LYRIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 376, 9 June 1928, Page 16

LYRIC

“LAST DAYS OF POMPEII” The most famous novel of Lord Lytton is now being shown at the Lyric Theatre, where “The Last Days of Pompeii” is screened. This great story of love and romance of a citydestined for destruction is thrilling, and spectacular in its realism. The story of the love of a blind girl for the man whom she calls master, forms the delicate romance of the picture. Some of the most interesting and dramatic moments are the scenes in the arena, where the people of Pompeii thronged on a holiday to watch the sports. Were they not promised sports of rare calibre? Gladiators? and men thrown to the lions? Breathless, they watched the trial of the men with net and trident. Who would be the winner to tackle the next opponent? and after it all came the man who would face lions unfed for days. How they would revel in his struggles and watch the lions sneak to corners of the arena with torn fragments. But they had not paid heed to the rumblings of Vesuvius. Always the mountain had" groaned and rumbled. Always there had been smoke from its top. But to-day the noises were greater. Soon the pall of smoke obscured the sky. What happened to the man who was to face the lions when Vesuvius wiped out the town of Pompeii? Maria Corda and Victor Varconi head the strong cast of Continental actors who portray this Italian picture, which was made amid the ruins of ancient Pompeii.