MAORILAND PICTURES.

Shannon News, 23 March 1928, Page 3

MAORILAND PICTURES.

SATURDAY—“THE DESERT’S

TOLL.”

Flaring action pulses madly through to the last foot of “The Desert's Toll,” to be shown at the Maoriland Theatre to-morrow. Red-blooded thrills leap and dart and sizzle in every scene. Daring feats of horsemanship electrify one’s senstes. Majestic scenery, never ;before equalled imany picture, forms a background of dwe-inspiring beapty. In fact, everything about “The Hesert’s Toll” strikes a note tha't is new, inspiring, and unpreeendented for a production of its type. The. story, the scenic effects, the dramatic action — all breathe of the Great Outdoors. Briefly, the story concerns a hidden gold-mine for whicli two parties fight a stirring battle of wits and skill. A girl enters the game. Fate leads her to the wrong party, so that she betrays the man who is fighing her battles for her. From here the story takes an intensely dramatic turn, and the clashing of emotions and passions amid a surrounding of grim hills and pitiless desert, lead to a climax of mighty thrills. “The Desert Toll” introduces a new romantic outdoor star in Francis McDonald. He is a picturesque personality, possesses most striking looks, and an uncanny ability to sit a horse, and is a genuine manly type.

( MONDAY— ‘ ‘ THE SAP. ’’ ' Kenneth Harlan triumphs iu a new field in the" title role of “The the Master Picture which will be shown at the Maoriland on Monday. Here is a picture so accurately true to life' that it, grips with more intensity than any melodrama ever devised.•’ It is a portrait of a man’s soul, done with marvellous dramatic power, and Kenneth Harlan turns it into a mighty achievement. From the thundering war. scenes in France, the action moves into a small American town, and the warfare is then concentrated within ' the heart of the ' ex-soldier, ■ who knows he is not a hero, in spite of his decorations. It is a story of his fight to win courage to fight others, as well as himself. The theme is tragically serious; the treatment is uniformly quick and light. There are as many gay wisecracks as in a Syd. Chaplin comedy, but they all are lines that stay right in character. David Butler, magnificent in his acting as the town bully, has most of the “wise” lines to put across. And many a gem also falls to the lot of Hcinie Conklin. Mary McAlister, a young and beautiful heroine, and Eulalie Jenseen as the boy’s mother, are-exceptionally fine. _ The picture was adapted from William A. Grew’s stage play.