ROXY AND CRYSTAL PALACE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 748, 22 August 1929, Page 17

ROXY AND CRYSTAL PALACE

NEW TALKIES COMING The screen adaptation of the famous Owen Davis’s stage success, “The Donovan Affair,” a Columbia all-talk-ing production, is drawing to the close of its season at the Roxy Theatre, Queen Street, and Crystal Palace, Mount Eden. It is a real detective story with a double murder mystery which is solved by the keen work of Inspector Killian, played by Jack Holt. This is Holt’s first detective role in his long career upon the screen. Others in the cast include Dorothy Revier, William Collier, junr., Fred Kelsey, John Roche and Agnes Ayres. Two of screendom’s most popular younger players, Mary Brian and Richard Arlen, have the leading x'oles in Paramount’s latest all-talking picture of thrills and romance, “The Man I Love.” And Mary Brian’s voice is heal'd for the first time from the screen singing “Celia,” the song written especially for her. This is the attraction which will entertain at the Roxy Theatre, starting on Friday. The picture deals with the ups and downs of a pair of young sweethearts. The boy goes to New York and, when the girl follows him there, she finds that he has yielded to the charms of a wealthy society woman. Through this woman’s influence, he has made a great success. The girl’s efforts to reclaim him are fruitless until, in an exciting incident, another lover of the society woman wounds the boy. Then the girl wins. Baclanova, the Moscow Art theatre prima donna who has had a quick rise to fame on the American screen, has the role of the wealthy society woman. Inimitable bits of comedy are introduced by Harry Green of vaudeville fame and the irresistible Jack Oakie. The rest of the cast includes some of the best character people in Hollywood. Dialogue enhances the action of the drama and permits of many bits of clever humour getting across to the audience The Crystal Palace Theatre, Mount Eden, will introduce an entirely new talkie programme on Saturday. For this, their second talkie, they have secured the hilarious comedy “Give and Take.” the tale of an overenthufeiastic young man who wanted to establish an “industrial democracy” in his father’s fruit-canning factory. George Sidney, Jean Hersholt and George Lewis are the stars. “BEHIND THAT CURTAIN” Phillip Strange will play Lhe role of Durant in the new Fox Film, “Behind that Curtain.” For many years Strange was a leading actor on the London stage, and also in many Broadway (New York) productions. Talking pictures came and with them the demand for resonant voices; and so Strange is now greatly in demand. Lois Moran has been selected to play the leading feminine role with Warner Dexter, Gilbert Emery and Claude King. U.F.A. has commenced production in Erich Pommer’s first Ufatone feature, “The Melody of Life,” in which Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo are co-starred. Werner Hyman, the noted composerconductor, is supervising the sound and music.