MODERN GIRL IS THEME OF “JOANNA”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17879, 22 June 1926, Page 9

MODERN GIRL IS THEME OF “JOANNA”

AT EVERYBODY’S. LARGE CAST MAKES ENJOYABLE COMEDY. Are the moral standards of the modern girl as good as those maintained by the girl of yesterday? This is a question often debated, and one which has been answered in a variety of ways. Vigorous denunciations of the present generation make their appearance from time to time, and ahva\*s someone has rallied to the defence. Only recently prominent people at Home have taken up the cudgels on behalf of the modern, and this may be the reaction ,to the extreme viewpoint- which is held by many who have waged their verbal war against the

customs of recent years. The, by now, familiar question is put in rather a different form in the scenario for “Joanna,” the First National picture which heads the programme at Everybody’s Theatre this week. In this instance the query is whether the modern girl will put wealth before everything, and the moral that is drawn is that the purchasing power of money as measured in the terms of human happiness is a doubtful quantity. Scenes of gaiety loom large in the presentation of the story. A girl who is employed in a fashion shop receives a gift amounting to £200.000, and the manner in which she goes about spending it provides some amusing interludes. The central figure is Joanna Manners, a~ model in a big emporium catering for an exclusive class. She intends to marry a young architect, John Wilmore. In mysterious fashion she comes into a fortune. The money is deposited in a bank, and a condition of the gift is. that she shall not inquire as to the identity of the donor. Wilmore urges her to refuse the legacy, but she declines to do this, and a quarrel results. Then Joanna embarks on a career of wild spending in which she is aided by a so-called smart set, of doubtful scruples. Carried away in a whirl of gaiety, she has little thought for the future, and will not listen t.o Wilmore’s counsel. At last, when she comes to the end of her resources, she finds that her companions are very fickle, and that their protestations of friendship count for little. In adversity she has few helpers, but these are genuine. Then the secert of the fortune is revealed; two men had laid a wager as the result of a controversy on the modern girl—and Joanna triumphed. The man who pinned his faith to the modern is instrumental in effecting a reconciliation between the two young people who were estranged bv the bestowal of the fortune on the girl. The picture is remarkable for some wonderful fashion displays, and for the elaborate nature of the settings, particularly those depicting the night club revels. Dorothy Mackaill, who takes the part of Joanna, has a large number of stage and screen successes to her credit. She appeared with Johnny Hines in the “ Torchy ” comedies, and amongst a host of others she played the leading role in “ Mighty Lak’ a Rose.” Jack Mulhall has the principal masculine role, and splendid work is also done by Dolores del Rio and George Fawcett. The supporting programme includes some interesting topical pictures, one of the popular Felix series, and a bright comedy. Selections by the orchestra, under the direction of Mr W. J. Bellingham. have an important part in the success of the entertainment. The programme includes:—Overture, “The Hussars” (Eilenberg); symphony, “Surprise” (Haydn); suite, “Minnehaha” (Coleridgc-Taylor); song suites, “Two Songs” (Rubinstein), “Dream of Egvpt ” (Woodforde-Finden); Slavonic dances, “ Grazioso ” (Dvorak); entr'acte. “ Dinah ” (Ayres) ; and ballet music. “Fete Florentine” (Mignon).