ROYAL ALBERT HALL.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVIII, Issue 1057, 9 June 1910, Page 16

ROYAL ALBERT HALL.

WEST’S PICTURES. An excellent picture programme is being presented at the Royal Albert Hall this week, where West’s Pictures, under the direction of MrHenry Hayward, are affording much pleasant and enjoyable entertainment for young and old alike. In the scenic line some very fine views of the Rhine and of a trip through Norway are being shown, with coloured cinematograph films of Old Delhi and its ruins, the latter being one of the best of the Pathe coloured pictures we have seen to date. A very interesting and instructive series is that illustrating the manufacture of steel in one of the great French ironworks, every detail of the manufacture being shown. In the dramatic line the mythological drama, “ Phaedra,” one of the latest of Pathe Freres’ coloured masterpieces, presents a pathetically interesting story of the days of the old Roman Empire, which holds the audience as by a spell, the tragic death of Hippolyte and his stepmother being very vividly enacted. Another dramatic story that appeals to the evident sympathy of the audience is that of “ Davy Craggs, the Detective,” which, despite certain incongruous and highly improbable actions on the part of the principals in the drama, is well conceived and acted- A more thrilling story is that of “ The New Marshal of Gila Creek,” depicting the doings of certain desperadoes in the “Wild West” of America and the triumphant vindication of the hero of the play. “ The Picture Puzzle” presents one of the finest of “ trick” pictures that have yet come under our notice. Very cleverly worked, it presents an ingenuity of idea and conception that is as surprising as it is unlocked for and unexpected. The strongest point of the picture programme, however, remains to be stated. That is found in the “ comics,” which are as novel as they are clever and laughable. “ The Cinematograph Theatre” presents a comedy that is infinitely diverting. The pictures show the audience assembling in the theatre and the emotions raised by the picture display; a dramatic scene, in which there is a double murder and suicide, evoking expressions of vivid fear, horror and disgust; a comic sketch of unbounded

merriment and a storm at sea sending the audience in a body from the theatre, all displaying signs of severe mal-de-mer. “ The Fearless Sportsman” is another very funny series, .the hardy,:huntsman who has, apparently, been bragging of his prowess to some waggish friends being badly made the victim of a practical joke, bis friends fixing a leopard’s skin around a big retriever dog and sending the latter in search of his master, the aforesaid sportsman. “How They Got Married” and “ The Wrong Man” are also real side-splitters, and evoke any amount of merriment. As usual, good houses have been the rule through the week. The usual change of programme is to be made on Saturday.