"THE AMATEUR GENTLEMAN."

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18888, 31 December 1926, Page 19

"THE AMATEUR GENTLEMAN."

A ROMANCE OF THE REGENCY,

EVERYBODY'S, MONDAY

Perhaps there is no period of English history as fascinating and romantic as tho Regency. It was a time of worldly pleasure's and daring intrigue, when great ladies vied with each 'other for social leadership and dabbled in diplomatic affairs with great eclat, and every young gentleman was a •miniature Beau Brummel and the Beau himself quite the greatest exquisite who ever strut tod down the Strand or lolled about fashionable Bath. A brave time, with a lot of heart-ache and misery beneath its brilliant exterior. Perhaps there is no novelist who has more completely captured the elusive spirit of that period than Geoffrey I arnol, whoso story, "The Amateur Gentleman," brought to tho screen, will be presented at Everybody's Theatre next week, when a fragrant, stirring, event Jul page from English history will be whisked back from the past. Farnol delights in portraying pvgnacioua gentlemen, dangerous fellows who whip out a feword under any provocation, but who are all in a quake before a. pair of soft eyes. Thus the Amateur Gentleman is drawn, who breaks into the aelec circle surrounding the fat Regent and •maintains his place there through his introduction of a. new and exquisite cravat. ilie picture is gay with all the gilded display and vain splendour of. that time; it bristles with bold'intrigue in which the famous Lady Holland figures prominently; it is breathless with unadorned drama, particularly when the Gentleman stands shorn of his pseudo feathers and even the exquisite cravat is forgotten; it is tender with the romance of all the ages, and in the end lovo conquers a'l things, even a noble lady who loved the very amateur gentleman. It is a romance, this story, in every sense of the word, showing the influence of all the best fiction upon the author's style, and adhering Well to the old-time type of colourful melodrama. The picture never suffers for action, a vastly exciting steeplechase, a duel with pistols, and plenty of encounters in steel keeping the story at a merry pace, and the bravo attire of the dandies lending the production a brilliant and picturesque effect. There is comedy in the picture, sometimes of a faintly satirical nature, but always amusing, and the rounded phrases and precise diction of the Regency, plentifully interspersed with tha robust which were deemed to be part and parcel of a gentleman's outfit, lend the story a quaintly genuine atmosphere. England was very rugged in the days of Beau Brummel, and one has Mr Bernard Shaw to thank for re-introducing to tho theatre the very effective phraseology of the period. The cast commands considerable interest. In the title role is Bichard Barthelmess, than whom none better could be found for the character of Barnabas Beverly, alias Barty. Once again this actor is a fighting blade, a decidedly comely figure in his fine costumes, and a very perfect, gentle knight withal. The Prince Regent, an ambling, tyrannous fellow, is admirably played by Gino Corrado, and Nigel Barrie, Dorothy Dunbar and Billie Bennett enact roles with pleasing grace and dignity. Tlie second pioture on the pragremme in different in every respect from the premier offering, being Lovey Mary,'' a sequel to, or to be precise, the cousin that charming and philosophical comedy, "Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch." Mrs Wiggs again struts her hour and speaks her lines, with anna akimbo and scathing tongue, but she is a loving soul, and one ignores her incongruities. "Lovey Marv" has that same wistful pathos and whimaical humour as its more famous predecessor, as well as an invigorating speed and action, to which the buoyant personality of William Haines, aa leading man, particularly adapts itself. Bessie Love, petite and appealing, plays the title role, and creates an instant and phenomenal success. Other players in tho cast I are Eileen Percy, Mary Alden, and Russell I Srmpson. The "Select" Orchestra, undoi

the direction of Mr W. J. Beilingham, F.S.M., will play a special orchestral programme, including tho following numbers: Overture, "Martial Moments" (Alford), opera "Rigoletto" (Verdi), song suite, Popular Songs" (Schubert), suite, "Condrillon" (Massenet), symphony, "Surprise" (Haydn), entr'acte, "On the Riviera" (Wilbor), partsong "The • Sno>v'' (arnajed by Lund), se'ection, "On with the Dance" (Finck). The box plans will be at th.', theatre dining I tho holiday season