A ROMANTIC STORY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 661, 14 January 1933, Page 25 (Supplement)

A ROMANTIC STORY.

“ The Faithful Heart ” Heads , Civic Programme.

“ The Faithful Heart,” Monckton Hoffe’s celebrated play, which has been translated to the talking screen by Victor Saville for Gainsborough, is now showing at the Civic Theatre. The principals of an unusually well chosen cast are the British ideal screen lovers, Edna Best and Herbert Marshall. The former needs no introduction to picture-goers, for she is well remembered for her sterling work in “ Loose Ends,” when she played opposite Owen Nares. It is said that as “ Blackie,” one of the finest characters ever seen on stage or screen, she excels her previous performance. Herbert Marshall, her husband, will be seen for the first time, but it is hoped, not for the last. Australian audiences have meted out exceptional praise to him for his sincere convincing portrayal of Waverley Ango, the ship’s officer who loves and forgets—only to be reminded of his early romance twenty years later when it alters the course of his destiny. Athole Stewart, last seen in “ Canaries Sometimes Sing,” has a prominent role, while Anne Grey, a brunette, presents an excellent characterisation of Anyo’s wealthy fiancee, and is a sharp contrast to the petite blonde, Edna Best. Victor Saville, the director of “ Sunshine Susie,” th * s romantic play the sympathetic treatment it requires to bring under lying sentiment naturally without straining for effect. The tang of the sea is felt in the earlier sequences with a musical background of sea chanties clearly and effectively rendered. Supporting the main feature are several short subjects, varied and interesting These include “ More Ghost Strains, something unique in a pot pourri presentation, “ Thermal Regions,” glimpses of Rotorua, and “ Stone Age Men of Australia,” the aborigines. Box plans are now open at the Civic, where seats may be reserved at no extra