HAYWARD'S PICTURES.

Colonist, Volume LXI, Issue 15059, 30 April 1919, Page 7

HAYWARD'S PICTURES.

"THE SPLENDID SINNER."

Mary Garden, the world-famous operatic actress, makes her Nelson debut in "The Splendid Sinner," to be shown at Hay ward's 40-night. The picture is a Gofdwyn," and is produced in first-class style. * Many of the scenes, especially the Slipper scenes, are so ornate that they rival the magnificence of "The Auction Block/ while a great effect of contrast is achieved by the outdoor pcenes in the solitude of the forest. Mary Garden proves herself as great an actress on the screen as on the stage, and the story is of such an intensely dramatic nature that it gives ample opportunity for the display of her talents. As Dolores she tires of the life she has been leading, and seeks peace and forgetfulness in a remote village, where she encounters a doctor whom she eventually marries without having had the courage to tell him of her past relations with another man. This other man crosses their path, and does not scruplo to reveal the secret which Dolores had tried to hide.* Thus the scene is set for a tragic situation. Mr Murfayiie,' xylophonist, made his first appearance, and his dexterous and artistic performance-created tremendous enthusiasm, and fully justified the glowing accounts that had preceded him. Apart from his wonderful manipulation of the hammers, Mr Murfayne gave a melodious interpretation of a number of popular airs, with orchestral accompaniment, including "Ship Ahoy," ' Swanee River," "Destiny," and "A Long Way From Home." Mr Murfayne, who Ws recalled again and again, will appear at both theatres this evening in conjunction with new picture programmes.