THE NEW REGENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 53, 25 May 1927, Page 15

THE NEW REGENT

“MICHAEL STROGOFF” The phenomenally successful season of mighty “Michael Strogoff” at the Regent Theatre is drawing to a close and those who have not yet seen this mammoth Universal Film-de-France have but to-night, to-morrow afternoon and to-morrow night in which to do so. The film version of Jules Verne’s famous melodrama has gripped thousands during the week, the the theatre having been crowded to capacity each night since the commencement of the “Strogoff” season. From the opening scenes, when the “Czar of all Russia” entrusts to the hero, his “secret courier,” a message to the Czar’s brother, the Grand Duke, beleagured at the head of the army in Siberia, 6,000 miles away, to the very end of that perilous journey in a rousing climax, the audience is deeply engrossed in the mishaps and triumphs, the perils and the daring, of the intrepid hero, ably enacted by Ivan Moskine, referred to as “Europe’s Screen Idol.”

There is plenty to rivet the attention on the screen. The grand ball at the palace of the Czar reveals some of the splendour of that regal court, and as the sequence is in colour, the effect is one of magnificence. Colour is further employed in scenes of unusual brilliance at the tented camp of the Grand Duke’s enemy, the Grand Khan of Tartary. There are battle scenes in which it is said that some 6,000 people appeared, and there were thrills and to spare as the wild-riding Tartar barbarians clashed with the Russian cavalry. The film is preceded by a gorgeous prologue with Miss Valma Leich, and a special score, arranged by Maurice Guttridge, is a played by the Operatic Orchestra.

Clara Bow comes to the Regent Theatre next Friday in what critics acclaim as one of the best comedies that has been released in many a moon, “It.” Those who are up on their contemporary reading won’t have to be told that “It” is the theory of sex magnetism which Elinor Glyn has expounded, popularised and made a topic of national prominence. Wherever people gather we hear the eternal, “Do 3*ou know why she’s so popular? She has ‘lt’.” Those who’ve listened and wondered what it was all about will be enlightened on seeing Miss Bow’s first Paramount starring production.

In “It” Madame Glyn has explained her idea, via the medium of the screen. She has taken two characters —one, a youthful shop girl; the other, her wealthy employer. Then, investing the power of “It” in the flapper we are shown exactly how much power can be wielded by a lady who has "It.” Needless to say, Miss Bow wins the man of her heart, but it is only after an exciting wreck and rescue at sea that she and "he” are blissfully united.

Clarence Badger, the man who directed Bebe Daniels’s "The Campus Flirt,” was at the megaphone for “It.” Antonio Moreno plays opposite the star in a role that is sure to win him many admirers.