AMUSEMENTS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18372, 4 May 1925, Page 7

AMUSEMENTS.

PICTUEE HOUSES. GREATER CRYSTAL PALACE. IJONEL BARRYMORE IN "I AM THE THE MAN." CEORGE BEBAN IN "THE SIGN OF THE •'I tm the Man," which heads the new programme at Greater Crystal Palace for this week, commencing to-day, offers Lionel Barrymore in one of the greatest acting parts of his career, and he is said ' to take full advantage of the opportunity. Lionel Barrymore has long been considered one of the best actors, not only of the screen but of the stage as well, and he proves his right to the title of "America's 1 greatest actor" by his work in "I am the Man." A strong supporting cast helps to make this production one of the most interesting pictures seen in some time, and it has proven one of the year's most successful photoplays. Among those who do excellent work are Seena Owen, Gaston Glass, yiora Le Breton, Martin Faust, and Joe Striker. "I am the Man" is a story of a ' strong man who has always been able to jratify his every wish, and who took what he wsnted. A power in finance and politics, bis every wish is law, and it is only when he falls in love with a woman who does not reciprocate his affection that he learns (list thero are some things that money' and power cannot buy. How he work's out the rreatest problem of his life makes a most iitresting picture. It is hoped that the Chadwick Picture Corporation, who made "I am the Man," will continue to make .. jnch worthwhile productions. An event of first magnitude in this year's icreen programme is George Beban in "The Sign of the Rose," the second big picture en the new programme. Known wherever notion pictures are known and popular in every city and town in which he has appeared on the stage, George Beban has a following eager to greet him and enjoy the »rt he brings to the culminating achievement of an active career in. "The Sign of the Rose." Unlike some popular stars, he has not exhausted that popularity in a aeries of pictures hurriedly produced and ' rapidly released one after the other. Beban his been content to appear at long, intervals, and from each production ho has acquired valuable information all pointing toward what the public really wants. Painstakingly he built the story of his latest production,, basing it on the stage success that brought him fame. Always he had dreamed of screening "The Sign of the Rose,", and always he refused to do it until ho could ■' produce it under the # most favourable auspices. At last that time came, and in bis new picture George Beban proves that the chance was worth waiting for, .Jack Dempscy, world's heavy-weight champion, and latest picture star, says that 'fighting before the camera is even Iharder work than in the prizo-rinc. His battles, staged in the new series, "Fight and Win," now playing at the Greater Crystal Palace, ba says, cost him more effort than knocking out an opponent. "I suppose because • I,know the camera was on me I hit harder and, worked faster," he explains. His op- . ponents testify to his natural method of fight-ing—-none lasted longer than three rounds, A notable cast supports Dempsey, the most prominent being: Hnyden Stevenson, who , played the fight manager in "The Leather Pushers," Esther Ralston, Carmelita Gereghty, and Chuck Reisner. v In- support of the two main films there is a very funny Century comedy and the latest International News film.

Incidental to and in conjunction with the screening of the various motion pictures the world-famous Symphony Orchestra, under the distinguished conductorship of Mr Alfred J. Bunz, will present a magnificent musical programme which includes the following classical and popular numbers: Overture, "Morning, Noon and Night" (Suppe) ; "Symphony in ' E Flat" (Mozart); "Samson et Delila" (Saint Siens); "0 For the Wings of a 4 Dove" (Mendelssohn); "Nazareth" (Gou- , »od); "Florentine" (Godard)f "Two Irish It jTone Sketches" (O'Donnell);; "Le Reveil £ * £pes rieurs" (Flament); "All Alone " * Mpßeilin); "It Ain't Gonna Rain" (Hall). jSfeJThe box plan is at The Bristol, or seats 4 ~ 'By be reserved by telephoning Greater tirystnl Palace, No. 3758, 1 •<' GRAND THEATRE. I "MANHATTAN" WITH RICHARD DIX. jpAROLD BECK'S STRING QUARTETTE. ' & There is no disappointment in the new - at the' Grand Theatre; it is a blend "romance and robust adventure, and it is guaranteed to • told two and a half-hours' .enjoyment for anyone, young or old,- The. pictures are ■worth going a long way to see, 'and the music played by Harold Beck's famous string quartette is a delight. Paramount's greatest special production, "Manhattan," featuring the manly Richard Dix, heads the bill, and there are excellent supporting films. "The story of a rich young man in search fit a thrill." -'That* is ."Manhattan" ,in -a Butshell, and • when . one says that the. pic'tore has been produced by the notable Paramount Corporation on a.scale that is nothing if not lavish, it can be imagined, that the "rich young man'a search" is something worth seeing. 'Teter Minuit is the idler who longs for adventure. A newspaper headline, telling of .a gang fight-outside of Bud McGinnis's pool-room in Hell's Kitchen, arouses Peter's", interest; • In another-column he finds details of the fight "of notorious Gentleman George, a safe-blower sought by ,the police of four States. It dawns on Peter ■that the island of Manhattan is fairly teem',ing w rth adventure and. danger. He arrays himself in an old suit of clothes, and starts v| jcheerfully fbr'Heir* Kitchen, determined' to s, I take a hand in anything that promises exfi) citement. . Rut everything'is strangely still f and, orderly, and' Peter, sadly disappointed, §, ( returns home. Back "in" jiis own library, » Peter ib about "to;-.open his wall-safe,,-when W 1 he hears the sharp command, "Hands .tipl" |v He turns to face an automatic in the hands n' Of a cool young gunman who answers to §v the name of Spike, and belongs to Bud Mc9. Ginnis's gang. Minuit gets a bright idea.- !£. He convinces Spike that he is none other », than Gentleman George, and suggests that wd, they team up. Spike agrees, and takes him m, back to Hell's Kitchen. Here Peter meets K 'Mary, Spike's sister. It is a case of love ft 'i at first sight with both of them, and shortly W r Wterwards Mary promises to marry him. %-,l Bud McGinnis, the sinister czar of Hell's & 'Kitchen, claims Mary for his own, and ff j -threatens Peter with death unless he clears §T' i*ttt. Peter decides to prepare to "give Mc--3& - i Ginnis the beating of his life. With the Sal - 'toughest heavy-weight boxer and the best W J """handler he can'find, he begins training for : Is ,y§ rongh-and-tumble fight. Peter % persuades: Mary and Spike to leave the old life, and it go with him. He takes Mary to his palatial jL Fifth Avenue home, but Spike is caught ] fj? by McGinnis's gang arid forced to reveal if , his sister's whereabouts. Bud orders his ft"*, gunmen to shoot the young millionaire on jfc, U «teht. Learning, of this, Mary slips away ST %' f*>m the Minuit marision and returns to W % 'Hell's Kitchen. Peter follows *s quickly as W,4l J>e can, catches the gang chief in- his own SM»: den, and gives him a • terrible trimming. A §ffi hnllet from one of McGinnis's own gunmen, BTB- who harbours an old grudge, removes the m* McGinnis menace for ever. Peter takes Ilk Mary home to his Fifth Avenue mansion to ll&S latin life: all over again. Richard pis plays iglS-ihe part of Peter Minuit and ,Jackueline lipStiosan that of Mary, arid they are supported S&tifa' a strong cast. .... *• 1 ffig£s»' Few people ever realise that the emotional IgllMactions of a father are just «s strong and Jlllsvrid as those of a mother; that the tie «ra<tat, binds a mother to her boy « no whit 'iiPfoonger than the bond of sympathy between iliiL'ither and son. The only difference, is that 'IHI™» father represses and conceals his emo«tfW» and does not let them come to the surXHSb, Bat he feels them just as tensely. ! §g§l"*M his degree of suffering in case 01 tPiSjrottble or misfortune to his boy is just as J&fSawn. f'Por You, My Boy," the second Stj'iOfcature, is. the story of a father's sacrifice ®*3lt"W4 the dire consequences that followed an which he at the time thought was for best interests of his motherless babe. P?l--Jndnded in the cast are Louis Dean, Jean Matty Roubert, Ben Lewm, Schuyler &ffii "White, Gladys Grainger, Franklin Hanna, and Hinchner. ■ „ _ ~ ife*?' Mm Grand Orchestra, under Mr f, jiftjßeck, provides a programme of delightful fe". -incidental music including the following:— fe. 'f Strjng quartet, No. 6, Op. 18 (Beethoven); fe; trio for violin, viola, and pianoforte i, > -(Moxart), (Miss Florence Miller, Miss Adonia. K\\ Aitken, and Mr Joseph Mercer); entr acte, lA> '"'Berceuse from Jocelyn" (Godard); mis!K «Haneous, "Cantique de Ste. Cecile. h -'■ (Ernest Chausson) (first performance in %\ ;Ohristehurch), "Manon" (Puccini), Gypsy y? .love" (Lehar). ,

EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. TWO "GREAT" ATTRACTIONS. "SINNERS IN HEAVEN." "FRIVOLOUS SAL." An unforgettable story, pl UB flawless acting and admirable direction, combine to make "Sinners in Heaven" one of the high-lights among the season's current films. This Paramount picture will make its debut at Everybody's Theatre to-day, at the matinee, and will be continued throughout the -week. The story, an adaptation by James Creelman of the prize-winning novel of the same name by Clive Arden, deals with Barbara Stockley (played by Bebe Daniels) and Alan Croft (portraved by Richard Dix). These two. one a "straightlaced little English girl, the other a daredevil British aviator, are the sole survivors of an lil-fated hydroplane expedition. Cast away on a desert island, they not only have to fight for life against Nature and native savages, but against their own conflicting emotions. It is a strange, tense, dramatic struggle (hat takes place in that tropical island, away from civilisation—the heart-stirring conflict between love and convention. Love wins, and the resulting complications provide some startling surprises. Secnically and photographically, the picture is "a thing of beauty." A thrilling story of a pioneer mining town of the West, in which a girl and a small boy help a man find himself, is the basis of J. K. McDonald's latest First National Photoplay, "Frivolous Sal," which is the supporting feature on the programme. The cast includes Eugene O'Brien, Mae Bnsch. Ben Alexander, Mildred Harris, Mitchell Lewis, and Tom Santschi. "Frivolous Sal" has a scenic background the like of which lias rarely been seen on the screen in a dramatic production. Rainier National Park, in North-Western Washington, and the great mining region of Idaho's Coeur d'Alene, were chosen as locations. Except for a few excursions of scenic photographers, no riot ionpicture camera has ever before recorded the majestic beauty of Mount Rainier. Some of the story's most important action takes place in a huge cavern which a stream of melting ice has carved out* under the famous Nisqually Glacier, near the top of Mount Rainier. Amid- these marvels of Nature the tensely dramatic love story of "Frivolous Sal," beautiful girl of the pioneer mining camps, and her sweetheart, a stranded actor, has been filmed. There is thrilling action from the start, with a climax in which two men battle for the love of a girl while suspended from a wire tramway over a deadly gorge.

A iragnifi'ent musical programme will be given by Everybody's "Select" Orchestra, under the couductorßhip of Mr W. J. Belhngham, F.S.M. Chief among the items are the following:—Overture, "The Gladiator" (Sousa); suite, "Woodland Sketches" (MacDowell); rhapsody, "Hungarian (No. 1)" (Liszt); opera, "Tannhauser" (Wagner); entr'acte, "Romance" (Gershwin); songs, "Chanson Indoue" (Riinsky-Korsakov), "A Lover in Damascus" (Woodford-Finden); fox-trots, "Monavanna" (Fisher), "Rock-a-bye Baby Days" (Silver',. Reserved Beats, as usual, may be booked either at The Bristol or by telephoning number 4925. STRAND THEATRE. BUCK JONES IN "THE- CIRCUS COWBOY." "BUTTERFLY." Big houses at all sessions on Saturday were enthusiastic about the new bill at the Strand Theatre. Buck Jones is starred in "The Circus .Cowboy." The story is that of a cowboy who, accused wrongly of shooting a man, flees from a posse bent on killing him. He out-rides, out-wits, and out-dares his pursuers. By a pre-arranged plan, he joins a circus in which a little girl friend, a tight-rope walker, appears. He is discovered through tho trickery of an animaltrainer who loved the girl. To reveal the rest of' the story would be unfair, but suffice it to say that the whole picture is thrilling, full of actioD and tense moments. One scene where Jones crosses" a canyon on a rope which is severed by a rifle shot makes one grasp the arms of one's seat. • Marian Nixon, the girl, is as sweet as ever, and proves very attractive in her part. The second attraction, "Butterfly," stars Laura La Plante, Norman Kerry, Kenneth Harlan, Ruth Clifford, and Caesare Gravina. Butterfly and Hilary Collier, orphaned sisters, live .in a small eastern town. The younger Butterfly is a selflsji but lovable youngster studying the violin. Hilary, also a beautiful and talented girl, is saving from her earnings as secretary to Craig Spaulding, head of a big business, to take Butterfly abroad to continue her musical education. Hilary is in love with Craig. He apparently returns her affections, until Butterfly cuts in. She falls violently in love with Craig, and pleads with Hilary to give him up. Craig arid Butterfly are married. Once in their palatial . New-. home, Butterfly leads" a fast life, neglecting" her violin. Kdnrad Kronski, noted violinist and friend of the Colliers, agrees 1 to accept her as a pupil, an- agreement forgotten by Butterfly since her marriage. Hilary goes to New York and induces Butterfly to take up her violin again, which she does in mock seriousness. Kronski appears at a Spaulding party and hears Dora play jazz selections. Butterfly Bees a new heart to capture. She breaks down and tells Hilary that she is in love with Kronski. Hilary is astounded, and finally declares that she herself is in love' with the violinist. Dramatic occurrences follow each other to a startling but happy ending. The supports include "Wolves of the North," starring Wm. Duncan (Ep. 2), an Al St, John comedy, and a News film.

QUEEN'S THEATRE. TO-DAY'S CHANGE. "THE CYCLONE RIDER." The progri'mmo. selected for. screening at the Queen's Theatre this week is one that should meet with the approval of all. All the world is seeking thrills, and no one knows it "better than Lincoln J. Carter, author of "The Cyclone Rider,", which will be the outstanding feature. This author has been writing stage plays for a great many years, so many that his name was a household word >when the moving picture industry was in its infancy. Some time ago he was induced to join the Fox staff. That his genius for turning out scenarios is every bit as great as his genius for was proved in the success of his first two screen entertainments. "The Fast Mail" and "The Eleventh Hour." "The Cyclone Rider" is claimed to be far greater than its predecessors, and a great deal of romance and humour -which they lacked. It was directed by Thomas Buckingham, who has always excelled in productions of this type, and it features, in the title role, a young man named Reed Howes, who was specially selected for his acting ability as well as the many hair-raising situations Vfi .performs. As;»James Kent, a: young engineer, he has many chances to do breath-taking stunts on swinging cables, and on steel construction poised hundreds of fee"t in the air, the reason of most of the heroism being a girl named Doris Howard, played by Alma Bennett. The big scene, and the biggest thrill of the picture, comes in the automobile race which he enters, hoping to win five thousand pounds. Doris s father has decreed that he shall earn this amount before he can win the girl, which makes plausible the death-defying chances he takes to cross the line first. And then, with the race practically won, a child wanders out across the track, and he is obliged to wreck his machine to save her. This gives an opportunity for the picture ±0 run on into even more thrills. After this, everything moves at a rapid pace. Even the wedding at the finish is not an ordinary wedding in any sense. The hero arrives, through the window, swinging on a steel derrick beam, in time to prevent Doris from marrying a blackguard, and then, since the minister was there and everything ready, he marries her himself In addition to this great picture, tihere will be a splendid and well-varied supporting programme, including comedies, educational and topical subjects. Incidental music will be plaved by the Queen's Orchestra, under the direction of Mr H. BUwood.