ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 19897, 16 June 1926, Page 9

ENTERTAINMENTS

ALBION THEATRE. RUDOLPH VALENTINO AND VILMA BANKY IN “THE EAGLE” ALSO SHOWING “THE DENIAL.” Rudolph Valentino’s long absence from the screen will be ended to-night when “The Eagle,” his first United Artists Corporation production, will open at the Albion Theatre. The first and most important thing to say about “The Eagle” is that it is great entertainment. It is a fast moving compound of comedy, thrills and romance. Valentino makes his first appearance as a Cossack Lieutenant. Believe it or not, he runs away when the amorous and middle-aged Czarina tries to make advances to him. She signs his death warrant. This, and a great injustice to his father, cause the young man to turn bandit—a brigand who earns the title of the Eagle because of his swift and mysterious movements. Interest in the romance is heightened by the fact that the hero’s sweetheart is the daughter of his mortal enemy. “The Eagle” is a decided departure for Valentino. The story has more action and more comedy than any of his previous vehicles. It will take rank with his best pictures. The star plays his role with zest and artistry. And he never looked handsomer! Rudy is to be congratulated on having Clarence Brown for director and Hans Kraly for scenarist. They have built a photoplay that moves and entertains. Vilma Banky, the Hungarian beauty, whom Samuel Goldwyn discovered in Europe and loaned for this production, is not only lovely but has real talent. Louise Dresser is excellent as the Czarina. Other parts are capably played by Albert ■ Conti, a newcomer, James Marcus, Carrie i Clark Ward and a host of other well-known performers. The action takes place in Russia before the revolution. The old old story of the girl who wants to marry a young man and of the objection of her mother to the union will be reviewed from a new angle at the Albion to-night when “The Denial” will be shown for the first time. The story, which is woven about this question, is handled in quite a different manner to that usually set down on the screen. It carries the older members of the audience back to the days when they were young. Back to the now quaint fashions worn by women, and the dawn of tram cars and motor cars, and the age of pushbikes. It tclLs of a beautiful girl who was denied her love and forced through the interference of her mother, to live the misery of an unhappy marriage. This heart tragedy of the older generation is contrasted with the present high spirited freedom of youth and the way the situation is handled by the present-day Miss is presented forcibly. “The Denial” is a MetroGoldwyn picture, which features Claire Windsor, who is ably supported by Bert Roach, William Haines, and others. The supports will include a Pathe Gazette, screen snapshots and the Albion “select” orchestra in a budget of excellent melodies. ‘THE IRON HORSE” AND MILTON SILLS IN “THE KNOCKOUT.” The Civic Picture’s policy of giving the public both quality and quantity—the maximum of entertainment—without increasing the charges for admission was never more clearly evidenced than on the new programme now being shown. Fox’s big special, “The Iron Horse,” and Milton Sill’s latest, ‘The Knockout,” with a Felix Carboon, comprise the present big bill. So many superlatives are broadcasted nowadays in booming big films that the public prefer to wait and see for themselves before pronouncing judgment, upon a picture. The success of “The Iron Horse,” the Fox masterpiece, which was introduced last night, was, however, complete and instantaneous. For once, realisation exceeded expectation, and, in fact, it can truly be said that half the virtues of this epic of spanning the American Continent with a railroad had never been extolled. It is a stupendous subject which is handled in a manner worthy of the great triumph of man over forbidding nature, and fierce Redskins, which it chronicles. From the time that President Lincoln signs the Bill, authorising the work to be undertaken, every phase of the gigantic enterprise is faithfully recorded. Through the great story of the conquest of the Golden West runs a love story of rare charm. The trials and tribulations of the heroic builders of the railroad which made America are graphically portrayed. Blinding blizzards, sandstorms, fierce Red Indians, strikes by the workmen, and the scheming and plotting of landowners who seek to profit by the railroad passing through their properties, have all to be fought and overcome. Mushroom towns spring up in a night and are hurried on as the track passes them and leaves them derelict. The battles with the Indians—and there are many of them—are amongst the most realistic scenes ever caught by the camera. Out in the heart of the great continent a man has to be a law unto himself, and even the youthful hero has to kill his arch enemy with his bare hands before he can accomplish his father’s dream to see the Atlantic and Pacific linked by a silver thread of iron rails. One of the charms of the big picture is the life-like representations of types and characters following the Civil War. Blue and grey work side by side with Italians and Chinese to the strains of “Drill, Ye Terriers, Drill,” with such zest that ten miles of rails are at ast laid in a single day. The acting is superb throughout. George O’Brien makes a dashing Dave Brandon, the dare-devil pony express rider, who rescues the Continental railroad enterprise from failure by finding a pas through the Cheynne Hills. Dainty Madge Bellamy is adorable as Miriam Marsh, who accompanies her father throughout the perilous enterprise. But the finest acting of all is done by J. Farrel Macdonald as Sergeant Casey, who imagines that he is responsible for the success of the whole enterprise. A delightful musical score accompanies the picture, and here the Civic orchestra scores a decided success. Everybody, or very nearly everybody, likes a fight, so when Milton Sills appears in the First National production, “The Knockout,” all lovers of healthy sport and the great wilds of Canada should see this screen favourite overcome all sorts of odds, do battle for his honour and his friend, and generally stalk through the picture like a lord of creation. In this absorbing story Sills is cast as an exchampion of the ring, bidden never to fight again on account of an injury. He goes up into the Canadian woods, and there becomes boss of a lumber camp, where fights and crooked dealing are everyday affairs. Finding the millionaire lumberman doublecrossing the father of the sweetest girl in North America, the one-time pugilist enters the ring again, and here is staged the most realistic fight ever seen on the silver sheet. The most exciting and breathless episode of the whole story, however, is when a dam, holding a million logs, bursts, and sweeps down upon the village. This scene is tremendous in its intensity. Sills’s acting is arresting and strong, and in this picture he eclipses his previous characterisations. Seats may be reserved at The Bristol until noon and later at Mrs Gawn’s, or by ringing No. 380.