MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 749, 23 August 1929, Page 15

MAJESTIC

“LADY OF THE NIGHT” D. W. Griffith has chosenn the romance of the low and the hign born as the theme for his latest picture, "Lady of the Night,” which comes to the Majestic Theatre today. The principal players in the production are William Boyd, Jetta Goudal, Lupe Velez, George Fawcett, Albert Conti, and William Bakewell. Kar. Volmoeller, author of "The Miracle,” Max Reinhardt’s internationally known stage play, wrote the story especially for the screen. The maker of "Intolerance,” "Broken Blossoms,” and "The Birth of a Nation” has in this production, it is said, set himself a new standard of pictorial excellence, beauty and spectacle, with the combination of mass effects and artistic. backgrounds through the medium of which he brings to life the glamour and pageantry of one of the most famous of all European courts—the court of Napoleon the third, the locale of the story. rne gaiety ana splendour of these scenes are contrasted with the bizarre haunts and strange fascinations of the notorious Parisian underworld, the setting in which the early sequences of the pictures are laid. “Lady of the Night” is one of the most daring stories to come under Griffith's direction during his twenty years of motion picture production. Rejected by her nobleman lover because of her infidelity, a mistress of Napoleon lays plans for a disgraceful revenge. From the cafes of the underworld she gets a magnetic girl, whom she schools in the ways of her set. She then contrives to have the man marry the girl, and at the wedding feast makes a scathing denouement. The leading parts have been admirably well cast. Lupe Velez, so captivating as the heroine opposite Douglas Fairbanks as "The Gaucho,” is the girl of the cabarets. William Boyd, of ’The Volga Boatman" and "Two Arabian Knights” fame, is the man, while Jetta Goudal, long established as a character star, portrays the other woman. The specially prepared sound accompaniment devised by Hugo Riesenfeld, famous composer and conductor, will be a feature of the presentation of "Lady of the Night” at the Majestic. The synchronised musical score includes the Irving Berlin theme song.

“Where is the Song of Songs for Me?” sung by Lwpe Velez, heroine of the film.. "Nena” and “At the Dance.” both popular numbers, art; also sung by Miss Velez. Some of the most dramatic scenes in the picture are presented with a dialogue accompaniment featuring the principal players. At the head of the wonderful supporting programme there will be a talkie in which the famous . London comedian. George Robey, appears as “the barrister.” Other items will be scenes of Earl Haig's funeral, a Fox Movietone News, a song and dance number by the Moscow Art Singers entitled “A Russian Wedding.” and, finally, selections by the Majestic Octet. Between 7.45 and S o’clock. the Majestic Octette will play the following musical selections: "Me and the Man in the Moon” <Edgar Leslie), Viennese Melody (Kriesler), Anvil Polka (A. ParlawU ••Longing all the While” Glose Pagan). “What Did the Blacksmith Say When the Heavy Hammer Hit His Thumb” (Graham Squires).