THE PICTURE HOUSES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 9 December 1927, Page 6

THE PICTURE HOUSES

MUNICIPAL. The boundless scenic and spectacular possibilities of the .screen as compared to the material and physical limitations of the theatrical stage were never, perhaps, more forcefully contrasted than in the UniversalFilm de France production of Jules Verne’s famous melodrama. “Michael Strogoff,’’ now at the Municipal. Besides the settings, Ivan Moskine, Europe’s idol of the screen, in ihe title role, is unsurpassed, and there is left no cause to wonder at the apprehension of the famous theatre director, Max Reinhardt, recently expressed regarding the competition which the motion picture offers to stage dramas. Certainly no lover of the famous old book. “Michael Strogoff,’’ which still retains its popularity after fifty years’ service in book and plav form should hesitate to see this production.

Saturday Programme. The title of the ninth chapter of the serial is “Hurled Through Space,?’ and it reeks with thrilling possibilities. It was only last week that Malcolm McGregor, Louise Lorraine and Silver Streak were caught in a raging forest fire. With the girl caught in a wolf trap and the man unconscious, it does not seem reasonable to suppose that they could have escaped alive, unless the dog thought of something to do at the last minute. The feature picture is “Love’s Greatest Mistake,” with Evelyn Brett and William Powell, a modern “Cinderella story. COSY DE LUXE. It is not often that the story of a photoplay lends itself to such weli-ustained action — adventure, comedy, romance and historical interest—as Peter B. Kyne’s “Foreign Devils,’ upon which Metro-Goldw.vn-Mayer picture of the same name is based. Dealing with the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. one exciting incident follows another until the arrival of the Allied troops at the besieged Legation brings safety to th§ hard-pressed garrison. Tim McCoy plays the leading role with great dash and realism, while Claire Windsor” is particularly charming as the lovely English heroine —Lady Rutledge. Matinee Attraction. “Down the Stretch,’’ King Bagot’s Universal-Jewel production, showing at the Cosy de Luxe on Saturday, depicts life behind the scenes at of the largest race tracks and is one of the most entertaining pictures of the year. “Down The Stretch’’ is a story of a jockey, portrayed bv Robert Agnew, who in the face of almost impossible odds, wins the hand of the girl he loves, Marian Nixon, and extricates himself from a maze of befuddled circumstances. There are no melodramatic situations, no mortgage to be paid off. but the entire picture is full of real human interest and heart throbs. In addition to Agnew and Miss Nixon, the cast embraces a number of featured nlavers, including Ward Crane. Oti-s Harlan, Virginia True Boardman and Ena Gregory.