ACROSS THE FOOTLIGHTS

Taranaki Daily News, 13 October 1928, Page 10

ACROSS THE FOOTLIGHTS

COMING EVENTS.

OPERA HOUSE. To-night.—Dance Recital and Pictures — Catherine Moyes’ Pupils, and “The Chaser” (Harry Langdon), First National. October 16, 17 and 18. —“The Circus” (Charlie Chaplin), United Artists Special. October 20.—J. C. Williamson (N.Z.) Ltd. Margaret Bannerman Coy. in “Other Men’s Wives.” October 23, 24, 25 and 27. —N.P. Amateur- Operatic Society. “The Sunshine Girl.” October 30 to November 3. —“Ramona” (Dolores Del Rio), United Artists. November 24 and 26.—J. C. Williamson Ltd. “Tho Girl Friend” and “Hit the Deck.” EVERYBODY’S THEATRE. To-night.—“ Tillie’s Punctured Romance” (Louisa Fazenda), Paramount. October 15 to 17.—“ Hot Heels” (Glenn Tryon), Universal; and Eucharistic Congress at Sydney (Official). October 18 to 20. —“Flying Romeos” (Charlie Murray and George Sidney), First National; and “Something Always Happens” (Esther Ralston), Paramount. October 22 to 24.—“ The Heart of a Nation” (Georgs Sydney), Universal. October 25 to 27.—“ Under the Tonto Rim” (Richard Arlen), Paramount; and “Good Time Charley” (Helene Costello). Asian Films. THE PEOPLE’S. October 13 and 15.—" A Thief in the Dark” (All Star Cast), Fox Films; and “The Trail of the Tiger” No 9. October 16 and 17.—“0n Ze Boulevard” (Renee Adoree). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. October 18 and 19. —“The Opening Night” (Claire Windsor), Master Pictures. October 20 and 22.—“ Don’t Marry” (Lois Moran—Neil Hamilton). Fox Films. October 23 and 24.—-“ After Midnight” (Norma Shearer) t Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. October 25 and 26.—“ The Whip Woman,” First National. October 27 and 29.—" Horseman of the Plains” (Tom Mix), Fox Films. October 30 and 31.—“ The Cloud Dodger” (Al Wilson), Universal Films. # • # • “ON ZE BOULEVARD.” Imagine a handsome but absent-mind-ed young waiter with an ambition to “do” the boulevards like a gentleman, a cafe cashier who loves him and who will not permit him to throw away his money when he wins the Grand Lottery and a beautiful Parisian actress out of a job and her friend the scheming Count De Guisae, the pair bent on winning the waiter’s fortune—and what a comedy there is! This is the story of “On Ze Boulevard,” as Metro-Goydwyn-Mayer picture with Renee Adoree, as Musette, tho irresistible little cashier, Lew Cody as Gaston Pasqual, Roy D’Arcy as the Count and Dorothy Sebastion as Gaby De Silva. * • # . • “AFTER MIDNIGHT.” “After Midnight,” Norma Shearer’s new starring vehicle for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, is an intensely human story, founded on fact. Miss Shearer has a wonderful opportunity again to prove herself a versatile actress in the role of a cigarette girl in a cabaret, while Gwen Lee, as her irresponsible sister, has the most important role of her motion picture career. Lawrence Gray plays the leading male role. # # # # “DON’T MARRY.” A good, wholesome, old heart-stirring love story is contained in “Don’t Marry,” a Fox Films production coming to the People’s. It is a story of a modern, jazzy flapper, who, in order to attract a rather puritanical young millionaire, gets herself up as an old-fashioned girl of the prunes and prisms school. Lois Moran and Neil Hamilton play the leads in this gay comedy of high life. * • • • "THE OPENING NIGHT.” The action of the story of “The Opening Night,” in which Claire Windsor has the stellar role, requires dock and ship scenes showing the heroine’s husband, a theatrical producer, leaving New York for a business trip to London. The boat is later rammed by a tramp steamer and sinks. Much thrilling action and many touching scenes take piaco aboard the liner. There is the picturesque sailing, With fond “farewells” and “bon voyages,” which always prove fascinating. These are followed by glimpses of life aboard the boat, the heavy fog, the panic which follows the catastrophe, and heroic work of passengers and crew in getting the women and children into tho lifeboats. • » * • “A THIEF IN THE DARK.” Marjorie Beebe, who has risen from minor roles in two-reel comedies to featured paits in less than two years, is said to score a new triumph as the superstitious maid in “A Thief in the Dark,” a Fox Films mystery thriller. The picture deals with a gang of circus sideshow crooks, who “raise” the spirits of the departed and reap a harvest from their credulous victims. Pre-view critics acclaim it as something new in this type of picture, with some unusual angles. All the tricks of mediums and how they arrange their seances are exposed in this production. Miss Beebe furnished most of the laughs with her encounter- with the “ghosts” of an old mansion. George Meeker and Doris Hill have tho featured roles. • * # • CHARLIE CHAPLIN IN “THE CIRCUS” Charles Chaplin’s latest comedy production, "The Circus,” will open a season in the New Plymouth Opera House on Tuesday next. The critics are unanimous in voting “Tho Circus” a vast improvement on “Tho Gold Rush.” It is a pure comedy this, completely innocent of those delicate shades of pathos, which have hitherto been a feature of Charlie’s films. The fact that this picture was made while his ex-wife was instituting proceedings for divorce leads the critics to contend that it was impossible to concentrate on sheer artistry at so critical a time, and thus we have the screen’s famous little corporal in a farce, pure

and simple, but none the less enjoyable for all that. It is a riot of laughs, and Chaplin himself shows up wonderfully in the leading role. "HOT HEELS.” . Patsy Ruth Miller, who appears opposite Glenn Tryon in Universal’s laugh triumph, “Hot Heels,” is a girl of many avocations. Besides her big interest in her screen career Miss Miller thoroughly enjoys many fors of outdoor and indoor sports, and is an omniverous reader. Her favourite sports are swimming, riding and tennis. She spends all her spare time at one of these recreations, at the beach clubs, on the Beverley Hills bridle path or on her own grounds where her many friends gather for tenuis tournaments. For indoor sports Miss Miller prefers dancing. Music is one of her chief diversions, she has a beautiful singing voice and is an accomplished pianist. # * # • "THE HEART OF A NATION.” George Sidney, who plays tho leading role in Universal’s “Heart of a Nation,” has a record which may never bo broken by any other actor. He played the same role in “Busy Lizzy” for fifteen years, from 1901 to 1915. He also played with Douglas Fairbanks and Louise Dresser on the stage before any of them had thought of going into pictures. Others in the cast are Patsy Ruth Miller, George Lewis, John Boles, Eddie Phillips, Beryl Mercer, Albert Gran and many others. Edward Sloman directed. a * * » “FINNEGAN’S BALL.” “Finnegan’s Ball,” which is being released in New Zealand by Universal, is the fourth picture in which Aggie Herring has played the screen mother of Blanche Mehaffey, while Charlie McHugh has been her film father three times. This adoption of the famous stage comedy has this father-mother-daughter combination. Cullen Landis and Mack Swain head its all star cast. James Hogan directed. • » • • “SOMETHING ALWAYS HAPPENS.” Ghosts will strut about the screen at Everybody’s theatre on Thursday next, when Esther Ralston’s latest Paramount starring vehicle, “Something Always Happens,” is presented here for the first time. “Something Always Happens,” is hailed as a mystery comedy, being filled with eerie action, along with an abundance of laughter. The plot centres around a girl seeking adventure, being tired of a cut-and-dried existence in a staid old English household. She enters a deserted, haunted house and from the moment she sets foot in it, things start to happen. Ghosts walk, chairs roll away, doors slam without human assistance, mysterious phosphorescent eyes blink and sinister faces peer at her. Neil Hamilton is Miss Ralston’s leading man in this production, which was directed by Frank Tuttle and supervised by Louis D. Lighten, the combination that is responsible for such Ralston hits as “The Spotlight” and “Love and Learn.” “CAPTAIN SALVATION.” Ernest Torrence, noted character actor, has an important role in “Captain Salvation,” the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture coming to Everybody’s theatre. Torrence plays the rascally captain of a slave ship bound for the salt mines of South America, and gives a vivid portrayal. Lars Hanson and Marceline Day have the leading roles, while the supporting cast includes George Fawcett, Pauline Starke and Flora Finch, in addition to Ernest Torrence. • * * # “FLYING ROMEOS.” If you re not afraid of becoming myssterical from laughter, you shouldn’t under any circumstances miss “Flying Romeos,” the latest First National comedy featuring George Sidney and Charlie Murray. Never have Sydney and Murray been funnier since First National wisely put them together as the screen’s first comedy team. If you can imagine George and Charlie inadvertently becoming aviators when they don’t know, any more about flying than they do about the fourth dimension, starting on an airplane flight to discover that their “pilot” knows less about it than they do and is somewhat off his head in addition, yon have one of the situations—just one of them—which provokes comedy in this hilarious farce. The opening sequences of the picture, too, with George and Charlie as barbers both seeking the hand of the manicurist, is very funny and gets the picture off to a lively start, which continues and builds as the production unreels. • • * * “GOOD TIME CHARLEY” This is a rattling good story of oldtime stage life, with all the credit and discredit thrown in to make it really convincing, Warner Oland gives a very striking portrait of the broken down actor who is hie own enemy, and yet a man who is generally liked for his urbanity and sense of humour. Helen Costello is also very good as the daughther of the actor, being most effective in the dramatic climaxes with which the story abounds. Another excellent performance is that of the Australian actor-dancer, Clyde Cook, as the stage band and side-show proprietor. * * # • "RAMONA.” This is a fine picture-stark tragedy. Its setting is California after its annexation, and shows the way in which the Indians were tortured by the conquerors. The starting point of the story is where the heroine’s Indian lover is shot in cold blood by a white man, and there is a great scene where the whites clean up a village of “Indian vermin” shooting down men, women, and children indiscriminately. Another strong motive in the story is where Ramona’s child dies because the white doctor will not attend Indian people. Indeed, the picture shows the white race up in a most repellant way. But tho acting is very fine, Miss Dolores del Rio as Ramona and Warner Baxter as Alexandre being excellent in their roles. KING’S THEATRE, STRATFORD. To-day, Saturday, only.—“ The Barrier.” Monday.—“ Corporal Kate,” ex-service-men’s benefit. . Tuesday and Wednesday.—“ Woman Wise” (William Russell).

Thursday only.—“ The Chaser” (Harry Langdon). Friday only.—“ Brass Knuckles” (Monte Blue-Betty Bronson). A complete Alaskan village, a duplicate of the little coast town of Flambeau, as described by the noted author, Rex Beach, was erected by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for the filming of his famous novel, “The Barrier/’ coming to the King’s Theatre to-day. The village was built near Balboa, California, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and several hundred actors lived there for a week during the making of outdoor scenes. The principal characters are portrayed by Norman Kerry, as the young army officer, Lionel Barrymore, as the inhumanly brutal skipper, Mercilen Day, as the beautiful half-caste, and H. B. Walthall. # • # # William Russell, one of the most popular leading men in the motion picture industry, again makes his appearance in a Fox Films production, “Woman Wise,” which begins a two-day run at the King’s Theatre on Tuesday. This is a sparkling comedy-drama of Persia, in which June Collyer has the leading feminine role. Walter Pidgeon is also featured. The supporting cast includes Duke Kahanamoku, Raoul Paoli, Ernie Shields and Theodore Kosloff. The production was directed by Albert Ray. * • « • “The Chaser,” starring Harry Langdon, is the story of a man, a wife, a mother-in-law with one of those you-can’t-insult-me dispositions, and a bevy of beautiful girls. The story revolves round the adventures and difficulties of a husband who is almost “kissless.” Osculatory starvation, a theory of handling husbands evolved by a stern mother-in-law seems to work for a

time; but when finally Harry does embark on a kissing campaign, what happens is a positive panic. “Brass Knuckles” comes to the King’* Theatre next Friday only. It is a Warner Master Picture, and Monte Blue and Betty Bronson ar© starred. Th© story and scenario were written by Harvey Gates, and Lloyd Bacon directed. Scenes in prison, in the tenements, th© courts, and the homes of the poor of a great city, provide locale for “Brass Knuckles.” The story is of a tenement lad, who is wrongfully imprisoned, and while in gaol incurs tho hatred of a fellow-inmate, who hounds his after-life, trying to separate him from the motherless waif for whom he is caring. Hard-fisted, tender, humorous, pathetic, running the whole gamut of human passions, "Brass Knuckles - is a story hard to forget.