MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 120, 11 August 1927, Page 17

MAJESTIC

“THE BELOVED ROGUE” Settings of a type that are entirely new to motion pictures are to be seen in “The Beloved Rogue,” John Barrymore’s first United Artists picture, which will finish its successful run at the Majestic Theatre to-night. These settings, designed to provide entertainment in the background itself, to serve as a symbol of the actual action in each case, are the work of William Cameron Menzies, aft director for the Joseph M. Schenck organisation, and long recognised as the leader in his line. “The Beloved Rogue,” in which John Barrymore brings to the screen the complex character of Francois Villon, eccentric French poet, housebreaker apd scapegrace, depicts the time of Louis XI. of France, during the Gothic period. Long, rakish roof lines, sharp

angles and twisted stairways, are features of the grotesque, bizarre type of architecture that prevailed. These things all are used by Menzies to enhance the dramatic value of the production^ The effort to achieve symbolism in the settings is said to be strikingly successful in the scenes showing the public square of Rouen, where Villon's father was burned at the stake. Among other spectacular settings in “The Beloved Rogue” are the town of Rouen and the massive, forbidding walls of Paris, with their huge catapults and engines of war.