“MICHAEL STROGOFF”

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 46, 17 May 1927, Page 15

“MICHAEL STROGOFF”

A GREAT FILM When M. Jean Sapene decided to produce mighty “Michael Strogoff,” the Jules Verne story, through his Films de France Company, he determined that the great film coming to the Regent on Friday next would be the most spectacular and historically correct feature ever made in Europe. Every possible endeavour was made to reproduce with exact fidelity the scenes, the time, and the costumes and manners of the period of the story. By transporting the entire production unit to Latvia, the new Russian Republic, in which costumes, customs, scenery and architecture have scarcely changed during the last 75 years, one of the objectives was most satisfactorily achieved. Riga and the smaller cities, towns and countrysides of Latvia, presented exactly the Russian type of architecture and peasant types required. Six thousand Latvian troops weer loaned to M. Sapene, and it is doubtful if any other film producer could have secured the accommodation which the Republic gladly offered them. The owner of “Le Matin,” who is one of the most powerful and financial figures in Europe to-day, arranged for railways to be placed at the disposal of the company, while the cus-tom-house duties were suspended for three months, and the costumes, properties, and persons of the company were free from tax. Post offices, railway stations, cottages, steamboats, and an enthusiastic and intelligent army were also placed at the disposal of the “Michael Strogoff” Company. For the arrival of “Michael Strogoff” at Nijni-Novogrod, the ultimate point of the railroad connection in war time, the Latvian Government loaned a railroad train, which actually had been in service in 1850. For the crossing of the Volga River, a ferry boat of the exact time and type used in 1850 was procured and put into commission. In addition, the exterior of the official post office in Riga served admirably as the Administration Building of Irkutsk; while there were a dozen homes

on the outskirts of Riga which might have actually existed at Omsk for the home of “Michael Strogoff’s” mother. The film will be preceded by a gorgeous prologue, featuring Miss Valma Leich, who has been brought to New Zealand specially for the leading role, and a selected cast. A special atmospheric scene, arranged by Maurice Guttridge, will be played by the operatic orchestra.