ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 20228, 13 July 1927, Page 2

ENTERTAINMENTS

ALBION TO-NIGHT. BUSTER KEATON IN "THE GENERAL,” ALSO JANE NOVAK IN "LURE OF THE WILD." The biggest comedy in the history of the motion picture industry is coming to the Albion Theatre to-night. It is “The General,” Buster Keaton’s first United Artists starring vehicle. Combining thrills which have never been equalled in the dramatic field with the most laughs of Keaton’s career, “The General” is said to sound a new dominant note in the comedy world. Thousands appear in the supporting cast, which is headed by Marian Mack, a young actress who temporarily abandoned a starring career in dramatic pictujps to become Buster’s leading lady. Miss Mack contends that a leading role in a Keaton United Artists production gives her comedy experience necessary for permanent stardom. “The General” is one picture in which historical accuracy has been preserved without sacrificing laughs. Based on the famous Andrews railroad raid and locomotive chase during the Civil War, the comedy treats the lighter side of the struggle between the States without burlesquing any of the historical episodes. Several battles are re-enacted on the screen in unfolding the story of a young Confederate daredevil who at the start of the war is refused enlistment in the Southern army because of his value to the cause as a railroad engineer. When a band of Northern

raiders steal a train and attempt to penetrate into Confederate territory, tearing up tracks and destroying lines of communication, Buster, fearing for the safety of his beloved locomotive, “The General,” and to rescue his sweetheart, a prisoner of the foe, pursues them. One of the sensational scenes in the case is the plunge of a locomotive from a burning trestle into a river. This one thrill alone cost 40,000 dollars to make. “Lightning,” one of the cleverest canines on the screen, is a very interesting combination of wolf and dog. This gives him all the gentleness and intelligence of a police dog with the tenacity, and ferocity to enemies, of a wolf. The great dog is a solid mass of bone and muscle. His owners have many a time put him to a test requiring enormous strength and the animal has never faltered. “Lightning” will be seen in the Master feature, “Lure of the Wild,” to-night at the Albion Theatre. According to pre-view notice, this production gives the great beast a chance to do some thrilling work. Jane Novak is the star of “Lure of the Wild,” and has the support of a well-known cast of character actors. PICTURES AND VAUDEVILLE. BRIGHT BILL AT THE CIVIC TO-NIGHT. A feature of the new programme which opens to-night will be the appearance of Kamo, the novelty banjo-mandolinist. This clever entertainer gives a wonderful exhibition of lightning playing. He manipulates the strings in such a manner that one could almost believe that his instruments speak. A delightful feature of his act is his wonderful musical impersonation of a Highland regiment mounting guard before the King, so his act has its humorous as well as its musical side. The picture programme tonight is outstanding. J. Storer Clouston’s “The Lunatic at Large” and Cecil B de Mille’s latest “Steel Preferred” being the principal features. Gigantic of theme, startling in its realism, a dramatic story punctuated with laughs, “Steel Preferred,” features Vera Reynolds, William Boyd and Charlie Murray. This is the romance of steel inasmuch as it was filmed in the heart of the steel industry in Pittsburgh, and while it is illuminative, the picture is a comedy drama of exceptional entertainment value. The story deals with a young steel worker who is ambitious and who rises from the post of a common helper to a position of prominence in the mill. The scenes for the greater part are located in a steel mill, and they are so realistic that one fancies one’s self to-be in the mill rather than in a theatre. There is a dramatic action that is most impelling, comedy situations such as Charles Murray, Ben Turpin and William V. Mong can create, and thrills that follow one another in rapid succession. . . . thrills new in motion picture presentation. There are two outstanding thrills in the production that defy comparison. One when a ladle train filled with molten steel is wrecked and spills its contents over the hillside, the other when Walter Long catches Nigel Barrie in the giant tongs and swings him over the heating pits. Nothing like this has ever been attempted. . . it thrills with tremendous force. The cast, one of exceptional merit, includes William Boyd, Vera Reynolds, Hobart Bosworth, Walter Long, Ben Turpin, Charlie Murray, William V. Mong, Nigel Barrie and Helene. Sullivan. “Steel Preferred” is clean, fast moving, well acted and exceptionally human ... a treat for fans. The other star picture, “The Lunatic at Large,” involves the experiences of a hobo, Sam Smith, played by Leon Errol, and his inimitable legs (you remember them from “Sally?”) He is dumped into a lunatic asylum by a millionaire who leads Sam to the place under the impression that he is to be a guest at a country establishment. There Sam meets the Napoleons, the cowboys and all other convulsing inmates of the place, among them one Bill Carroll, as sane as Sam, who, like himself, has been put in the madhouse by trickery. Bill’s twin-brother, mentally demented, wants to get him out of the way so he can marry the bewitching blonde portrayed by Dorothy Mackaill. How Sam escapes, breaks into the Collier home as a masked ball is going on, hides in a suit of armour, climbs aboard a dirigible in time to stop the wedding between the girl and the “nut,” jumps off with her in his arms and floats to earth on a parachute, form the plot of one of the funniest films we have seen in years. Leon Errol is funnier than he was in “Sally,” and that’s saying a lot. We never tire of his futile efforts to keep his famous knees from collapsing at inopportune moments. Dorothy Mackaill bids fair to becoming one of First National’s most popular stars by her loveliness and histrionic ability in the farce, while Kenneth Mac Kenna is more than attractive as Bill Carroll. A chorus of Ziegfeld’s beauties aid immeasurably to the setting of the show. Seats for to-night may be reserved at the Bristol until noon and later at Mrs Gawn’s, or by ringing No. 380.