ENTERTAINMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 January 1927, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS.

EVERYBODY’S. A DANCING ROMANCE OF SPAIN For the reason that this theatre is book ed for the special matinees of “The Son of the Sheik’’ for two afternoons, “The Girl from Montmartre” is announced for two evening performances only, to-night and finally to-morrow. This colourful drama of the most romantic corner of Paris is adapted from “Spanish Sunlight,” a story‘of the cafes and cabarets of the French capital, and the heavy hearts that are hidden under the bantering masks of dancing girls. It is a very simple matter to wax commonplace over such a theme, but this picture is conspicuous for its absence of the ordinary. Everything from the plot down to the merest detail is brilliantly new, and the supero acting accentuates, at every turn, the undoubted power and appeal of the picture. Lewis Stone, the actor who stands alone in the field of leading men, has a romantic part of convincing appeal. The supporting films are full of interest and include the fifth reel of the picture log of Amundson’s daring Polar flight. The programme is accompanied throughout by a new sc ection of orchestral numbers. THE PEOPLE’S. FAMILY NIGHT PROGRAMME. The programme which ends its season at the People’s to-night is a finely varied and entertaining one. Commencing with a Pathe Gazette and an Urban Chat, a diverting two-reel comedy, ‘’Fireflies,” follows. The star item is a W’arner Bros. Classic of the screen, “How Baxter Butted In.” The role of Henry Baxter is ideal for Matt Moore’s celebrated brand of humour —the absent-minded, hesitant diffidence which has endeared him to the motion picture public of the world. He is so unconsciously ridiculous that he is a sure cure for the blues. Dorothy Devore, famed for her piquant charm and volatile spirits, out-comedies her past work in the Christie specials as Beulah Dyer, the stenographer. There’s also Ward Crane, Wilfred Lucas, two adorable youngsters, and the dog Cameo, in the cast. William Beaudine whose name stamps a production with genuine merit, directed “How Baxter Butted In.” w OPERA HOUSE. “The Son of the Sheik,” a United Artist special production was shown to a large audience at the Opera House last night. This is the last picture made by the late Rudolph Valentino. Great interest is always attached to the pictures of this star, no matter what role or what types of character he is portraying, but the fact that this film is a sequel to “The Sheik,” the drama that brought him no ephemeral fame, should be au added incentive to its popularity. Every attribute of modern drama, with, the modern twist to boot, is blended together in this picture by the vibrant personality of the star. Whether tense drama is holding the stage or lilting, comedy or the thundering thrills of desert life, everything is glamorous and insistent with his insistent influence. But primarily, even considering the occasionally rugged and sensational nature of the story, “The Son of the Sheik" is emotional drama. That must necessarily be, for Valentino is now numbered among the great lovers of history. He and Vilma Banky constitute as decorative and effective a pair of emotional artists as has ever appeared before a camera. There is a restraint about their romance that never interferes with its picturesqueness, and at all times is Valentino the masterly male so beloved of the feminine heart, for some will have it that it is only man the master that woman will heed. <kt all events, he has left all his other characterisations far behind, and with an abandon, a courage, a zest, he enacts the varied emotions and shades of a role that is full of profound possibilities. His talent, after all, is so boundless, that he can afford to be. profligate. But, although the star in the title role, commands one’s first interest, Vilma Banky’s as leading lady, is just as interesting and effective in her part. It Is not by her beauty alone that Miss Banky scores so heavily. She possesses a cultured talent and an old-world personality that are, somehow, in delightful harmony with the character she plays. She lends an artistic stability to the picture that would be entirely lacking without her. “The Son of the Sheik,” however, does not content itself with a wealth of histrionic talent and fictional interest alone. It is an Oriental story, not the stereotyped Arabian Nights kind, but the bounding, adventurous drama of the desert, and as such is made on a lavish scale. Sets of extreme beauty and magnificence lend poise and dignity to the picture, and, taken as a whole, the production is one of the really noteworthy films of recent years. “The Son of the Sheik” shows again tonight and to-morrow night at the Opera House. There will be matinee screenings at Everybody’s this afternoon and on Saturday, at 2 p.m. The plans are at Collier’s.