RUDOLPH VALENTINO AT QUEEN’S THEATRE ALL NEXT WEEK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18644, 22 December 1928, Page 17 (Supplement)

RUDOLPH VALENTINO AT QUEEN’S THEATRE ALL NEXT WEEK.

A programme of great interest is being submitted at the Queen’s Theatre next week. Besides the two featurelength films there will be the usual complement of gazettes, comedies and cartoons, all combining to make a great holiday bill. Heading the bill is Rudolph Valentino's greatest picture, “ A Son of the Sheik,” which picture is a sequel to “The Sheik,” the.picture that made him famous. In this film he had the assistance o£ the beautiful and talented Vilma Banky, while Montagu Love plays her villainous father, and George Fawcett, Karl Dane and Agnes Ayres appear with distinction during the course of the picture. The story is surely well known, being a continuation of the romantic story of desert loves and hates, of wrongs committed and avenged, of bold and thrilling encounters, of rescues and the like, a most adventurous and romantic tale. Above all and around all is the very intriguing and glamorous halo of the East, which seems to make all things mysterious and beautiful. The love story which is woven into the fabric of the picture is a typical one, being not at all quiet and untroubled, but fraught with things connected with deserts and sheiks. Rudolph Valentino returned, in this picture, to the role which suited him best. In the picturesque garments of the desert prince, in situations that demand prompt action, whether it concerns women or war, he is intensely vital and attractive. Vilma Banky is undeniably beautiful as the French dancing girl who tours the desert with her crafty father, while the settings are rich and pleasing. “ A Son of the Sheik ” will certainly be as popular during the second season as it was on its first visit to the theatres here. The second big picture is “ A Night of Love,” again with Vilma Banky, but in this picture the fair Hungarian has the support of the English actor. Ronald Colman. This is a picture that is widely different from the first, being artistic romance of the most lofty order. The scenes are set in mediaeval Spain, where a French princess is offered in marriage to a Spanish prince, a brutal, vicious tyrant. Again Montagu Love is seen in this unpleasant, role. Into the lives of these two exalted personages comes Montero, a gypsy outlaw, whose hatred of the Spanish duke w’as engendered seven years before, when that lord had exercised his “ droit du seigneur ” on Montero's wedding day. The gypsy now comes to pay a return visit on the duke’s nuptial day. How these two men, one so powerful and feared, the other hunted and with no power but his dagger and his nimble wits, stalk and play one another forms a most engrossing story. The princess in the background, and the jealousies and intrigues of the duca! court lend colour to the action, and the whole story is brought to an intensely dramatic conclusion, logical but satisfactory to all. “ A Night of Love ” still remains one of the most beautiful and artistic pictures every produced, handling a delicate theme with infinite skill. Vilma Banky and Ronald Colman were never seen to better advantage. Box plans for this excellent programme are open at The Bristol Piano ' ompan/.