PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 20051, 17 December 1928, Page 9

PICTURE THEATRES

REGENT Hot News ' is tho expressive title of the main picture at the RegenVTheatro this week. This is a most unusual but very exciting film. It tells tlio story of the of scenes in the movie gazettes which are a regular Icaturo of'.every motion theatre programme. To make’up the film a story has been written around the owners and camera-men of a news-getting agency with the two leading players, Bebe Daniels and Neil Hamilton, in the roles of . Patricia Clancy and “Scoop” Morgan respectively. The story commences with Michael.-Clancy, owner of the ‘ Sun News Reel,’ a screen paper, whoso unusual items and many scoops have been in no small measure duo t,q the ingenuity of Scoop Morglfn. His daughter has just announced her intention of returning homo from college and proclaiming an ambition to become an expert camera-man. His daughter’s, wish being law with old man Clancy, ho starts to outline a scheme to Scoop Morgan, suggesting that the latter teach Pat the game. Scoop’s indignant refusal and old man Clancy’s heated order to get out are overheard by Pat, who has just arrived. The joy of her arrival is overshadowed, however, by tho knowledge that fie lias lost Scoop from the staff and that a rival news reel will take him. Tho main plot is the keen rivalry between Patricia, who carries on for her father, and Morgan, who is hired by a rival concern.

George Bancroft is the star of ‘ The Showdown,’ which is also being shown. Ho plays tho role of Cardan, wildcat oil driller, hidden away in tho Mexican tropics, living with a weak kid in charge of a pumping station, and sought out by Winter and Pickerill, his two arch enemies, scouts for a big oil concern. Into their life comes Sibyl Shelton (Evelyn Brent) and her husband, Wilson Shelton (Noil Hamilton), who have come to Mexico to join a brother in Heard) for oil and wealth. They are a citified young married couple, thrust into a fiut in the dark, monotonous, and treacherous Mexican jungle. The big vaudeville attraction tins week was arranged by Maurice Diamond, whose specialty dancers nd ballet have arrived from a lengthy and successful season in Auckland. The Regent; Revels is a scene of striking settings and costly dressings. The performance opens with a fanfare of trumpets and a preliminary musical item. Then follows novelty after novelty, Ivy Towe and Fred. Hodge are two acrobatic and character dancers of more than ordinary ability, and their ork is a revelation of speedy grace and difficult posing. The male member of tho duo is one of the best solo dancers seen in Dunedin for many a day. Millie Thompson, Nancy Bourne, _ Peggy Rockley, Julie Thompson, Jessie Best, and Olga Satinovcr are all dancers of considerable skill, and the interlude gives plenty of opportunity to each. There is a* joyous sparkle about the Regent Revels, and each one has an individuality that imparts freshness and pleasant novelty. Mildred and Connie are comedy artists of good musical ability and possessing an extensive repertoire. The entire presentation -is under tho supervision of Mr Ed. Warrington. The programme has been carefully and cleverly compiled. SOTAGOS An intensely human drama of cosmopolitan Now York, ‘ Heart of a Nation,’ is scoring a remarkable success at the Octagon Theatre. This picture deals entirely with the immigration problem, and is told with understanding and sympathy. Tho pictures of fathers retaining the habits and customs of the old world and the children thoroughly Americanised is touching and pathetic, especially in the case of tho German family when America, the land of adoption, declares war on the Fatherland. A Russian, a German, and an Italian family, who come to America to, settle in New York’s Lower East Side, do not understand tho rapid assimilation of now customs on the part of their children. Levine drives his daughter. Beth, from home. Then wav is declared on Germany. Pete Albcrt-ini and Phil. Levine enlist. _ So docs Hugh Bradleigh,_ Beth’s aristocratic sweetheart. Phil, is killed .saving Hugh, and Pete loses a log. After tho war Pcto returns to Sarah Schmidt and Hugh goes to Beth’s East Side home. His parents follow, disapproving of the match, but when Hugh explains that Beth’s brother gave his life to save him, the aristocratic Bradloighs rapidly consent to the marriage, as do "the Levines. George Sidney is splendid as the Russian immigrant, who is just a trouser presser after fifteen years in the States. Albert Gran and Daisy Belmore, as the German pareiits,_ give appealing portrayals, while Michael Visaroff add Rosita Marstini are well cast as Italians. The younger generation is capably portrayed by Patsy Ruth Miller, John Boles, George Lewis, Eddie Phillips, Josephine Dunn, and Flora Bramley. _ An appropriate musical programme isplayed by tho Octagon Orchestra, under M.'Do Rose. LON CHANEY COMING. Lon Chaney, tins noted character actor, is said to have the finest role of his career in ‘ The Big City,’ which will bo screened at tho Octagon Theatre on Friday next. Chaney plays a gangster ruler in this picture, a vivid romance of the underworld and New York’s night life. _ Marceline Day is the heroine, a shopgirl enmeshed in an underworld plot, and James Murray plays her sweetheart, a young gangster henchman of Chaney. Betty Compson, Virginia Pearson, Mathew - Betz, Lew Short, Walter Pcreival, John George, and others of note are in the cast. The story hinges on a love between tho young gangster, his sweetheart, and the gangster chief, with the hold-up, a sensational police battle, and a gangster war as thrilling incidentals. EMPIRE Said to be one of the most dramatic P.D.C. studio productions of the year, ‘The Leopard Lady,’ a novel and,absorbing story of circus .life iu Austria, featuring Jacqueline Logan, Alan Halo, and Robert Armstrong, is showing at the Empire Theatre. The production was directed by Rupert Julian, and every player in the cast is immensely popular with screen fans. There is no denying tho popularity of Jacqueline Logan. Her artistry in the role of Mary Magdelene in ‘ Tho King of Kings ’ has swept her to new and unquestionable heights of public favour. Her performance in ‘ The Blood Ship ’ has done much to increase her popularity with “fans.” A murder mystery which leads to a smashing climax is woven through this dramatic story, which was prepared for the screen by Beulnh Mane Dix. ‘Man Crazy’ the second attraction, is good comedy entertainment and a splendid vehicle for the popular Mul-hall-Mackaill team. It will add much to their popularity among movie “ fans ” in this city. Manuel Hyman, the “ jazzing violinist,” is the important stage presentation this week, and each Light he receives loud applahse for his playing;, The Empire Symphonic Orchestra, under Mr Charles Aves, renders delightful incidental music.

EVERYBODY'S ‘ No' Other Woman,’ ’ Fox Films' drama of primitive passions in modern French society, is the current feature at Everybody’s Theatre. Lou Tellegen, the celebrated actor-director, produced the photoplay with Dolores Dei Rio in -the stellar role. Ho has done his work with plenty of "rigour and a keen eye

to light effects, and tho result is a. stirring drama, full of movement, of humour, and of gripping situations. Miss Del Rio’s work as the wealthy' young girl who marries the society gambler instead of the man she really loves again proves her remarkable versatility. In this production, for the first time under the Fox Films’ banner, Miss Del Rio wears modern costumes, which in themselves are a veritable show. Ben Bard as the society gambler, Don Alvarado as the hero, Paulette Duval as the adventuress, and Rosita Marstini as Dolores’s aunt all give excellent performances in keeping with tho high standard of the production. ‘lf I Were Single,’ starring May M'Avoy and Conrad Nagel, is the other filifi. GRAND AND PLAZA _ The latest Christie comedy, ‘ The Nervous Wreck,’ is the premier attraction at tho Grand and Plaza Theatres. There is a laugh in every foot of this hilarious film. The story has a Western melodramatic flavour, and the situations are very cleverly conceived. The cast includes such firm favourites as Harrison Ford, Phyllis Haver, Chester Conklin, Mack Swain, Hobart Bosworth, and Vera Steadman, The popular Western star, Tim M‘Coy, has an excellent role in ‘ Riders in the Dark,’ the second main feature. Motro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures starring Tim M'Coy stand out among tho screen’s outdoor romances, nob only for their swiftly-moving adventurous action and the historical incidents upon which they are based, but for the splepdid,casts which are assembled to assist the star. These players guarantee good acting, and so lift a production on to a high piano cf entertainment. A programme of unusual merit is' scheduled for release on Friday. Tiie outstanding production will bo ‘ More Pay, Less Work,’ a rollicking Gappy Ricks’s story by Peter B. Kyno. In addition, Fred. Thomson, will he seen in his latest thriller, ‘ Lone Hand Saunders.’ STRAND ‘ Sadie Thompson,’ with Gloria Swanson in tho title role, will be shown at the Strand Theatre for four more days, lb was adapted from ono of the most dramatic and most widely discussed stories of modern literature—the short story, ‘Miss Thompson,’ by W. Somerset Maugham. This story of Sadie Thompson’s domination by a tyrannical South Seas reformer, Alfred Atkinson, who forces her to confess that she is an exile from the underworld of San Francisco, and then determines to break her defiant spirt and gain hexrepentance, is one of the most vital themes in modern literature. ‘ Sadie Thompson ’ is the sort of screen narrative that is of interest to men and women everywhere because its characters are everyday people, and theit personalities are believable. The situation, which develops from the reformer Atkinson’s struggle to choose between his devotion to duty and tho call ol worldly desires, forms a climax of dramatic power. A good musical score is supplied by the Strand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mr L. D. Austin. RING EDWARD ‘ Smile, Brother, Smile ’ has attracted more attention during its season at 'the King Edward Theatre than almost any other picture screened there for a long time. This bright production features Dorothy Mackaill and Jack Mulhall. The third session of the popular amateur vaudeville trials will be held tonight. By special arrangement, Norman Scurr and his partner, Angus Gorrie. will appear in an original and highly diverting sketch. A delightful programme will be presented, and patrons aro assured of a novel ’entertainment.