NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER'

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2578, 28 September 1915, Page 3

NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER'

A FANTASY OF THE TROPIC SEAS The People's Picture Palace was much too smalt for all those who wished to witness the fascinating picture, "Neptune's Daughter," which has been introduced to Wemngton by the Frederic bhipman Enterprises, Ltd. This picture, which takes about an hour and twenty minutes to reel off, features that agile Australia® swimmer, Miss Annette ICeilerman, and in the course of its curiously interesting action, the poetic grace and natatorial prowess of that young lady are fully illustrated in a manner at once beautiful and unique. "Neptune's Daughter" is a story in which myths and mortals participate, in somewhat similar style-to. that adopted by the late Sir \Y. S. Gilbert in. "lolanthe," where mortals and immortals become humorously associated. The mythical element is provided by King Neptune and his family of mermaids, whilst the mortals are - mediaeval folk of high degree concerned in "kings aud crowns unstable." Annette is a daughter of Neptune, and her troubles begin when she finds ,her infant sister dead on the beach, whither she has been, pulled by the fisherman holding allegiance to the King of those parts, She. tells her tale of woe to the oea Witch, who, to .assist Annette to her revenge, gives her a magic shell, which changes her lower extremities from tinny tail to a pair of shapely legs. In her new person she is discovered on tho beach by a fishwife, who takes her home., In_the,meanwhile matters.are not going well with the, young King. His Queen is given to philandering with Duke Boris, and one day His Majesty catches them at it. , Instead of beheading Boris and casting the false jade to. a dungeon dark and deep, the young King sallies out to find solace in_ the forest. There he finds Annette dancing a "Spring Song" on the mead,, and promptly falls in love with her, and finally invites her to a royal ball, where she dances alluringly with a deep design against the King, whom she is resolved to kill owing to his having decreed- free fishing (which presumably extends to the netting of mermaids) to. his folk. " AVhen she discovers that .the King is her lover,, she is heartbroken, and tells him of his sin respecting the fishing license. Anxious to do the right thing the King annuls the decrees, and offers instead the freedom of the forest to his people. But the latter provision is maliciously excised by the guilty Queen and Boris. The result is a, revolution, which puts Boris on the throne, and casts the King into prison. By a ruse Annette almost succeeds in liberating him, but is detected in time, and assassins are hired to throw her bound hand and foot over a cliff into the sea, and here Annette shows her dexterity in ridding herself of her bonds. Oh reaching the shore one of the assassins espies her, . and there is this time a double fall from the cliffs and a sensational fight in the sea,' ending in victory for Annette. She arrives a9hoTe in time to engage in a sword fight between the King and Boris, and just as the former is about to receive his quietus from the fishermen, she tells them how the edict •came to be annulled, and once more the King cmes into his own. Annette, hastening to find her magic shell with which she may return to her' natatorial home and Father Neptune, finds it shattered on the rocks It had; been found by false Olga, who,had ben turned mermaid, and from that to an octopus by the ■ Sea Witch. Forlorn on'the seashore, Annette is found by her royal lover, and elevated to a throne. - s' c . ture * s siven a gorgeously beautiful setting among the sea caves of the far Bermudas, where • the crystal clear water runs for, ever through tho treasure, houses of the ocean. Marino creatures, creep and crawl about the rocks, shoals of fish''of healthy dimensions may be seen disporting themselves in .the sea depths, and the cool sea, grottoes glisten' with myriads of stalactites-of glistening white. Miss Kellerman appears ■ to be just as much at home in the,water with a tail as without, and the exhibition, of .diving she gives is extremely clever and beautiful to witness Miss ,Kellerman is also a splendid dancer, and her acting was uniformly convincing. The fight under the sea is gruesomely realistic, and the soenes in Neptune's coral home make a deep impress on the memory. Altogether "Neptune's Daughter" ,is a picture that is sure to be admired and seen by all.