MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 29, 27 April 1927, Page 15

MAJESTIC

“EVE’S LOVER” Only two more nights to see the Hector St. Clair comedy, entitled “A Takapuna Scandal,” at the Majestic. Milford, Takapuna, Luna Park, Queen Street and other well-known parts of Auckland are the setting for all kinds of comic stunts on the part of Hector St. Clair, a bevy of Auckland bathing beauties, many well-known professional actors and actresses, and Miss Mona Jeffries, the beautiful Aucklander, who won the Amami beauty contest. It’s laughter, laughter all the way in this comedy, and it reflects great credit on the producer, Mr. Rudall Hayward, and promises much for New Zealand’s film production in the future. “UPSTAGE,” FRIDAY On Friday, a treat is in store for Majestic patrons. Norma Shearer, the popular favourite, is said to be more brilliant than ever as the vaudeville star in “Upstage.” “Upstage,” Norma Shearer’s latest picture, is something new, something entertaining! The story is the “inside” of vaudeville life —its players are all vaudeville folk, on the stage, in booking agencies, in actors’ boardinghouses —it shows a people who are literally a little w'orld in themselves —children of the night who play while others sleep. Norma Shearer . plays the feminine half of a song and dance team —a wistful bit of humanity when in trouble — a gorgeous creature indeed when, in glittering gowns, she pa.rades in the spotlight. Walter De Leon, the author, knows what he writes about. He was a vaudeville player himself for many years, until his fiction of the vaudeville stage won him recognition as a novelist. Monta Bell, who directed the picture, has produced vaudeville acts —he was thoroughly at home on the story. It is a comedy drama played by actor-folk. There are laughs galore, with a romance, a few heart throbs — and even a thrill. It is intensely human. Norma Shearer makes a charming vaudeville player, with Oscar Shaw, famous musical comedy star of the stage, as her dancing partner, and the cast is notable, including Dorothy Phillips, Ward Crane, Gwen Lee, J. Frank Glendon, T. Holtz and others of note. The settings include a reproduction of a big vaudeville theatre. The rehearsal scene, with real vaudevillians preparing their acts, is one of the most realistic ever screened.