ENTERTAINMENTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 14 January 1931, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS

MAJESTIC THEATRE : “MIDNIGHT r MSYTBRY” TO MORROW

The main attraction of to-morrow’s change of programme at the Majestic Theatre will be the appearance of the popular Betty Compson at the head of a very strong cast of players, which includes Lowell Sherman, Hugh Tremor, June Clyde, Raymond Hatton, Rita Lardy, and Ivan Lebedeff in the R.K.O. talking master picture, “Midnight Mystery,” which reproduces the thrilling 9tory of the successful stage play “Hawk Island.” In this picture, Betty Compson is seen as a sort- of female “Sherlock Holmes,’’ who succeeds in outwitting the cleyerest brains of the criminal world, apd she is credited with playing the part with remarkable ability. Mystery plays of the past have mostly been built along conventional lines, but “Midnight Mystery” is said to strike a new note altogether. TTie action lakes place on an ishuid off the coast of America and the action of the pla yis limited to a night of intrigue and romance, during which stirring episodes occur which are calculated to keep the suspense of an audience at the highest possible tension. Tho producers claim that it excels all previous melodramas for speed, realism, and coherence, while the Press of America acclaim it to be “one of the best acted dramas that has been seen since the advent of the talking picture.” The climax of the play is stated to be of the unexpected order and the mystery is maintained right to the end. REGENT THEATRE: “SHADOW OF THE LAW” Two women are the motivating forces in Wiliam Powell’s latest starring picture “Shadow of the Law”, which will open at the Regent Theatre to-day. One of them, the blonde Natalie Moorhead, holds Rowell’s future in her hand: the other, beautiful brown-haired Marion Shilling, is the girl he loves and cannot woo. This picture brings William Powell to the screen in an even more realistically stirring picture than “Street of Chance.” Here Powell is an innocent highly cultured man convicted of a crime which lie did not commit, sentenced to life in prison, and free after a breath-taking escape to find tho woman who can prove his innocence. The story is one of desperate fight of one man against the unwarranted claim of society on his life. It is a man-hunt, and ends in a happiness that is accentuated because of all the suspense that precedes it. Natalie Moorhead who plays the black-mailer is an accomplished and experienced actress. Marion Shilling has had a successful career on the stage and has appeared in several film hits. Regis Toomey is also in the cast.