devoted to the production of stage melodrama, is thrills. He is considered, and rightly so, the king of melodrama. It is to be expected, therefore, that when a melodrama is conceived in his brain and presented on the motion picture screen, with its boundless physical possibilities, it. should be a thriller in every sense of the word. This is absolutely true in the case of “The Arizona Express,” the William Fox production which is also on the bill. Carter has imagined an up-to-date story, and applied to it the rules of melodrama with telling effect. Your blood will tingle as you witness one highly dramatic sequence after another, and when the Arizona Express plunges from a trestle into the river, the cars catapulting one upon the other and the engine hissing great clouds of steam, you will grip the arms of your chair or your neighbour and hold your breath. The good old melodrama has a place on the screen—a great big place—and “The Arizona Express” proves it. Baby Peggy will also be seen in this programme in “Stepping Some.” ALBION—TO-NIGHT AND XMAS NIGHT “LOST IN A BIG CITY” AND “WHEN THE DESERT CALLS.” To celebrate the Christmas reason in proper manner the Albion management have gone to very big expense to provide Albion patrons with a programme they will remember until next Christmas. “Lost In a Big City” is another of the world-famous Drury Lane dramas that have made equally as big a success on the silver screen. It is seldom that a picture comes along which holds an appeal for everyone. In reviewing in our mind’s eye pictures which have stood out from the rest, we find that those that met with the greatest success were pld-time melodramas. These photoplays triumphed because they combined all the elements necessary to good entertainment: Thrills, humour, pathos, heart-interest and , suspense—the recipe for a sure-fire hit. ■ “Lost in a Big City” was adapted to the : screen by L. Case Russell, and includes a great cast headed by John Lowell and Baby I Ivy Ward. The direction of the picture : was placed in the hands of George Irving, one of the foremost directors in the industry. Among his many notable cinema achievements may be mentioned “The Misleading Lady,” a Metro production starring Bert Lytell; “Hidden Fires,” a Goldwyn picture and “Daughters of Destiny,” in which Olga Petrova was starred. The lure of the desert, the spell of burning sands, the brooding and mystery of the Sahara—these fascinations have inspired musicians, poets and novelists for centuries; and now comes another photoplay to visualise it all. “When the Desert Calls” will be shown at 7.35 p.m. It is a Master picture directed by Ray C. Smallwood, with Violet Heming heading a cast which includes Robert Frazer, Sheldon Lewis, Huntley Gordon and J. Barney Sherry. The author is Donald McGibeny, whose stories are well known to readers of The Ladies’ Home Journal. And it is adventure of the most thrilling sort that abounds in “When the Desert Calls.” Yet it is a story quite unlike any other with a desert background. To begin with, the plot concerns a young married couple, Americans, who live in a town on the brink of the Sahara, where the husband is cashier of a bank. There is no lurking sheik, no dancing girl of Araby to flaw their happiness. It is complete within themselves. Into this peace and content come fear and terror in the shape of a man husband and wife know well. He is no sinister foreigner but a New Yorker like themselves. What he does to prove his bitter enmity constitutes one of the most amazingly diabolic schemes ever shown on the screen. To escape this man’s further persecution the wife flees to the desert, only to find an equal menace. How the desert finally brings her back the happiness she believed forever lost, and how the mystery and perils of the gerat Sahara are revealed to her as to the audience—all this makes “When the Desert Calls” a vivid picture of life as it is lived in far away climes. Two big comedies complete the programme. Seats may be reserved by ’phoning 638 or calling at the Albion. Day sales all day at Dunlop’s. FIREWORKS DISPLAY. NEW YEAR’S NIGHT. One of the most fascinating forms of entertainment is a display of fireworks on a large scale, when the programme consists of a large number of set pieces in varied designs supplemented by a liberal supply of the ever popular rockets. It is announced that the Wainoni Fireworks Co. will give one of their famous displays on Rugby Park on New Year’s night. Several years have passed since this well known company last gave one of their popular exhibitions in Invercargill, yet many of the older generation distinctly remember the occasion, so impressive was the display fired. A large number of set pieces in effective and attractive designs are announced for the coming display, among them being a large, fiery representation of a waterfall Gigantic wheels and batteries of Roman candles, “Prince of Wales Feathers,” fountains, bouquets, and golden cascades will also be included as examples of pyrotechnical skill. The popularity of fireworks is such that they appeal equally to all ages, the elder folks being Just as susceptible to their charm as the younger generation. The forthcoming display will doubtless attract a large assemblage.