ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3025, 12 March 1917, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

; J. 0. WILLIAMSON ATTRACTION. ■ FLORENCE ROCKWELL SEASON. i Three notable- productions will bo prc- • eented during tho nine night's season - of the Florence- Rockwell Company, comI moncing on "Tuesday week—"Tho Houso ; of Glass," "Tbo Law of tho Land," and | "The Land of Promise" Tho box plans '. will be opened at tho Bristol on Friday next for the entire eea6onv The opening play will bo Max Marcin's powerful drama, "Tho House of Glass," which will bo presented for the first four nights. Great care 'has been exercised in the selection of tho repertoire. As this will ' b_o Aliss Rockwell's only visit to Now Zealand, the firm is anxious to introduce this charming actress iu her most popular impersonations. Admittedly a : clever and fascinating emotional actress, Miss Florence Rockwell, whether on the thoatro stago or tho kinema screen, has an alluring personality. As "Margaret Case," tho Heroine in "Tbo House of Glass," she is artistically fascinating. The play is spoken of as a particularly 6trong effort of stagecraft, novel in construction and manipulation. Miss Rockwell will be supported by a fino company, including Mr. Frank Harvey. The .play throws a of light on tho ideals of modern drama, in America. HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. A ' very entertaining variety bill will be offered by Messrs. Fuller for the ! delectation of their Wellington patrons j at His Majesty's Theatre this orening. | The majority of the artiste aro all new | to Wellington, arid contain a. uniformity | of talent rather unusual in their various i departments. "Retribution," or "A Sculptor's Romance,'' is tho title of a unique act, which will be presented by Mr. Ernest St. George. Statuary posing of the most classical description is interwoven with a dramatic playlet of much l tension. Miss Mario St. George, who is billed as "Che modern duplicato of Venus," will be foatured in tho act. Tho Rosie Rifle Co. will appear in their hazardous sharp-shooting exploits, in which precision and skill in the use of a riflo is combined to make au almost unparalleled display of daring. Alsace, instrumentalist, whoMe already well and favourably known, makes his reappearance to-night, and Marie Eriokson, a. descriptive vocalist; Billy Mann, the black-face comedian, and Jtarjorie Alwyiip, contralto balladist, will complete tho vaudeville portion of tho bill. In tho other half. Victor Princo and his merry band will be seen in a Tevuc, .of which shamrocks and colleens seem to bo the predominating features. It is entitled "A Bit. of Irish." The first beat of the "Fox Trot" amateur dancing competition will take place to-night. Winners of the first three nights will danco the final on Thursday night. The audionces will judgo tho contests.

"THE HIDDEN 'VALI<EY." » In "The Hidden Valley/' the new star him at tho King's Theatre, tho search tor ostrich plumes sets tho horo off on his journey into the unknown heart of Central Africa. Mysteries crowd thick and.last upon him on his journey, arid 1)0 nnds a beautiful maiden hidden in an ancient temple in tho midst of the forbidden country, which is inhabited by a. dangerous tribe. The temple is a. relic of an older civilisation, and the hero and the girl find ways to operate its strange mechanism and so play upon the superstition of the inhabitants. Vnlkyrien, the star of this mystery play, is a'benutilul Danish baroness in private life, and is a splendid and artistic dance exponent As the girl who is concealed J" tho hidden temple in tho remote valley, sho looks tho part to perfection. Her dance at the sacrificial festival of the savage inhabitants of "The Hidden Valley is a. work of art itself. The scenery in tins play is a. miracle of photography, and a weird effect is given to some of t is crowd scenes of savages through the thousands of ostrich plumes they "carry. .1 ho plot is a. good one, and the 'mrchahism ol the wonder-working temple and its grotesque god most ingenious

. EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. Ibo Beggar of Cawnpore" is (h 0 title_ol the picture which is to bo the chief attraction «t Everybody's Theatre this week .Not all the time is tho scene laid at Cawnpore. In tho film one sees stretches of desert waste and many other splashes of very faithfully rendered loca! colour. Tho story is cluelly about Robert Lowndes, a young medical officer in the Government service. In the beginning ho was sent to care for tho health of a camp in whicli wero some scores of natives, under a white engineer, leading a telegraph lino across the desert. Tho scourge of sickness came upon the camp, and Lowndes had then to fight not only tho disease, inu the stupid fear.of tho natives. Tho engineer, llio only other whito man on t.ie works, was at length stricken, and 'I'.'.-jpite the unceasing care of the .Doctor .Nihib, the engineer died. Lowndes occasionally braced himself with morphine. >\ hen at length lie does return to civilisation and his sweetheart, Betty Archer, lie is already a victim of the drug, but there ho promises tho girl that he will never again use it. Ho has a rival, however, a gilded youth named Douglas, and this young man, to compass .Lowndes' ruin, encourages him again to lake tho drug. On this last occasion his downfall' is complete. He becomes a physical and menuil wreck, a being -without pride or morais, tho dirtiest and meanest of the beggars and thieves of Cawnpore. In tho meantime Douglas gets the girl. But Betty is by no means happy, and when she has abundant evidence that she is sharing hor husband's caresses with n dancing g\r\, sho leaves him to go to live with her" aunt in Cawnpore. There are bigger events afoot than divorce actions, however. Tho year was 1857, and in a moment when his chronic stupor was not complete, Lowndes hears of the iiimending mutiny and massacre of whites." Then ho-takes himself in hand, fights his last battle with the morphia fiend, and wins it. Of course, ho rescues Betty. The characterisation of tho name-part by H. B. Warner must bo one of the best pieces of work ever done in "movies." Certainly it is full of merit. Another big film, entitled "A Perilous Love." tells of another episode in "Gloria's Romance," in which Billie Burke is the feature-actress. EMPRESS. TIIEATRfi. r The new bill presented at the Empress Theatre on Saturday fully merited tho liberal patronage bestowed upon it. At the head was a striking production, "All .Man," in which Robert Warwick is supported by Molly King and Gerda Holmes. The picture ranks with somo of tho best features of the World Film Corporation. The hero of the story, a millionaire's son, falls from grace, proves himself a useless member of the community, then goes out West to a rough ranch life. In his new environment ho radically changed for tiie bettor, and his inherent strength of character is so developed that finally bis manhood is redeemed. Two beauties lose their hearts to him after he has proved himself, so that tho solution of one problem finds him on the vei'ge of another, more serious. He makes a happy choice, but meets with certain littlo difficulties. An irate parent requires to be appeased, and the manner of his appeasement leaves little to be desired from a dramatic point of view. On tho whole, the film is a decided success, and should attract good houses during its currency. Tho supporting programme goes to make up a very agreeable entertainment. QUEEN'S THEATRE. '!>.<! wonderfully educativo travel film, which tells of tho voyage of tho little schooner which rescued tho survivors of the ',H-fated Stefanwson expedition in tho Arctic, drew crowds of people to the Qiicen'e Theatre on Saturday. It is certainly tho most interesting picture of its kind ever screened here—perhaps tho roost interesting ever produced. Almost, rmo might say, tho spectator is taken for a cruise to somo of tho least-known and least-visited of tho inhabited places of tho globe, tho towns and settlements of tho Alaskan and Siberian coasts, on tho fringe of and within tbo Arctic Circle. Aud tho spectator sees all' tho marvels of this drear ice-bound land, and the elemental peoples who livo there, has all such joys as a. voyago of discovery can give, wliilo Buffering none of tho rigours of travel in tbo silont places.