THE STRAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 57, 30 May 1927, Page 13

THE STRAND

“THE BIRTH OF A FLOWER” An entertaining and highly educational photoplay, which provides light comedy and reveals scientific wonders never before seen on the screen, is the best description of “The Birth of a Flower,” now being shown at the Strand Theatre. Mr. Clarke Irvine, a naturalist and writer of wide repute in America, explains in an interesting lecture the wonders of the picture. The filming of “The Birth of a Flower” was made possible only by the Pillsbury slow-motion camera, which has been described as a scientific triumph. The inventor, a naturalist, and official photographer at Yosemite Valley, California, devised a clockwork camera to make exposures at regular intervals as the blossoms developed. He compressed into a minute the growth which perhaps required a week, and was thus able to screen in a startling manner what the naked eye never could see. When this film was first shown appreciative notices appeared in the Press and educationalists and schqol teachers immediately realised its value from an educational standpoint. One newspaper described the film in these terms: "The eye of this magic camera has caught flowers flirting, dancing, nodding, jostling one another, and performing amazing acrobatics that man has never beheld. Everyone who sees this startling film talks about it afterward; it is really that wonderful. The humble forget-me-not proved most active and was the Chaplin of flowerdom, doing a funny little dance all its own. On the same programme is ‘vV inners of the Wilderness,” a new Metro-Goldwyn picture relating the adventures of a daring Irish colonel in North America at the time the French and English were fighting for colonial rights. The picturesque costumes of the 18th century, the scenes of the Red Indian camps, .the desperate fights and charming romance all make a picture of exceptional merit. Tim McCoy and Joan Crawford are the principal players. The catchy tunes of the popular musical play, “No, No, Nanette,” are featured by the Strand Orchestra this week. Included in the supporting films is the first pictorial record of the opening of the Federal Parliament at Canberra.