AMUSEMENTS.

Hokitika Guardian, 20 November 1929, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS.

V \% '■ :-/H: . i eVerybodys picturesM&TON 'SILLS AND DOROTHY Mack ail l to-night. : Every, once in a while a picture conies along, that takes us completely out of ourselves and transports us into a new and. unfamiliar environment. For a live the lives of the players in the 'story, suffer' vicariously and joy,with'i.them .in their triumphs. Such a - picture is “ The Barker,” which will he screened . ..to-night at the Princess Theatre. - It is a George Fitzmaurice special production for First National, andfias Milton Sills in the title role as the. Spieler fin the little third-rate carni-val-iVoipe. Sills has never given better work to a role. It is shaded so finely, restrained where needed and flamboyant where the characterization demanded expressiveness. Dorothy Mackaill is co-starred as the girl Lou. She plays her part with just the proper degree of ' abandonment, the pathetic desire for a clean atmosphere and a real love is expressed with delicacy and comprehension. Betty Compson is admirable as the Barker’s sweetheart, and Douglas Fairbanks, jnr. is excellent as the son of the same hardened individual, whose only soft spot is his love for. his boy. The trials and tribulations of the troupe, the internal dissension as a result of the Barker’s son falling in love with the carnival girl, Lou, Whom he eventually weds, the fatiier’s j repudiation and final reconciliation—all these things enter into the romantic, whimsical, and at times humorous picture. Sylvia Ashton, George. Copper, S. S'. Simon, One-Eyed Connolly, Johp Irwin, and others contribute delightful characterizations and the direction by Fitzmaurice again shows his mastery of the art and technique of his profession. A topical and comedy will also be shown to-night. On Friday—“ The Freedom of the Press,” starring Lewis Stone and Ala recline Day.