AMUSEMENTS.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 January 1930, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS.

.EVERYBODYS PICTURES '■{ _ I V' ‘ • . THE GIRL ON THE BARGE FRIDAY ;.Universal’s “The Girl on the Barge,” .wJii Ji opens on Friday at the Princess , ithteiitre, ‘is ’ a photoplay of unusual charm. .It has everythiiig that makes an •ouitistanding picture—beautiful nat*lilral - hwitje, a powerful story and a Capable;-. eiist. 1 ' all under inspired clirecfcitm. Jean Hersholt, the beloved character star, has the leading role, into: which' he puts all his ability to bring but'of what might be an ordinary ViilWi'hy* the character of a mean-tem-pered old man who is more to be pitied than censured. ;>• Only Hersholt could have made a sympathetic character out dri whaU would have heeir a. conventional 5 role .in Jess expert hands. Sally O’Neil 'gives a spirited performance in the title;,-foie," ,^She.'-is... sperjdid asJJie, Xrno'rSjit 'lft'tre |;fft'who ha 6 neV'er on lajnd- who lias spent her life on aicb<'il.’ , Bafge plying between New York arid Buffalo. This is one of the biggest roles sfie has ever bad and she acquits herself with high honours. To Malcolm rMacGregor-also‘ goes histrionic honours and praise for an admirable and natural portrayal of tug pilot. The story is from one of Rupert Hughes'’ most popular short stories. It concerns the love affair of a girl on a. barge and a boy on a tug which triumphs. .over the ingrained fued which exists between tug and barge lolk. > The scenery used in the picture js . that of the story. In speeding weeks -on location at the Champlain and Erie,canals in New York, Director Edward Slonian has captured on the screen a background utterly free of artificiality,: teeming with .the real oiirthe story’s locale. . In handling the 1 direction, Sloman has shown a deft and subtle hand in the careful working oiit. oithe tiny details which give the picture the sweep of an epic of the freight canals. While the other members .of., the cast have little to do, that, little is well done. These include He wry West, J. Francis Robertson and the . three children, Morris Mclntosh, Nancy. Kelly and George'Offer man. j The-, supports include Topical, Comedv, Serial. •Tlje orchestra, will play the incidental score. . ■ -