A RECORD SEASON.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19164, 22 November 1927, Page 15

A RECORD SEASON.

ym HUR" PRODUCTION. A 1! THH GBAND THEATRE. Oil ol the triumphs of motion picture proluin, wd tonsidered by msny to be far npiriorto any picture hitherto shown in CMitehureta, ''Ben Hur" is now in the last iiiil tf its moid run in .Christchurch. Pictin pitrons have not been slow to realise tie worth of the production, and at every •toiriltf during tha long' season here tho ttjttn feai been crowded. Tilli of Mr Lew Wallace's ■ltMrtoekhlf-wpt'ff popular in the EngMipHufororld, while other productions taw fUiW/ieroM the sky of letters and tm Mi ljrtotten. ttt irtrfjlYone of revenge and of love. Snap ttnjiyioiight by Ben Hur for the his noble house by the Mm ''.train the new senator, Valerius Grilui, ii/littj welcomed to Jerusalem, and li It mill iti triumphal way along crowded ilmb, i tile from an overhanging roof falls frafi tie palace of Judah, Prince of Hur, and itriiei bii head. " That the occurrence was Mirtidint ii an explanation which carries m weight with the Romans, and Ben Hur is wt fo the galleys for life, and his mother ill iflter toHha hideous dungeon of Antonia. Ju Her slave* in the awful conditions of the pll»7V bat never forgets his one purpose in He. to avenge the indignity and suffering so MjiitlT done to hit house. At last opporbulb; tomei, and in a chariot race which, as i necticUv.will atand as one of the greatest WTOB picture scenes yet produced, lie gains «ft Mi revenge and victory over the haughty Wntrehi of Rome. '

Th«« ii a prologue to the story proper, m u there is in the book, -wherein the Wrt of the Three Wise Men of the East, •Wr following of the star, and their eventual WW >t the stable in Bethlehem, provide "ft«iceaei and moments of exquisite beauty, ao«M»l, end spiritual force. William »»• famous painting, the "Star of Bethle**Ji his been completely reproduced in WW tad detail for this scene. For some S™> mmm in the picture, scenes in which •FtS?• ' nT ->'b'y figures, the masterpieces «««utn, British, and Flemish masters have «••> fltlUMd, 10 that Da Vinci's gorgeous iff" ,*»»•'." TiH'ot't colourful "Pool of =■?• -Raphael's "Sistine Madonna," iJBWi "Christ Before Pilate," Eubens's ifffY, ,y " ana Dore '« "Dante's In " ™J. ">* the harrowing scene in the galleys w tt» splendid tableaux which give the film SU «* V* ricnness . The artists who ■WW »• roles In "Ben Hur" were recruited j||Jg : we most distinguished ranks. Ramon 'ln" 41 B«Hur is rebellious, bitter, duti"Vwmsntic, an array of varying moods in » Wnniig parionality; Francis X. Bushman J,!*,." * R on»n; Bimonides is perfectZrTlr b 7 m « A de Brulier, Esther wistJWJI Pjen by May McAvoy, Joseph the CarIT'S, "Wrtrsyed with gravity and dignity fLI?! t ' r , H » u . the brilliant actor from while the Mary of Betty BronJ? K* mib«o of quiet effacement and youth2L?Wty. a fine prologue introduces the 7ti.ai?» Tid McQill singing the "Star -JJSPWMB." The Grand Orchestra, 7?»}v'»»l»«nt«d for the season, interprets :J5gJ*V«4»« written for the picture, and iJgyWti "Abide With Me" during the