... THE .. . SHADOW WORLD

Southland Times, Issue 20146, 5 April 1927, Page 11

... THE .. . SHADOW WORLD

LATEST REAL NEWS OF REEL PLAYERS.

AT THE CIVIC. To-night. “Aloma of the South Seas” (Gilda Gray, Percy Marmont, Warner Baxter), “The Blue Streak” (Dick Talmadge). To-morrow: “Pals First” (Lloyd Hughes— Dolores Del Rio), “The Miracle of the Wolves” (Yvonne Sergyl). Saturday: "Madam Behave” (Julian Eltinge), “Hold That Lion” (Douglas Mac Lean). If a lion comes toward you, stand perfectly still! If you do, nine out of ten times he will go peacefully about his business. If you run away from a lion, he is almost certain to rush after you with fatal results to you. These were the instructions issued to Douglas Mac Lean and the members of his company by Charles Gay, veteran lion trainer, while they were filming the lion hunting episode in the new Mac Lean Paramount comedy, “Hold That Lion,” which comes to the Civic on Saturday. “Unless a lion is enraged,” said Gay in discussing the habits of his pets, “he will seldom attack a man or woman who stands still. If he is mad, there is little use running any way, because the slowest lion can outrun the fastest human. The percentage of safety is always with the individual who remains quiet. A fleeing human being seems to excite a lion. He thinks he is being dared to overtake the runner and he invariably does. If it is necessary to move out of the path of a lion, do it with extreme deliberation. Never let a lion get the impression that you are trying to get out of his reach.” Nevertheless, it took plenty of will power for the players to follow Gay’s instructions. Mac Lean especially exposed himself to considerable danger, inasmuch as the action of the story demanded that he run away from the animals. Constance Howard, Walter Hiers, Cyril Chadwick, Wade Boteler, and George Pearce were some of the others‘who shared the thrilling experiences of hunting lions in darkest Hollywood. Al Christie recently set the whole world laughing at “Charley’s Aunt,” thereby disproving the old assertion that the English have no sense of humour, because Charley’s Aunt, has been as English for 34 years as Paddy’s pig is Irish. Now he has made good for the allied cause by taking “Madame Behave,” a French farce, and turning it into a seven-reel burst of hilarity with Julian Eltinge and Ann Pennington doing the wild spasms of gag situations which tickle the movie audience and make Greater Laugh Season a reality. In “Madame Behave,” 1 which comes to the Civic on Saturday next Eltinge is “a cousin to Charley’s Aunt,” because he romps through the plot as a buxom lady, besieged and wooed by two aged suitors in the persons of Lionel Belmore and Jack Duffy, while Eltinge himself is continually foiled in his pursuit of Ann. But how he wins her makes a delightful story. The supporting cast is an unusually strong one. It includes among others Lionel Belmore. David James, Tom Wilson and Stanhope Wheatcroft. Lloyd Hughes, screen star, is thanking his lucky stars that he has no tattoo marks on his right arm. For if he had, Lloyd might be languishing in a gaol-house to-day. Not a real one, of course. Just a reel one. But even a reel gaol-house is unpleasant. No prison cells for Lloyd if he can help it. It all came about during the filming of “Pals First,” the new First National comedy-drama, which comes to the Civic tomorrow. The handsome star is seen in the role of a tramp, who masquerades as the owner of a fine southern mansion. He puts over the deception on two coloured caretakers, and with the aid of a couple of his hobo and crook pals, prepares to rob the house. But at the last moment the masquerading is seen through, and the Federal authorities are summoned. Hughes is suspected of being a notorious escaped convict.

His arm is scanned for the tell-tale tattoo mark. Luckily for Lloyd, it doesn’t exist. “Pals First” has the best- surprise ending of rhe movie season. It’s almost too good to he true. Featured with Hughes in this

sparkling comedy-drama is Dolores Del Rio, beautiful Mexican heiress, whose sensational

screen climb is one of the modern wonders of Hollywood. Others included in the cast are Alex Francis, George Cooper, Edward Earle, Hamilton Morse, George Reed, Alice Nichols and Alice Belcher. Edwin Carewe produced and directed “Pals First” for First National release. One of the most thrilling scenes in “Way Down East” is the scene where the heroine is rescued from floating ice as she is in peril of being engulfed into the rapids. In “The Miracle of the Wolves” the French masterpiece coming to the Civic to-morrow, the producer, Raymond Bernard, provides a thrill of even great intensity—when the heroine after passing through a perilous snowfield, crosses a frozen river, only to meet her apparent doom in the midst of a pack of ravenous wolves. The miracle happens when in answer to her silent prayer,

these ferocious animals swarm around her, but leave her untouched. The staging of this wonderful scene was not achieved without a good deal of trouble. It would have been easier to “shoot” this scene in a studio, but the producer, Bernard, preferred to

carry out the whole scene in its natural surroundings. Sixteen Russian wolves were secured, caged and taken in sledges through the snow-bound tracks that led to the summit of the Col de Portes -above Grenoble, nine miles away from any habitation. A 2,000 square yard wired caged area was constructed, the sides of which were 24 feet high and the bottom buried in 50 inches of snow. The wolves were placed in this enormous cage and guarded by men with goads and revolvers so that the animals might become accustomed to their new atmosphere. At first, they proved much too shy for the cameramen, but their shyness was overcome by depriving them of food for a period, a method which succeeded in bringing the beasts into the open. Only after endless hours of patience was the “Miracle” scene photographed and only one of the. intract-

able beasts was chivalrous enough to lick the hands of Jeanne Fouquet.

When Richard Talmadge first leapt into the motion picture limelight, the leap was so literal that he has been doing it ever since. And in “The Blue Streak,” his latest contribution to the general hilarity of the somewhat depressed human race, now at the Civic, he is at his bounding best—• equipped with a vehicle that purrs prettily on all straight eight cylinders at the time. Comedy there is in abundance in the new Talmadge offering. The spirit of burlesque with which this famous stunt star usually surrounds his plots is delightfully intermingled with thrills, and the whole picture has a zest and lift that makes it first class entertainment. The scenes in the smelter, where Dick saves the heroine’s life when she is menaced by the passing of a flaming cauldron of metal overhead are particularly vivid. The flights and kidnapping in Mexico are embellished with Dick’s best brand of stunt stuff and he has a lot of new acrobatic feats up his sleeve into the bargain.

Ten special touring companies took “The Big Parade,” Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s epic production through Canada and the United States. Each company played to an average of 15,000 to 20,000 persons in weekly attendances. John Gilbert and Renee Adoree are the stars and King Vidor directed. Coming to the Albion.

ATTRACTIONS AT THE ALBION. To-night.—-“ The Old Soak” (Jean Hersholt, June Marlowe) ; “The Age of Innocence” (Beverley Bayne, Elliott Dexter). To-morrow. —“The Man on the Box ’ (Sydney Chaplin) ; “Paris” (Charles Ray, Joan Crawford). Saturday.—" Tough Guy” (bred Thompson); “The Scrappin’ Kid” (Art Acord). Whether your convictions on the liquor problem are dry or wet—“ The Old Soak’ now at the Albion Theatre will furnish you with a thoroughly gripping evening’s entertainment. Jean Hersholt is the star of the picture, which Edward Sloman directed. The cast includes George Siegmann, Louise Fazenda, George Lewis, June Marlowe, Lucy Beaumont, William V. Mong, Tom Ricketts and Arnold Gregg. To-night is the final night of this feature. “Paris,” a fascinating love story of the Apaches of Paris, and of a millionaire who tried to win a girl from the Apache leader. Flashing knives, terrific battles, and a girl’s steadfast love provide the many big moments of this enthralling picture coming to the Albion.

The Albion Theatre will feature a Warner Bros.’ classic of the screen, when “The Man on the Box,” starring Sydney Chaplin, begins to-morrow. Chaplin is said to be funnier than even his own hilarious self in “Charley’s Aunt,” and the picturisation of the popular Harold MacGrath novel and play even more entertaining than it was in fiction or stage form. Fred Thomson and Silver King continue their joyous career in “The Tough Guy,” a Master Picture, coming to the Albion Theatre next Saturday. Where else but on our screen could you find such a jubilant combination of man and horse in Thomson, one-time clergyman and famous athlete, and his glorious steed Silver King? “The Tough Guy,” by Frank M. Clifton, is a warmly human and comedic hodgepodge of fast action, thrills and young romance with a fine note of sentiment adroitly woven through the strands of the narrative. Fred as the tough guy, who through necessity i must be several degrees harder than any of the roughnecks on his ranch, is a triumph. It is perhaps the best piece of characterisation the star has achieved in his career on the screen. Art Acord’s two inseparable companions appear with the popular Western, to be screened at the Albion Theatre on Saturday next. They are Buddy, his uncannily intelligent horse, and Rex, his trained dog. In addition to these animal actors, the cast supporting Acord in this picture includes Velma Connor, Edmund Cobb, Jess Deffenbach, Dudley C. Hendricks, C. E. Anderson, Jimmy Bowdwin and others. Monta Bell, the noted director of ‘'The Snob,” “Lady of the Night,” “Pretty Ladies,” and “Ibanez’ Torrent,” has made another excellent picture in “The Boy Friend.” It makes a definite appeal through his delicacy of handling, and the whimsicality of its theme. The story concerns a young village belle whose social aspirations bring her numerous heart-breaks. Only through her “boy friend’s” efforts does she finally realises that she will be happier as the most popular girl in her own town, than as a nonentity in higher circles. “The, Boy Friend” is based on a noted stage success, “The Book of Charm,” and as a picture is breezy and sparkling. Be sure to see it at the Albion soon. The association of Buster Keaton and Sally O’Neil in “Battling Butler,” the Metro-Goldwyn Mayer screen version of the famous musical comedy, has resulted in a unique and hilariously diverting picture of sparkling entertaining qualities. It will come to the Albion Theatre shortly.

“Poker Faces,” the fastest, funniest farce : of the year! They broke up housekeeping over a rug he wouldn’t buy. They “hated” each other until the little green god of jealousy poked its head into the situation. Then followed complications that ended in a wild scramble of husbands and wives which all went to prove the little moral —never bluff your wife unless you have the cards! From the story by Edgar Franklin, coming soon to the Albion. Onward—forward marched the endless stream of humanity that would make the desert bloom as the rose! Men accomplish miracles for women like Barbara Worth. . . . . For her, men conquered the menace of the desert and made it fertile for humanity . . . . For her, men risked their lives and fortunes .... For her, men strived, and dared, and hated! See this tremendous awe-inspiring picturisation of the book that has thrilled millions, at the Albion Theatre shortly. Syd. Chaplin as Old Bill in “The Better ’Ole” has dropped his skirt and wig for the time being—but he’s a sad dog just the same—to see him capture some Germans is just beyond words —and as a German General, well, he’s just pricelessßut you must see the picture—you’ll yell. Coming shortly to the Albion. When the “For The Term Of His Natural Life” company was on location in Tasmania the daily roll call of extras was generally a source of mirth for the listeners. On the rolls there was a Gabbet and Dawes, while the stars were well represented by a Murphy and Linton, the curious part of the coincidence being that the extra named Murphy bore a remarkable resemblance to Stephen Murphy, the villain of this great picture, upon which the entire future of Australasian productions depends. An exact replica of a typical French farmhouse —complete to the celebrated manure pile that all “Diggers” remember—was made for the behind-the-line scenes in “The Big Parade,” a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer epic in which John Gilbert and Renee Adoree are starred. This reproduction was directed by a French architect and carried out by French artisans resident in California—some of them natives of the North of France. This will be screened shortly at the Albion.