AMUSEMENTS.

Timaru Herald, Issue 170307, 31 August 1920, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS.

THE GRAND. The' accommodation at the Grand was wok taxea last nigat, a'lia t'.ie programme i'ul.y warranted it. The Cooperative Heely, tiie opening number, ■ is a collection of vary interesting events lyom all parts, '"liieir-Jf'jrst Love" .is the tide of a side-splitting eomedv, wJnle "On the iiea-iftiful Wangianui River" reveais the glories of the~northeru river. The pb.otogrsi.hy is exceptionally lino and tiie picture does tne subject justice. The main utractiou, no doubt, was the Sokniek star, "The liroken Melody," featuring Eugene O'Bii-jn. a feature of the story is its simplicity of plot. A young artist,' a girl smger, and an old 'cello player v.iio in ids day had reached great fame, are intimate neighbours in Greenwich. Village, the Latin quarter of New York. The young couple, very much in love, plan to get married, but their mutual iriend discourages the idea in the belief that such a union would imperil their respective careers. His opportunity comes when a. wealthy lady wiiosa portrait the artist has painted offers hint a chance to go abroad and study in Paris. The old man urges acceptance of the opportunity and persuades the girl not to stand in the way of her lover's advancement. So the lovers part, the old man having little suspicion of the sacrifice the girl is' making. Years pass, the artist wins fame in Paris, and the girl wins laurels before the. footlights. Their thomghts are still of each other, and ultimately they are happily married. That is the story very briefly told, but each of the central figures has to undergo many adventures, trials and anxieties before the culminating scene. There is l , too, a rich atmosphere of Bohemia, in the scenes of merry, mirthful life in Greenwich Vil- : lag©, besides graphic bird's eye views of seductive Paris and scintillating night scenes of glittering Broadway. i Added to the excellence of the picture is a rare programme of musical gems by Miss Capstiek's orchestra, making- : the entire entertainment a most enjoy- | able one. i a FULLERS' PICTURES. An all-star programme was screened at the Theatre Royal last night. It comprised a qua. ..-octe of pictures, and each in itself was worth the price of admission. "Man .and Beast" was the ' somewhat -unusual title of what waa classed as the leading picture, and. a remarkably good one it was. The plot is laid in the wilds of South Africa, and , while the wild animals which are shown ' are infinitely superior to a circus menagerie, the encounters which human beings have with them provide thrills sufficient to last a lifetime. Briefly stated, the story runs that Carl von Haagen, «. Boer settler, has a deep hatred for Harry Townsend, a pioneer African settler. T 0 gritify this hatred he destroys the sheep sinings common to both neighbours and allows the water to run to waste. Von Haagen has a pretty daughter called Gretel, and he forbids her to see. the Townsends. She and being afraid of her brutal father, is "sweet" on Ned Townsend, however,, she escapes from her home with the aid j of a. well-trained elephant, and marries! Ned. When Eitel. her brother, lea.rns I of her flight he goes in search of Ned ■with his gun, intending to shoot him. Eitel, however, is caught by 'a lion, and Ned saves his life by siic-otiug the beast. Finally happiness comes to the Townsend family, wliilu von Haagen sits alone in his home and broods. A number of interesting events occur, in one of which little Bobby (the infant son of Ned and Gretel) follows a monkey to the jungle. An elephant finds them and brings Bobby back to Ms home. Finally von Haagen is reconciled, and goes to see his little grandson. A rollicking comedy was seen m "Why Go Home," th e curious situations evoking roars of loughter. Then there was a very fine Topical Budget embracing a wide range of sub- , jects, and another most interesting film I was one entitled "Fighting Ice in the Baltic." TEMTJEA PICTURES. Marguerite Clark has a- role ideally suited to her style in "Come Out of the Kitchen," to be screened at Ternuka this evening. She is seen as an aristocratic Virginian girl who finds it necessary to assume the role of a cook; and although her accomplishments in this line are nil, she manages to- win the love of ai rich Northerner. Happy situations punctuate the dramatic action of the story. The feature has well-bal-