"THE BAT."

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18889, 3 January 1927, Page 7

"THE BAT."

.SEASON EXTENDED. GRAND THEATRE, TO-DAY. "The Bat," the United Artists production of Mary Roberts Einehart'a famous stage play 0/ the same name, and which attracted enormous audiences to the Grand Theatre last week, is to be continued this week. This picture is an unusual one in every way, not only from the viewpoint o£ actual story-telling interest, but it breaks new fields in the way of production and direction. The result of this combination is a photoplay of exceptional merits and widespread interest. It is in quite recent years that "The Bat" was presented on the stage in Christchurch, so recent that the remembrance of the eerie play cannot possibly have faded from the public memory. But the stage has, necessarily, limitations in the way of production which, no matter how far craftsmanship increases, can never approach, the wide possibilities possessed by the cinema. On the screen action is quickened and intensified, effect is heightened, drama and sensation can bo made mor? realistic and convincing, and in no stage play brought to the screen is this superiority more pronousced than in ''The Bat.". And as tniß is a mystery* drama the opportunities for producing a masterpiece become more numerous and intriguing. Wonderful and mysterious and puzzling as waß "The Bat' on the boards, it is even more so in film edition. A brilliantly-conceived plot in the first instance receives a skilful manipulation by Roland West, the director of many outstanding screen successes. He has -taken the talented authoress's clever story, and while never unnecessarily adding any embellish* ments, he has subtly injected a vigor and spontaneity into the work which, from both the purely artistic viewpoint and that of entertainment, render the picture without a peer in its own particular realm. The Bat" differs fundamentally from all other mystery dramas in that it is a comedydrama throughout. Most mystery plays are sombre and tragic, things that rely solely on their sensational' side to "see them through," bnt with this picture it is happily and most delightfully different. Infectious, swiftly-moving comedy is the order of things, coupled with the most eerie and delicious thrills that have ever been in any one picture. The merits of every other wellknown "thriller" pale into insignificance in comparison with the suspense and excitement of "The Bat." It is an enormous factor, an artistic one withal, of laughter, mystery, and Bensation, at the same time handled with such obvious, gopd taste and discretion that the slapstick element of treatment never appears in its composition for one moment. Some members of the stellar cast aro Emily Fitzroy, Jewel Carmen, Louise Fazend», and Jack Pickford, among whom Miss Fitzroy, in a characterisation of rare comedy, is a large facto* in the enjoyment of this remarkable production. The Grand Quality Orchestra will play an orchestral programme of incidental music. During the' holidays the box plans will be at the Theatre, and patrons are counselled to book their scats.