ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2613, 9 November 1915, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

:— $ HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. ~ There is a, deal more dash and liveh 'talent involved in the programme preseated at His Majesty's Theatre last evenWUJ than/was detectable last week. Th< •Elton Black Company, winch was only mildly interesting in "Catch On," niak< an infinitely bettor showing in "Sure Thing," the comedy hotch-potch dignified ■by tho titlo of revue. "Sure Thing" has some genuinely comic moments, aud each member of the little company shows tc greater advantage than in its predecessor, rno atmosphere is that of a racecourse, with "Sure Thing" as a .moral 'for the ;big money, but Sir. Jar Byrd, a orook, . the jockey at the last moment, thinking to -rait someone or other, but is foiled by- Dopey Doolittle, a silly fellow, who appears at the psychological moment and rides the'horse to victory, as can-bo 'watching tho cardboard gallopers rush along the back cloth. This sounds •like a George Maiiow race-time • melodrama. but in reality it is broad farce, full of grins and good songs. Mr. Elton Black is distinctly funny as Dctective Dopey Doolittle, and his various disguises images an unmistakable hit in a clevorly.writteji burlesque patriotic song, "As •long As I've Got a 'Art." Mr. Peter Brooks, a robust tenor of excellent quality ■with a healthy top noto, earned the goodwill of the large audience in the attractive song, "On the Shores of Italy"; Miss Peare Livingstone ragged attractively in the song, "In Tennessee," and Miss Nellie Quealv sang and danced with captivating vitality in "The Ragtime Ball." A "flapper" ballet assisted in: sustaining the gaiety of nations, when attached to any floating song, and a capital male quartet in motley garb sang so delightfully that it left the audienco hungry for more. . There were several remarkably entertaining acta to sustain the cheer-up spirit in the second half. Two performers with the topical geographical names, Alsace and Lorraine, came as a welcome surprise. Alsace, or'it'maybe'Lorraine, is a male violinist; of talent. In his operatic fantasia, his address to the music was distinctly vaudevillian. He gave Well-known airs little twists and grace as filagree work, but liis playing of the "Alsacephone," a bodyless violin, with a gramaphone. funnel was •'extremely beautiful in its delicate refinement. The tone of the, instrument is startlingly, human in colour, and the player was at' his best- when manipulating it. The lady partner blows a lively tune on the clarinet, and together they play on a metal-keyed xylophone—metal, because when electrified with the stago lights off, a realistic performance of the anvil chorus from "II Trovatore" is given. 'As each note, is played the sparks fly upwi«rd, aud so the imagination is fired as well as the stage atmosphere.' Miss iio.-e 'Lee Ivy, an American soprano of exuberant spirits, and a broad, hearty, Ultimate style, brings along something S.n, J 8 °P e ™ tic "niovie." This she calls -the Soul of Venice," a picture that recaps the story of Wagner's "The Meistersingers, for in it the beautiful young patrician lady is won through her luteraaying husband's talent in song. During the screening of the picture Miss Ivy tells the story, and sings "The Rosarv" -Avei Maria,' the preislied "My Hero," Sn'i llas ev 'deiitly stolon from T.he Chocolate Soldier" in a loose moment. Miss Ivy was right well received, and her American English was rtndilv understandable. Herbert Brooks, ■ftich his cards and shining trunk, reappeared; Vernon and Sinclair sang flippant songs, and the first-named recited "4. ilothers Meditation" very sincerely; and tho Duckworths repeated their ' clever juggling and acrobatic act. THE' KING'S~THEA'TRE.' J[rs 'Beecher Stowe's famous stoiy of Uncle Tom's Cabin" was retold ■ on the screen at the King's Theatre last evening before a large number of people, 11 ho gate evidence ot keen appreciation of what is really a fine production. The story, of. course, is appealing and gripping to a degree; the acting is good; and the photography is excellent. "Uncle Tom's Cabin has been done for the screen on previous occasions, but no screening seen here has been on such, a scale as this and it is not surprising that the producers, the World Film Corporation, state that {'his is the most expensive, work vet issued Jn- them. Ihe story woven "round Uncle lom, little iva, Popsy, and tho others is too liipil-known to require repetition. The character of Uncle Tom is very faithfully drawn, and a clever child actress plays Eva remarkably well.. The setting of the' story is often beautiful,, and some of the autumn scenes and views of mountain grandeur are glorious. Among the other pictures on the bill is a laboratory scene, depicting the production and utilisation of asphyxiating gas, a picture which, besides being highly instructive, is particularly interesting just now. "The Latest European Gazette" shows in brief the freshest news items from England and the Continent. A beautiful scenic from Soller, in the and "Cartoons on Tour" Qomplcte the-programme.-The bill will be repeated throughout the week. EVERYBODY'S PICTURES. _ Chief among this week's pictures at Everybody's Theatre is "A Loter's Lost Control." The film features Syd. Chaplin, and is one of the best Keystones yet produced. The story is amusing in the highest degree, and the acting 'is excellent. Ths story is that Guzzle and his wife aro in a store, buying, when Mr. .find Mrs. 'Lewis enter.. Guzzle and Mrs. Lewis strike up a flirtation at the first convenient opportunity, and Guzzle, after paying for her purchases, takes her off in

a motor-car. Lewis and Mrs. Guzzle follow, and then the fun is fast and furious. The antics and evolutions of tho two motor-cars are beyond belief, and send the spectatorate into roars of laughter. "The Million Dollar Mystery" is Y carried through a further phase, hi the * opening scones of tho present series, it becomes evident that the conspirators are determined to be rid of Norton. Various V drastic measures fail to suppress him, ' and they decide to throw him through a ? manhole and let him down in tho sower. J Norton has a terrible struggle for his life J in tho dark 6ewer, but he is rescued. J Brains and the Countess th((n adopt newtactics, and succeed in estranging Norton •• and Florence. Interesting indeed is tho ' "Gaumont Graphic." It 6hows "Survivors of tho Hesperian," "Wounded from ' Anzac in England," "With the Bth War- ; wicks," "Drumhead Sen-ice," "Scotland's 5 Territorial Hero," "War in the Trenches," • "American' Yacht Racing," and other ' things of topical interest. Also, on tho ; programme, is "Billie's Heiress,-" a Lubin j comedy. [ EMPRESS THEATRE. \ A startling picture is being screened, at i the Empress Theatre this week, entitled ; "Money." It is a film that will appeal to all classes of the community, for it I reveals the lengths to which class hatred can go. The staging is mort elaborate, and the producers have spared no cx- ' pense in giving picture-goers magnificent scenes, costumes, and settings. For instance, in one of the scenes a palace is totally destroyed-by fire, with all its rich Oriental furnishings and hangings. The Californian scenery is wonderfully beautiful, and tho dramatic scenes ' produce thrills upon thrills. "Money" deals with that vital world-shaking problem of the relations of capital and labour. In the picture the contrast between the ways of tho idle rich and tho starving workers is emphasised. In tho end, the strikers are brought to their senses, and although they are shown as having been defeated the generosity of the employers make life much better for them. The "Topical Budget" is full of good tilings this week. It includes a picture of the arrival of General Botha after his victory in SouthAVest Africa. Thousands of the populace of Cape Town can be 6een cheering the hero, and giving him a welcome which is said to be unsurpassed in the annals of British history. A concert will be given at the Sailor's t Friend Society, Whitmore Street, to-night by the Thornilon Methodist Mutual Improvement Society.