ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2362, 19 January 1915, Page 9

ENTERTAINMENTS

5 HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. Anyone in search of sensational entertainment this week need go no further than His Majesty's Theatre There Mdme. Sohell, "the smaL'.esfc lady lion-tamer in the world, and her den of African lions," are appearing. The den of lions consists of two fine specimens of the King of Boasts family, and into their oage Mdmo. Scholl enters, and remains some time, meanwhile making the natural enemies of man obey her and do'her bidding. Apparently, ■Mdme. Schell is quite unarmed within the cage. Two very light canes, or switches, she carries, and those she uses to aid her in directing her pots, and occasionally in speeding them up a little. The entry tq the cage is made smartly, •and so is the exit, but there is no undue haste, and ne sign of flurry or feur. It is noticeable that the male lion is more tractable than his mate, and that ho performs hiß tricks more willingly. He seems to rather enjoy being caressed, having his mouth opened, being lain on,' being stood" on, and jumping small hurdles. To several of these things the lioness submits, but with loss good grace. Mdmo. Schell's is a wonderful turn, well worth seeing. A clover, original farce is presented by Wykeham and Preston, two artists whose acting is pleasing indeed. They were, formerly, members of J. C. Williamson's arid Hugh Ward's cqmedy companies. M'Kcnzie and Guest, instrumentalists and vocal entertainers, made their bow to Wellington: and 1 caught on remarkably well with the big audience. Also on the bill are: The Oorrick Family, a concert company in themselves, the' Barclay Sisters, Keen, and Waller, in original and novel eccentricities; Davenport'b Models; and George Whitehead, dramatio vooalist. THE KING'S THEATRE. The feature film in the new proframme introduced at the King's heatre last night is a Domino drama entitled "The Battle of the Sexes," teaching the moral that the law.of. ethics which governs a woman's life necessarily governs a man'B life as well. Frauk Andrews, a successful business man, who has always found happiness in his own home, suddenly finds himself enthralled by the advancos of a gay ypupg woman, who lives in tho same apartment house. This results in his wife nearly losing her mental balance, and the daughter; crazed by the grief of her mother, determines, to bring the affair to an end. With revolver in. hand, she enters the apartments of the yqung woman, but fails to carry out her tsission. The denouement arrives when Andrews finds the sweetheart of the ivoman making love to his daughter. .Ho reforms, and' re-establishes the happy "relations that had previously existed, in his own home, The supporting items op the new bill include an amusing' comedy, "Taken by Storm," by the famous Vitagraph Company. This deal? with the'love'.affairs of an. impetuous mountain ladj who forces his sweetheart to an early marriage, and almost immediately feels that he has been cruel to her. -.'He then 'resolvesnever to see hex again until she.comes to him of "her own accord. This she eventually does, but not until' many .humorous situations, have arisen,. Ail? other good comedy is the Edison Company's "Absentminded Cupid," which tells how a girl clerk in a book store was loved by two of the p|bcr clerks, Ernest and George, of the jealous rivalry that existed between tho two mqn, and what came of it a 1).,„ Latent news' from the theatres of war is shown in a topical gazette, and tho. programme is completed by a delightful Norwegian Bcenio, ''From Christiana to Bergen." The King's Symphony Orchestra provides oapftal musio during the evening, and the entertainment generally is well up to the usual standard, so that bighquees should' pe the order throughout tho week'. '"THE ROUNDERS." ' Another Keystone comedy on the new programme at Everybody's Pictures attracted big crowds at all sessions yesterday. The two star artists of the company, Charles Chaplin and Roscoe'Arbuokle, both appear in the pieoe, and their cfever work makes the theatre resbuhtt with laughter during the whole twenty minutes that the film is running apfoss/ the screen. "The Rounders" talles its title from the term applied in America to the men who do the rounds" of the cafes,' musio halls, and _ other places of amusement and entertainmentin Pie town'. The two comedians set out to "paint the town red>"and haying i done so, arrive home in the condition natural after the "rounds." Domestio troubles follow, and the' argument ends in the peccant husbands starting out once more for fresh "rounds." The fun waxes fast and furious, and culminates in such an extraordinary scene as might be expected when Chaplin and Arbuckle decide to go rowing in a pleasure boat, which could never have been intended' to hold the two of them on the surface of the water. The Kalem Company is represented on the programme by a feature rjrama, entitled "Fate's Midr night Hour," in which terrible retribution overtakes » man, who brought a famfly to ruin and disgrace. The drama is acted by a strong cast, ' with Miss Alice Joyce in the lead. An item of great topical interest is the funeral of Lord Roberts. A recent edition of the ''Gauniont Graphic" contains the usual Budget of war news and various items of moment. Other subjects are: "The Last Shot" (a Western story), "Bulldog Puppies at War" (a burlesque on the great European struggle), and "Sunny Jim at the North Pole" (rv Vitagraph ohi]d study). Appropriate musical accompaniments are played by an efficient orchestra. PEOPLE'S PICTURE PALACE. ■■' '/The Thumb Print" is the title of the chief. picture on the new programme shown' yesterday at the People's Picture Palace. As the name implies, there was crime to ho detected, and the finger-print method of identification was used with excellent results by a young man who did not, however, detect orimes for a living. He was the new foreman appointed to take charge of what appeared to he big hydraulic sluicing works. Arrived on the spot ho very quickly won the confidence of the superintendent, an irascible captain of industry after the American pattern, and also the smiles of a pretty girl whose duty it was to supply the wants of managers and men at meal times. Being the only pretty girl in sight, everybody on the claim was in love with her, but especially an evil looking per-, son called Pedro, tho camp cook. So it was that the new foreman made one enemy. Pedro was a treacherous, but feoble foe. There was another who was treacherous, and also desperate and powerful. This latter was the late foreman, a bullying ruffian who had been fired for drunkenness. These enemies began to scheme, but as it happened they did not plot well. The first evidence of treachery was the turning on of the water overnight, with the result that considerable damage was done at the works. At once the superintendent blamed the foreman, who should have seen that tho water was turned off. The now man argued in vain that lie had turned off tl)e water as usual, and he was under a cloud. Then it was that he used his finger-print process, and discovered that the miscreant who ■had'turned on tho water was. Pedro. Ho did not settle with Pedro. Of that duty he was relieved. There was tne othpr enemy, who was of the sort that would not bo denied, and with hjm tho new foreman had soveral clashes. On the first occasion the newcomer landed what fighting won call a left hook- with wonderful effect, but that was the end of his trumps. On another occasion the bully rolled him down a cliff and nearly killed him. The end of the story is (

sharp and sudden. The pretty girl arranged a tryst with her lover one night, and Pedro and the bully, who found out independently of each other of tho meeting, made it convenient to bo there a little early. They stalked each other in mistake and Pedro was shot. Then tl)e hero and the bully met, and again the bully proved to have tho stronger arm, but at the critical moment the . girl arrived with dead Pedro's gun—and the hero did not dio just then. The other piotures compriso a good selection of topical, comic, and dramatic (tubjocts. THE EMPRESS THEATRE. "The King Repents," a dramatio feature, was introduced at the Empress Theatre yestorday. The plot deals with court lifo in an imaginary European buffer Statu, tho Monarch of which, a King Hector, a young man, is wearied of tho restrictions of his o*r alted position. Also, he is engaged to his cousin tho Grand Duohoss Helena, wjth whom he is jiot in love. When Fedry, a foroign diplomat, accompanied by his beautiful young wife, arrivoß at tho court, the monarch falls deeply in love with Fcdry's wife. He in discouraged in his attentions, and becoming annoyed Tofusos to sign a commercial treaty that Fedry has brought to him. Tjio diplomat's wifo overcomes the king's objections. The Grand I)uchesa agrees to aid her plan, fift Fedry's wife writes a letter to the king informing that at the Embassy hall a. masked lady will load him to a woman'' who loves him. Tho king keeps the appointment, and signs tho treaty at .1 tho masked woman's bidding. When the lady removes the mask the king discovers that she 'is Helena. Other items include "The Topical Budget" (latest war nows), "Lifeon N.Zi. Troopships" (scenes on, bnftjrt the transports while en routp to Egypt}, "A Bathing Beauty", (Keystone comody), and "Now, It's Torn" (Clarendon comedy). The series will bo snrcencd throughout today and to-night.