GENERAL FILM GOSSIP.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18009, 20 November 1926, Page 24

GENERAL FILM GOSSIP.

ANSWERS. TO conUESroXDEXTS. K.K. —Douglas JlarNraii, Lasky Studios, Hollywood, California. B.K.— Have given ui» supplying .cnsts, but. will be pleased to supply t liename of any partieular part of the oast that you require. So far no arnirigormnts have been made with respect to a re-sereenihr- of the film. Gym.—The following are the dates Riven in the published records:—Ruth Clifford, February 17, 1900; Mary Brian. 190 S: Corinne Griffith. 1901: William Jlaines. January 1. 1900: Xeil Hamilton. September,. 1.599: James Kirkwood. ISS:J: Dorothy Mat-Kail, 1909; Frank Mayo. 1-886; May M’Avoy, 1901: .lack Mulhall, October 7. 1891; Conrad Nagel, 1.596: Eugene O’Brien, 1S 81 : Mary Philbin, June 14. 190:*.; .Ruth Roland, 189?,; Lewis Stone, 1579; Gloria Swanson, March 27, IS9X. Xo pa.rt iculars are Riven with respect to Alma Rubens and George Lewis. Y.Tt.—The late Rudolph Valentino married Jean Acker on November la, 1919. Was - divorced on .M-.irt-h 9, 19 22. and on May 11 of.that year lie married Winifred Iludnet (professionally known as Xatacba. Jlambova) at Mexicali, Lower California. The niarriiigc was. proclaimed illegal, owing to having -been contracted before the divorce had be. n made absolute, and Valentino was arrested on a charge of bigamy, which, however,, was ’dismissed'. Valentino and Miss Iludnet separated and were re-married at Chicago on March 14. 1922. "The Four Horsemen" (Metro) was made before - The Slieik" (Paramount). f-S?i rSS&. 1 r .-an'nol* "find . in- which “A Society Sensation” was produced; but it was in the 1919-20 season, according t.o my records. So far as 1 can ascertain Valentino’s visit to England, some months ago, was his first appearance in that country. r have written to Mr L. Quinn, New Zealand manager of l-nited Artists, fpr the information sought with respect, to “A Son of the Sheik.’’ Owing to the wide and comprehensive popularity of “The Son of the Sheik." which lias beert at the Grand Theatre all this week, this picture will be continued all next week. It has fully deserved all the enthusiastic praise that has been showefed upon it. j

Patrons have recognised it for what it is, a glowing romance, a fighting, reckless, drama, a thriling story of desert love and the hot tribesmen of the great Sahara.' Valentino surpasses himself in this picture, playing with an abandon and valour that arc an artistic delight. Yilma Banky is leading lady, and Agnes Ayres, who was the heroine of "The Sheik," appears in a few scenes. The chief attraction at the Crystal Palace Theatre next week will be "Volcano.” a forceftil drama adapted from the famous French stage play, “Martinique.” The story deals with a phase of West-Indian life that requires some delicacy of treatment, although, to be

in any way effective it must be handled in a masterly manner. It is thus with "Volcano.” ' Those who like beauty, comedy, thrills, romance and just a hint of tragedy, will appreciate this picture. It follows the life and romance, on the island ol Martinique, of a French girl, whose brilliant career is rudely shattered when she is told, she is a quadroon. She, is cast off by her aristocratic relations,, and falls into the . evil clutches of Qucmbo, the lord of the island, and, as it happens, hirhsell’ a quadroon. Mt. Pelee, one of the greatest volcanoes in the world, sud- j denly wakes up, and in a terrific crop-1

tion. almost destroys the island. In the disaster the girl and her lover are re-united, and it is proved that she is what she always believed, of purest French blood. Bebe Daniels and Ricardo Cortez play the leading roles, with Arthur Edmund C’arew and Wallace Beery heading the supporting cast. A fiery drama of conflicting emotions is "The Girl From Montmartre,” one of the attractions at Everybody’s Theatre next week. Playing the title role is Barbara La Marr, one of the most exotic women on the screen, and she instils into her art a quality of colourful abandon that is distinctly European. The story is vastly entertaining, and neither the director nor the artists have been afraid to let themselves go, with the result that the story has a piquant relish that is in excellent harmony with Mi§s La Marr’s vivid personality. Opening in'the Balearic Isles, the picture is one of great natural beauty, a beauty which helps to preserve the French and Spanish atmosphere. Lewis Stone heads the supporting cast, and gives his usual delightful delineation. A snappy, fast-moving picture is “Dance Madness," the Metro-Goldwyn film to be shown at the Liberty Theatre next week. It is sparkling comedydrama of a dance mad world, treated with surprising originality, and full of an airv humour and pleasantly sophisticated warmth that breathes "Paris” unmistakably. It has all the brilliance of a gorgeous revue, besides a clever and cohesive story, and with lovely Claire Windsor in the leading role and Conrad Nagel playing opposite her, patrons can be assured of a particularly delightful piece of screen art. If- it is light and frothy on top, there is something decidedly solid at the bottom, for some moral must be pointed out if a young husband and wife get'bitten 'with the jazz virus and dance their way into marriage and out. Everything ends joyously, of course, and plenty of laughs and a few Parisian thrills garnish the charming little romance. The supporting cast is unusually strong. "A Boy of Flanders,” adapted from

Ouida’s well-known story, will be shown at the Queen’s Theatre next week, with Jackie Coogan in the title role. This is a charming romance of the mediaeval Netherlands, with a very realistic atmosphere of old Holland. It is a moving story, and the picture has retained all Ouida’s power and poignant drama, besides her light and graceful wit. In wooden shoes, baggy trousers and pointed cap, Jackie Coogan is a typical young Dutchman, who, besides looking the part, also plays the part. A marvellous dog in Teddy, a Great Dane, enacts the sagacious Petrasche of the story, and must assuredly win all hearts by his intelligence and gentleness. “The .Transcontinental Limited,” a

Universal release, is the first feature of the current programme at the Strand Theatre. It is the story of the romance of a train and the important part it can assume in the lives of human bcings. It proves how much romance an inanimate object can create, and, as it dashes through space, it assumes the importance of the part it performs in the unfolding of its plot. Johnnie Walker is his usual breezy and romantic sell in the role of a soldier. Eugenia Gilbert is most charming as the heroine. The supporting film, "The Last Man on Earth,” is a Fox production. It, tells of the adventures of one man

among millions of women, after all others of the male sex had been swept away by a strange disease. Earle Foxe lias the role of the last man. Doming to this city soon is "The Blind Goddess,” a Paramount production. with almost an all-star cast. The Blind. Goddess, of course, is Justice, and - this engrossing drama is based upon the law that every man is innocent until proved guilty. It brings to the screen a heart-gripping, human story, xn which love and dutv, romance and 4i murder mysterv are some of the complex elements.' The tangle is skilfully, even brilliantly, unravelled in j t he end, and one of the finest pictures i of the year comes to a happy conclus- j

ion. Esther Ralston, Louise Dresser, Jack Holt and Ernest Torrence are | some of the star players. Mary Roberts Rhinehart’s famous I mystery comedy-drama. "The Bat” will shortly be seen in Christchurch at J the Grand Theatre. This well-known • play is one of the best-known and most j popular dramas of the stage, nothing : approaching its depth and brilliance of mystery ever having been written beforehand, what is unusual in mystery | plays, it is broad comedy and not • tragedy. It is an eerie succession of the most curdling shivers and thrills, a riot ol shivering merriment. The story concerns the burgling operations of a man on Long Island with a bat as

I his trademark, and known, con«equently. as “ The Bat." It is a cleverly i executed picture, and admirable act- ; crl. j Anita Stewart, one of the most popnI lar of screen actresses, has the leading j role in " Whispering Wires." the sensa j tional mysterv drama which has lust jgone into production at the Fox studios. Big Bear Lake, a famous tourist resort m Northern California, provides a beautiful scenic background for manv ot the scenes in " The Man in the Saddle. " Hoot Gibson's latent Western attraction for Universal.