AMUSEMENTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11757, 22 July 1916, Page 6

AMUSEMENTS.

QUEEN'S THEATRE. The new programme at • Queen's Theatre oil Monday v.ill be headed by a dramatic picture entitled ' ; Body and > S6ul," featuring i'To renew Rockwell, = Kenneth Hunter, Robert "Whitworth andtother noted picture artists. The Btory deals with a case of loss of memory in a beautiful girl. She wantiers into the woods and is given shelter by a sportsman, who falls in love witlv her. There is trouble- over a strange man, who the girl in her innocence loves, and the sportsman, in a frenzy, marks her with a knife. Afterwards he meets the girl in New York, • and demands that she shall love him, but she kills him in defending herself, and after many trials is inited to the ■' .man- whom she really lcvc£ Theiilm Is said to contain many strong situaand the photography, showing •' scenes in the woods and on tlie sound, gives opportunity for some fine studies. . The cast is throughout strong, and the interest is kept at a" high standard right to the end. The • supporting " programme will include the last "Eclair .journal/' a drama entitled ''A Question of Heirs," and a cartoon, "John , Bull's Sketch Book/' " : T" "CAM." ; • Very many months were occupied in tho making" of the picture which has been called"" Cabiria," after the ine of the siory d'Annunzio contrived. d'Annunzio himself superintended the whole of tlie work. An immense com--1 p.iny of actors whs enrolled and every one "of them had to be specially selected, for everyone had to look the part he had- to play. Then they had to be trained and tancrht. One scene laid in the temple of Moloeli—the hideous god of .Carthage into whose vitals infant children were hurled alive as sacr rifices—could not be photographed for eight months. The actors were all rehedrsed. but thev had to be long-iimr-cd. < Wigs were tried hut they gave ah unreal effect, and the final rcresen- ' tation of the scene was postponed until the actors' hair grew to the proper . Idnrfh. One of* the stupendous foaturc3.;,of the film is the passage of the Alps -.bv the Carthagenian army. The - actors "with their armour, horses aaid elephants, stores and baggage of all - sorts? -were, made to straggle against . the taows and avalanches of the Alps to reproduce this scene. In the course ' o? it••fcrtv-eight were seriously injured. The picture was completed at i\mn, ' in Itelv, and was produced witn wonderful first in Rome and after--j. 2sew York and Paris. The "Slr-i IviU be screened at His Majesty s Theatre on Monday, and the booing is rcpj.-teu to be very big. Ibe plan is at Tiie Bristol.

GRAND THEATRE. \ , Taliaferro, ono of the danti«t and most fascinating stars of tho seroo!:, who .has achieved many stage < , successes in N f York. *ill- appear for the first time in Christ-church at the Grand Theatre on Monday m what is termed a Metro v.onder-play, entitled ;i Hor Great- Price/' A critic reviow- ' . ing this picture statesj-'Jl' ce P^ mt ® stand out prominently in 'Her breatPries ' the unusual beauty and charm of Miss Mabel Taliaferro, who makes her debut as. a picture player, the allround escellenco of tho acting, and tho scenario which is quite a departure from, the ordinary. Tho wuisome charm suid mercurial temperament ot Taliaferro comes to even 111 'jnbst distressing situations ana xrins the immediate sympathy and interest of the audience. Her pathetic love and longing for the beauties and joys her cliildliocd never knew, hci blith© spirit, fine character and courage make her a heroine such as ono would liko to. see oftener. The staging and settings are exceptionally good, * oven for a Metro, which are usually ' par-, excellence.'"'' Among the supporting subjects will bo found an amusing comodv bv the Kalem Company caiied "Ham" takes a Chance/' and the latest number of the '"Topical suclget."

SYDENHAM PICTURES. "CABIBIA.'' Up to the present two oi' the greatest films screened in New Zealand have been ■ "Quo Vadis?" and "Cleopatra." Great things were accomplished in these,, but, ;t is stated that they pale into insignificance beside tho achievements of - the kinema. people in "Cslbiria." Rome, Paris,. New York and London have dedared it the greatest 'picture'play ever produced. Reality and trick effects which the kinematograph makes possible have been blended in the most masterly fashion. An enthralling love story is presented amid scenes ot awful -wonder and dazzling magnificence. An [ army of artists T as occupied for months in its rehearsal and production. Hannibal's passage of tho Alps with the Oafthagenian army was pictured ou the Alps themselves. Hannibal lost thousands of men. Tho kinema army had forty-eight- artists injured m the task of reproducing his mighty achievement, awl this is only one of the incidents in the play. Another incident of the first magnitude is tho • destruction of the Roman fleet by " Archimedes. This was a fact alleged to have Wu accomplished by means oi gigantic burring glasses. To reproduce it a.huge trireme was built for the Itala Company. Tt. was ;v replica oi the hugo naval Dreadnoughts of the Punic wars. The small models were made and photographed- Tlio big tri remc .was destroyed by fire and kine'matographed enlarged films of the small ■ models being superimposed, fo that a wonderfully realistic effect was garnet! of the whole fleet burning. " Cabirir.' ~& P' b* 5 screened at- the Sydenham We&trv Monday.