“THE MAGICIAN”

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 89, 6 July 1927, Page 15

“THE MAGICIAN”

AT MAJESTIC ON FRIDAY The dance of the faun is one of the most elaborate episodes of Rex Ingram’s production of “The Magician.” for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which will be shown at the Majestic Theatre on Friday, with Alice Terry in the leading role. More than 500 trained dancers appeared in the production of this famous dance staged by Ingram in a forest setting in the studio grounds near Nice. France, where a great part of the Somerset Maugham story was made. Pan. with his famous pipe, in the garb of the half animal, half man, the faun with his horns and all the other details of the famous myth, were included in transferring it to the screen. Special arrangements were made for the painting of the bodies of the men and women who participated in the scenes, and special care was taken in their selection so as to have perfect types even though they could not all be in the camera foreground. Another particularly interesting episide of this produo* : ■ was filmed in the interior of an Aruo snakecharmer’s tent at the Fair of Lion de Belfort. Some of the most deadly of reptiles found in Africa were handled by the snake charmers before the camera for scenes of this picture. Besides Miss Terry, the cast includes Ivan Petrovich and Firmin Gemier in the leading role.

with two men silently cutting through the girders with an acetylene torch. The train reaches the bridge and suddently the bridge collapses plunging the steel , monster into a raging torrest below’. The above are but a few scenes in this remarkable film. Then too, there are romantic love scenes between Malcolm McGregor and Olive Borden, a new screen beauty, a lot of wholesome comedy, and some moments of pathos. James J. Tynan the story, which is an original, and it is a picture like “The Overland Limited” which proves conclusively that the literature i of the screen is a distinct unit in itself.