...THE... Shadow World

Southland Times, Issue 20575, 28 August 1928, Page 11

...THE... Shadow World

LATEST REAL NEWS OF REEL PLAYERS

CIVIC PICTURES. To-night: “On Your Toes” (Reginald i Denny) “Blood Will Tell” (Buck I Jones.) Wednesday: “Man Crazy” (Jack Mulhall | and Dorothy Mackaill) “The Secret Hour” (Pola Negri, Jean Hersholt). Saturday: Baroness Orczy’s “I Will Repay” and “Midnight Rose” (Kenneth Harlan, Lya de Put til. They seek him here, they seek him there ! Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. I Is he in Heaven? Is he in Hell? That demned elusive Pimpernel ? All who have read Baroness Orczy’s stories concerning the elusive and dashing personality Sir Percy Blakeney will welcome the news that “I Will Repay” will be screened at the Civic next Saturday. The main role is played by Holmes Herbert, but the most of the other roles are in the hands of noted continental players. Lya De Putti, Europe’s most exotic star, will be at the Civic next Saturday in "Midnight Rose,” a Universal picture. This is a most thrilling story of the old Gold coast of San Francisco, of a cafe dancer and a reformed gangster, the former played by Miss De Putti, the latter by Kenneth Harlan. Primitive passions against a background of degrading influences makes this a powerful drama balanced with just the proper amount of comedy. The story is smoothly and grippingly told in an enthralling manner by Director James Young. It is from "Backwash,” a story by J. Grubb Alexander, a former newspaperman who covered the Gold Coast beat some years ago and is said to be perfect in atmosphere and action. The picture was . made at great expense with a colourful cast including “Gunboat” Smith and "Happy George” Larkin, world famous puglists and other famous actors. Buck Jones has many surprise tricks in i his new Fox Films production, “Blood Will i Tell,” now showing at the Civic. This picture offered Buck a splendid opportunity ■ to display his ability. He has also originated some new and difficult stunts. “Blood Will Tell” is a smashing Western, treated from a new angle. Kathryn Perry plays opposite Buck. The picture is crammed full of action, pathos and comedy. Buck, cast as the heir of the Peters Ranch, has a battle to regain his inheritance, and is drawn into a number of tense situations. He has to resort to a battle of wits to escape many of the pitfalls. One of the most popular “teams” in motion pictures appears at the Civic tomorrow in “Man Crazy,” the famous Saturday Evening Post story which appeared under the title of “Clarissa and the Post Road.” Jack Mulhall and Dorothy Mackaill make an ideal combination on the screen. They have never appeared to better advantage than in this happy romance of New England. Mi&s MacKaill’s characterization of the daughter of aristocracy who falls in love with a truck driver on the old Boston Post road is a gem, and one that testifies to her ability as a screen actress. Mulhall as always, gives a sincere performance, and makes the most of his opportunities in the role of Jeff, the truck pilot who takes the same pride in his speedy waggon that a horseman lakes in his blooded racer. "Man Crazy” takes us into the home of an aristocratic New England family where the daughter is forever keeping the household in hot water because of her whims. When she starts a hot-dog stand on the side of the road, her irate grandmother sends for her father, to have her put in her place. Then comes the romance with a truck driver, which caps the climax with the family, the exciting chase on the old road, and the ensuing thrilling moments. Going back to the type of story he made popular in “The Leather Pushers” Reginald Denny scores an equally big success in “On Your Toes” as one critic said: There is punch in the programme in more senses than one, for when Reginald Denny appeared in the ring in the filming of the story “On Your Toes,” it was quite evident that here was a man who had made some prowess in the art of self-defence, and that when he donned gloves it was not merely outward show. In “On Your Toes” Denny is in the role of a boxer, who fights his way to the world’s heavy-weight championship in real Heeney style. When the fight was filmed, the crowd was assembled to give it realism, but the audience became so thrilled over the fight—which it was desired to make as realistic as possible—that “professional” audience became as excited as the spectators at a real contest, and the boxers themselves took things .so much in earnest that they could have done no better had the scrap been a genuine contest. Barbara Worth, of course, is the incentive in the story, which brings out Denny’s true worth as a boxer, and the romance of the picture is quite delightful. The ladies are enjoying this one just as much as, if not more than, the men. For over a score of years, no song has been able to hold the imaginations and the hearts of the people like “Mother Machree.” The sheer beauty of its compelling lyrics even haunted their author, Rida Johnson Young, until she was forced to write the story of “Mother Machree.” And now Fox Films has translated this great epic of Irish mother love and sacrifice to the screen. With John Ford, maker of “The Iron Horse” and “3 Bad Men” as its director and Belle Bennett in the title role, Fox Films has produced a memorable picture poignant with drama, whimsical with humour and throbbing with life. The story tells of an Irish mother but it might be any mother, who leaves her home in Ireland with her young orphan son Brian, played by the beautiful child Philippe De Lacey, and coming to America tries to educate him. She fails to make a living for both of them, even with the kindly help of the Kilkenny Giant, played by Victor McLaglen the Captain Flagg of “What Price Glory.” Desperate and thinking only of her son’s welfare she allows him to be adopted by an aristocratic woman, Eulalie Jensen, so that he may receive the education she is unable to give him. The child is brought up by his foster mother in the belief that his mother is dead. Though the years Mother Machree watches her son growing to manhood, achieving all she hoped for him and fulfilling all her dreams, while she is a servant in the home of the girl with whom her son is in love. Brian, as a young man, is played by Neil Hamilton, and some of the finest sequences are where the mother and son meet each other, the one hiding her identity, the other wondering why he should be so stirred every time he sees the little old woman. There is much to commend this beautiful picture. Superlative acting, fine directions, scenes filmed in Ireland, and a story vital with life. The cast includes such favorites of the screen, in addition to those already mentioned, as Ethel Clayton, Constance Howard, Ted McNamara in the fine part of the Harper This is a picture you must see. It comes to the Civic shortly. There is no doubt that Tim McCoy was born to the saddle—to hard riding, to open spaces, adventure and thrills galore. And his latest picture for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, “Wyoming,” which will be screening shortly, is based on actual pioneer history, as all his former pictures have been.

ATTRACTIONS AT THE MAJESTIC. i To-night—“ Silver Comes Through” (Fred Thomson and his horse “Silver King”) ; “Simple Sis” (Louise Fazenda and Clyde Cook). To-morrow—“ Jim The Conqueror” (William Boyd and Elinor Fair) ; “The Romance of Hinernoa” (made in N.Z. by All Maori Cast). Saturday Next—“ The Latest From Paris” I (Norma Shearer and Ralph Forbes); “Warning” (Jack Holt). “Silvef Prince,” who makes his screen lebut in "Silver Conies Through,” the current attraction at the Majestic Theatre, is the son of “Silver King,” who shares stellar honours in the production with Fred Thomson, his owner. Lloyd Ingraham, whose direction of “Don Mike” is responsible in a large measure for the success of that production, also directed Fred Thomson in his latest starring vehicle, “Silver Comes Through” to be shown at the Majestic Theatre for the last time to-night. Edna Murphy plays opposite the star in this picture. 0. Henry would have loved to draw a character like “Simple Sis,” the wistful and j unconsciously amusing laundry girl, in the picture of the same name, screening at the Majestic for the last, time to-night. Thousands of girls like Sis exist and Miss Fazenda’s portrayal is so glowingly human, .-•0 ludicrous and yet so pathetic that it deserves to rank among the very great characterizations of the screen. Clyde Cook, as the diffident lover, is the last word in rough-neck comedy. In the cast are Myrna Loy, William Demarest,- Billy Kent SchaefI for and Cathleen Calhoun. Herman Ray- | maker directed. “Simple Sis” is the sort 1 >f character that one puts away mentally i with "Merely Mary Ann” and “Lovey Mary.” ; “The Romance of Hinernoa,” opening at ■ 'he Majestic to-morrow, is based on the immortal Maori legend, filmed in the authentic I locations of Lake Rotorua, Mokoia Island, and the fire-swept volcanic area of White Island, and acted by an entire cast of I Maori players. Tn her new starring vehicle, “The Latest from Paris” which is coming soon to the Majestic Theatre, Norma Shearer has the .support of three of the screen’s greatest character comedians—George Sidney, Tenen Holtz, and Bert Roach. George Sidney and I Tenen Holtz play the roles of an amusing pair of partners in a wholesale fashion house, who employ Miss Shearer as a traveller. Their quaint Jewish humour cause many of the laughs with which the picture abound, while Bert Roach gives another great impersonation of the man who was brought up on a bottle. William Boyd and Elinor Fair, popular screen favourites, play opposite each other in Peter B. Kyne’s big western picture story, "Jim the Conqueror,” coming to-mor-row to the Majestic. The story deals with the deadly enmity that existed at one time between the cattle barons and the sheepmen and their bloody battles for dominance of the western plains. “Jim the Conqueror” is a vibrating story of the vast outdoors and in the vast outdoors and in the hands of a fine company of players a splendid visualization of life in the west in stormy days is assured. Tom Santschi, Tully Marshall and Walter Long, are important members of a strong supporting cast. Tolstoy’s “Resurrection,” the flesh-and-blood drama of Prince and peasant, love sacred and profane, brings Rod La Rocque and Dolores del Rio to the screen of the Majestic Theatre, commencing shortly, in the Inspiration-Edwin Carewe film version offered by United Artists. The most widely read classic of modern times, enjoyed wherever people read books, translated from the Rusian of Leo Tolstoy into eleven languages in the past thirty years, “Resurrection” is of unusual interest to filmgoers because it is a drama strong and absorbing enough to have made Tolstoy beloved by the masses of the world. Edwin Carewe satisfies a seventeen-year-old ambition at last in bringing to the screen this story, which has fascinated him since he played Prince Dmitri himself in a stock company in Kansas. Rod La Rocque is the star of “Resurrection,” playing the role lof the Prince who sinned and sorrowed. Dolores del Rio is Katusha Maslova, the peasant ward of his two maiden aunts, the girl whose love is defiled and sullied, only to be won again through the remorse of the Prince. Miss del Rio is afforded her greatest screen opportunity to date and her work is done under the direction of the same Edwin Carewe who discovered her in Mexico City in 1925. The very human story of “Resurrection,” the film, is identicI al with that of the novel, no major liberties I having been taken, even with the logical i ending. There is the despoliation of the Prince’s pure love for the peasant maid, the evil companionship and the mad carousi ing of the Prince at St. Petersburg, and the : Prince on the jury that tries Katusha Mas- , lova, the girl he himself has betrayed. ' Finally, there is that grand march to Siberia, Prince and peasant alike labouring over the steppes as the chains of exiles clank and hoofs thud on the hard-baked roads. | The final scenes are exact renditions of those in Tolstoy's novel. Edwin Carewe had in Hollywood the invaluable assistance of Count Ilya Tolstoy, son of the author of “Resurrection,” while making the film. As a matter of fact, the Count portrays his father in a prologue to the film proper. The cast includes, aside from Rod La Rocque and Dolores del Rio, Marc McDermott, Clarissa Selwynne, Vera Lewis, Eve Sothern and Count Ilya Tolstoy. Rita Carewe, daughter of the director, plays a part. The adaptation was written by Mr. Carewe and Count Tolstoy, the scenario by Finis Fox, and the titles by Tom Miranda. Inspiration Pictures, Inc., and Edwin Carewe jointly present the film through United Artists. Secretly married. That is the hardest secret in the world to keep, according to Pola Negri. “You can’t keep from telling your best friend,” says the star, “and best friend thinks the secret will be perfectly safe with someone else. In other words, what’s the use of having a secret if you can’t tell it to someone? Hollywood players who get married know how hard it is to keep the secret a secret. And so does the rest of the world.” The Paramount star tried to keep her engagement to Prince Serge Mdivani a secret some months ago and failed. She fails also in her latest starring picture, “The Secret Hour,” when she is secretly married to Kenneth Thomson. Three months is the limit, and then they tell Jean Hersholt, who is also in love with Miss Negri. Then the trouble starts, and it dosen’t end until the picture closes. “The Secret Hour,” reaching the Civic to-morrow, was written for the screen, and directed by Rowland V. Lee, the same director who guided the destiny of Miss Negri’s remarkable triumph, “Barbed Wire.”

“Leave ’Em Laughing” is one of the very finest comedies ever released by Metro-Gold-wyn-Mayer, and will be seen shortly in conjunction with that company’s “Wyoming,” starring Tin) McCoy.