SPOOKY THRILLS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 804, 26 October 1929, Page 14

SPOOKY THRILLS

“THE LAST WARNING” IS MYSTERIOUS MAJESTIC’S NEW BILL A dark, gloomy, and rambling old theatre, empty save for sprawling cobwebs that cling in the shadowed corners A little company of players intent on bringing to life the . crumbling building; determined to banish the gloom with laughter, and to chase the shadows with bright lights .... Then a warning—by telegram. Years before a murder was committed Within those eerie walls. Dire

misfortune is promised the party that tries to reproduce past scenes. But the message is ignored. Another warning. The nerves of the company are on edge. Strange sounds are heard, stranger things are seen. An atmosphere of horrid foreboding per-

vades the place and the people. Still they carry on, led by a forceful and energetic director. Now the Last Warning. It comes as a message on the dusty script but it, too, is disregarded. That is the signal for things to happen, and happen they do. An excited audience at the Majestic last evening perched well forward on the theatre seats as the action of “The Last Warning” careered weirdly forward to a striking climax.

This Universal film is a thriller—a cleverly-presented picture, reminiscent of D. W. Griffith’s epic nerve-wrecker of the silent screen days, “One Exciting Night.” * Set in the old Woodford Theatre which has been closed for five years following the murder of the star during a performance, the story, which includes two talking sequences, tells of McHugh, a producer, who determines to defy tlie fates. Rehearsals are held in the midst of the strangest of happenings and the opening night comes. With it comes the attempted murder of the leading Trapdoors that open and close in uncanny fashion, bat-like forms that flit among The cobwebby rafters, and blood-curdling sounds that are heard from behind darkened walls are only a few of the devices used to carry a dramatic and well-acted plot on the wings of excitement. There is humour, too, serving to offset the thrills. At the head of the cast that presents this entertaining celluloid shocker is Laura La Plante who seems to be making a specialty of “haunted heroine” roles. The trials and frights she faced and endured in “The Cat and the Canary” are fully equalled by her experiences in “The Last Warn - ing” but she comes up smiling in the final close-up and makes a thoroughly good job of her part. With her are a number of well tried and proven players including provoking Margaret Livingston and Montague Love. The leading man in tlie picture is John Boles, one of Universal's most promising principals. “The Last Warning” is to be accepted in the spirit of its presentation. It seeks to thrill and amuse—nothing more. These two are done admirably and future box-office receipts should be a reflection of the interest roused last evening. On the supporting programme is a truly remarkable clown act introducing the Arnaut Brothers, two of the finest novelty whistlers in modern vaudeville. The recording is delightfully clear, doing full justice to their perfect performance. “Doing ITis Duty,” a British talking comedy. Fox Movietone News, and a U.F.A. travelogue complete an excellent bill.

Engene Pallette, who will be favourably remembered for bis splendid characterisation of the sergeant in “The Canary Murder Case,” will bo seen in an important role in Paramount's “Kibitzer,” recently completed.