...THE... SHADOW WORLD

Southland Times, Issue 19896, 15 June 1926, Page 11

... THE... SHADOW WORLD

LATEST REAL NEWS OF REEL PLAYERS.

AT THE CIVIC. To-night: “The Iron Horse” and “The First Fear” (Malt Moore, Kathlyn Perry). To-morrow: ‘The Iron Horse” and “The Knockout” (Milton Sills). Saturday: “The Dixie Merchant” (J. Farrel MacDonald and Madge Bellamy) and “Morals for Men” (Conway Tearle and Agnes Ayres). All the world prides itself on a sense of humour, but to an Irishman a laugh •is worth more than a fortune. So it was with J. Farrell MacDonald, graduate of Yale, accomplished artist and a skilled mining engineer. Something about life on o picture lot tickled his sense of humour, so that’s where he decided to remain. The result has been that he unintentionally “walks away” with a picture by laughing heartily at life’s little jokes and making people laugh with him. MacDonald’s latest adventure of this sort occurred in the William Fox picture “The Iron Horse,” to be seen at the Civic to-night. He plays the role of “Corporal Casey,” ace of track layers in the days of the first transcon + inental railroad. Unshaved, hornyhanded, with jaws swollen by tobacco, Casey is the very spirit of the days which meant so much in American progress. While the titles put Irish wit into his remarks, it is MacDonald who makes Casey live merely by the wink of an eye, or the doubling of a fist. His inimitable comedy is responsible for much of the success of this epic-making picture. Without any of the machinery which lightens modern labour, the sturdy pioneers who constructed the first ralroad to unite • the east and west established records which. ' are still unbroken. Not even in the World War did trained engineers build ten miles of track a day. The Central Pacific railroad gangs did it in the early sixties against almost impossible odds. They fought Indians while they worked and they went without supplies, often without food and sleep. How they did it is told admirably in the WiH : am Fox spec ; al production called “The Iron Horse,” which comes to the Civic to-night. The trail breakers laid a pair of rails every thirty seconds, 200 pairs to the mile. Ten spikes to the rail and three sledge Wows to a spike! A pair of ra : ls laid and spiked every minute. A mile of track in three and a half hours! Many of them wore army trousers and they “fell in” like solders, for they had just come from the ranks of the Union and Confederate armies. Their guns were stacked alongside the rails while they worked. The Sioux Indians were always hovering in the offing, waiting for the slightest opportunity to strke. It makes a dramatic story—one which Robert Louis Stevenson declared should be the greatest American work of literature —and the nicture certainly takes its place among the outstanding productions of the screen. George O’Brien and Madge Bellamy have the leading roles, with the support of a large and talented cast, supplemented with regular soldiers, a whole tribe of Indians and all the great j outdoors to work in. i Hailed as the greatest comedy drama of married life ever written, “The First Year,” one of the John Golden Unit, comes to the Civic to-night only in screen form w’ith a record of two solid years of stage perj formances in New York. The story, as can ibe guessed from the title, concerns the | first year of married life of a young 1 couple, typically American. Their trials I and tribulations introduce humour, pathos I and at times border on tragedy. The direcI tion is in the hands of Frank Borzage, reI cently added to the Fox ranks, who has I been given an exceptional cast including | Matt Moore, Kathlyn Penny and the inimitable J. Farrell MacDonald. I The age old question of the double I standard of morals for men and for women | is dramatically portrayed in an intensely ' absorbing drama the Tiffany production | “Morals for Men” which comes to the Civic on Saturday. The story graphically pori trays the battle waged by a woman who ' leaving her old life behind takes her place • in society only to be hounded by an unscrupulous man who plays upon her fears I of exposure and eventually drives her hus- ' band from her, and to despair. The man, ■ the partner of her shady days, rehabilitates himself, marries and although his past becomes known, his wife refuses to let that interfere with her happiness. Conway Tearle as the man and Agnes Ayres as the woman are seen in the best roles of their screen careers. Miss Ayres* characterisation of the woman of the slums is ably portrayed, while the acting of Tearle first as the down-and-outer and later as the man who came back, is a polished piece of screen acting. The unexpected always happens, according to J. Farrell MacDonald, who has the title role in Fox Films* production, “The Dixie Merchant,” coming to the Civic on Saturday. J. Farrell “Casey” of “The Iron 1 Horse,” has been in any number of pictures I with lovely little Madge Bellamy since they both came on the Fox lot. He’s been her groom, her retainer and some distant relation—but never in the world did he expect to be cast as the little lady's father! “Madge is such a dainty thing, and logically fits into parts where she has a wealthy and indulgent or a poor but hard working parent,’* J. Farrell explained, “and most of my parts are those of hard old characters. So how could I ever hope to aspire to be Madge’s father—even though I’ll admit I’ve always had a hope that the break might come some time.” In “The Dixie Merchant,” J. Farrell is Jean Paul Fippany, a lovable old fellow whose shiftless ways worry his family. Although they know that to excuse him is to encourage him in his irresponsibility, they always manage to find some excuse for him, even when they lose their home because he fails to meet the payment on the mortgage after he has spent all his money on his horse, “Marseillaise.” A particularly well chosen cast supports MacDonald and Miss Bellamy. This includes Mulhall, Edward Martindale, Harvey Clark, Claire McDowell, Frank Beal and Evelyn Arden. Frank Borzage directed the production. Horse-racing with bettings attached is taboo in California so it is little wonder that the people who lived in and around the little town of Riverside were surprised when they saw a crowd collected at the old race track and the “bookies” going full swing. However, it didn’t take them long to discover that the money changing hands was “picture” money and that the scene which looked so real was but a part of the Fox Films production “The Dixie Merchant” coming to the (Evic on Saturday. But that didn’t prevent them from staying at the track and cheering on the horses as they ran. One of the old men, who remembered the days when Riverside was the gathering place of some of the most noted sportsmen in the country, said the track had never been better patronised even in “the good old days.” J. Farrell MacDonald plays the title role in the picture with Madge Bellamy in the leading feminine part and Jack Mulhall in the male lead. Others in the cast include Edward Martindale, Frank Beal, Claire McDowell, Evelyn Arden and Harvey Clark.

ATTRACTIONS AT THE ALBION: To-night.—“ Wreckage” (May Allinson) and “Broadway Gold” (Elaine Kammerstein.) To-morrow. —“The Eagle” (Rudolph Valentino—Vilma Banky.) Saturday.—“ That Devil Quemado” (Fred Thompson and his horse, “Silver King”) and “Stella Maris” (Mary Philbin and Elliot Dexter.) “Wreckage,” the Banner Production starring May Allison, which has been playing to large audiences at the Albion Theatre, will conclude its engagement to-night. This picture is notable for its action, but for a single scene it will be stamped as one of the most thrilling ever shown here. The shipwreck in the Pacific storm is a gem of the photographer’s art and an example of the extent to which movie performers will go for realism. “Wreckage” has been reviewed in the columns of the Press, and public opinion has agreed with that of the reviewer. It is a first-rate picture. Pushkin story on which ‘The Eagle” is based is called “Dubrovsky.” The screen version was written by Hans Kraly and directed by Clarence Brown. Valentino is supported by Vilma Banky, Louise Dresser and a large cast of screen notables. A new picture starring Fred Thompson is enough to draw crowds to any movie theatre; and the Albion is. sure to have packed houses on Saturday, when ‘That Devil Quemado” is to be shown for the first time locally. The production is the first which this popular Western star has made since he broke his leg doing a leap to the back of a wheel horse on a hurtling stage coach some months ago and his return to the screen will be welcomed by tens of thousands of Thompson fans. Silver King, his gorgeous horse, plays a prominent part in ‘That Devil Quemado”; indeed, his i role is said to be the most exciting that this j equine luminary has ever played. Del Andrews directed the production. Gloria Hope I plays the leading role delightfully. All of j the cast, which includes Nola Luxford, Al--1 bert Priscoe, Bryon Douglas, Joseph Bell, Alan Roscoe and Robert Cantiero, are excellent. | A romance of the great white way into ' which are woven all the thrills of night ' life in the great metropolis is “Broadway . Gold,” which concludes a most successful 1 season at the Albion to-night. The story I wends its way from “back-stage” of a Broadway Revue through midnight scenes in ’ a gilded palace, a wealthy bachelor’s apartment, a mysterious murder, a thrilling auto smash-up, into one of the strongest love stories ever told. “Lady of the Night” is the third picture in which Norma Shearer has appeared under Monta Bell’s direction. This new one, which is coming to the Albion very soon, is the greatest triumph for both the young star and the director. Also in the cast is Malcolm McGregor, who enacts the role of the inventor who lives between the underworld and more law-abiding circles. George K. Arthur, as the young gangster, shares honours with Miss Shearer and Malcolm McGregor. The story is by Adela Rogers St. Johns. “Racing Luck,” with Monty Banks, the first of this comedy star’s feature-length films, is coming to the Albion Theatre very soon, and is considered one of the funniest pictures of the year. There are many comedy scenes and each has a thrill that enlivens the film all the more. Assisting Monty in the fun-making are Helen Ferguson, Lionel Belmore and Francis McDonald. Clara Horton, playing the leading feminine role in H. C. Witwer’s “Fighting Blood” pictures, one round of which is being presented at the Albion Theatre each Friday night and Saturday matinee, has probably seen more prize-fights than an ingenue in the movie colony. Not that she has ferocious tendencies. She does not frequent professional fights, but her part in “Fighting Blood” called for her presence at all of the fight scenes in the series. There are 12 pictures in the series and each ends with a smashing ring battle. Elliot Dexter, long a noted leading man and star of the screen in his own right, was chosen from among many to play opposite Mary Philbin in her greatest vehicle since “Merry Go Round.” This is “Stella Maris,” Universal’s adaptation of William J. Locke’s famous novel, which comes on Saturday to the Albion Theatre. Dexter made notable hits in “The Affairs of Anatol,” “Forever,” “The Common Law” and other features. A splendid supporting cast has been gathered for the newest presentation of the Locke novel. Gladys BrockweD, remembered for her work in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” and in numerous picture plays in which she has played the leading part, enacts the Nemesis of the heroine, while Phillips Smalley, famous character actor, is seen as the heroine’s father. Charles Brabin directed the picture. “Stereoscopiks,” the greatest marvel of modern moviedom, will be placed before Civic Picture audiences shortly. Each person entering the theatre is supplied with a pair of special glasses through which the picture is viewed. The effect is that characters in “Stereoscopiks” walk right off the screen and reach out and touch you. To picture the thrills of “Stereoscopiks,” imagine a racing automobile coming head- on, seeming to plunge into the audience. It is something sensational. No better role could have been found for Milton Sills, the famous portrayer of screen virility, than his part in “The Knockout” —that of a “Gentleman Jim” type of prize fighter who goes into the Canadian woods to recuperate from injuries received in the ring and becomes the victim of the intrigue and machinations of a wealthy New Yorker who seeks to ruin the father of the girl with whom he falls in love. The rugged scenery of the north, woods country forms a majestic setting for most of the action of the picture. The most dramatic rough and tumble fight that has been seen on the screen here for a long time occurs when Sills meets the terror of the woods, a part played by John Philip Kolb, an actor whom one can readily believe stands six feet seven. It will be at the Civic to-morrow. When a set of unusual circumstances sends Buster Keaton and Kathryn McGuire adrift alone in an ocean liner on the high seas, in the Metro-Goldywn feature comedy, “The Navigator,” the occurrence is almost disastrous, both for the unfortunate two, and for those who follow their hilarious adventures on the screen, in the matter of split sides. Here is something brand-new in film fun—at once original and overflowing with real laughs. Gag follows gag with the speed of light, and the staccato bursts of laughter quickly merge into one continuous roar of joy. You have never seen anything like this great picture, which comes to the Albion Theatre soon. “

“The Eagle,” in which Rudolph Valentino will be seen at the Albion Theatre, beginning to-morrow will present the star for the first time in the role of a Russian. In view of the popularity which he has given to romantic Latin types it will be interesting to see if he will raise the Slav to the same public esteem. “The Eagle” is said to be a distinct departure for Valentino in other respects also. The story has more action and also more comedy than any other in which he has appeared. The star will be seen first as a handsome Cossack lieutenant, then later as a swift, mysterious, adventurous bandit, whose exploits thrill all Russia. (It is from this that character derives the name of the Eagle). For a while he masquerades as a French tutor in order to enter the home of his mortal enemy. “The Eagle” is the first of the stories of Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s greatest author, to reach the screen. The photoplay was written by Hans Kraly, who wrote “Passion,” “Deception,” “Her Sister from Paris” and many other notable successes. Vilma Banky, a striking blonde, who was recently brought to America by Samuel Goldwyn, plays opposite the star. Louise Dresser, stage star for many years, has a featured role as the Czarina. Clarence Brown, whose rise has been meteorlike, directed the picture, and is said to have done an unusually good job. Brown directed “The Goose Woman,” “The Acquttal,” “Smouldering Fires” and other entertaining pictures. The Metro-Goldwyn picture, “So This Is Marriage,” which is coming to the Albion very shortly is a story of ultra-modern marriage from the pen of Carey Wilson, whose main characters are portrayed by Eleanor Boardman, Conrad Nagel and Lew Cody. The story is of a jazz-mad flapper wife, her humdrum husband and a sympathetic bachelor, who finally shows her the folly of her ways by telling her the story of David and Bath-Sheba. This sequence makes a magnificent spectacle in natural colours, which alone is really worth seeing. The story of “His People,” the UniversalJewel coming to Albion Theatre shortly, is reminiscent of die Biblical narrative of Isaac and his two sons, Jacob and Esau. The father with his stern sense of justice and tradition; the older son, who is beloved of his father, but who spurns that love; and the younger boy, who is disowned, but who remembers the Fifth Commandment—all are faithfully and realistically portrayed. Rudolph Schildkraut, eminent continental stage star, heads a strong cast. The supporting players include Mme. Rosa Rosanova, George Lewis, Arthur Lubin, Kate Price, Blanche Mehaffey, Nat Carr, Otto Lederer, Edgar Kennedy, Bobby Gordon, Albert Burfialano and Sydney Franklin.