STRAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 106, 26 July 1927, Page 14

STRAND

“THE EXQUISITE SINNER” “Two good pictures” is the verdict of Strand patrons on this week’s programme. Both pictures are adapted from popular books, and both have an exceptionally fine cast. Players like Conrad Nigel, Renee Adoree, and Madge Bellamy are a guarantee of an evening’s excellent entertainment. Revivified, brought up to date, and with a star cast, including Madge Bellamy in the name role, “Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl,” this famous drama of an older day proves to be a surprisingly fine entertainment, pulsing with action, gripping in its suspense, and absorbingly interesting as a story. There is plenty of excitement in this picture. Ono of the outstanding nerve-tinglers is the sequences showing the chase in a high-power boat amid the congested traffic of New York harbour. Humour, too, there is, and a love story of unusual interest. This is one of those rare films that is sure to appeal to every type of audience. Don’t miss seeing it. Technical direction is one of the most difficult jobs in the motion picture industry, and at the same time one of the most important. Robert Florey, known as one of the cleverest technical advisers regarding French life, helped Josef von Sternberg produce “The Exquisite Sinner,” and is responsible for the realistic details with which the film abounds. The scene is laid in France, and Florey’s intimate acquaintance with Continental customs and costumes proved invaluable to the director. Florey proved a stickler for details, and insisted upon absolute fidelity wherever possible. The result is one of tho most authentically foreign pictures ever produced in America. Conrad Nagel and Renee Adoree have the leading roles in this Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film.