MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 118, 9 August 1927, Page 17

MAJESTIC

“THE BELOVED ROGUE” There is no doubt that the Auckland public has excellent taste in pictures. Crowded houses daily at the Majestic prove that “The Beloved Rogue” is a very popular picture here. Thus, Auckland is only echoing the verdict of pic-ture-goers all the world over. John Barrymore in “The Beloved Rogue” has been a tremendous success wherever the picture has been shown. It is just th sort of picture the public want. Mad, happy, glad, sad, it expresses all moods and emotions. It is a sparltling picture throughout, and there is never a dull moment. The musical programme at the Majestic this week is of the same high standard as the picture. The Majestic Male Quartette gets enthusiastic applause nightly. When the curtain goes up Auckland’s “Big Four” is disclosed in a setting familiar to everybody as the popular advertisement, “The Spirit of Our Forefathers.” The quartette carries out this idea with some Scottish songs, which they sing in their inimitable way, giving full value to the harmony and also to the various grades of expression. The Majestic’s New Orchestra offers a programme that is a delight to both musiclovers and the general public, and the music fits the picture perfectly. Just as the picture touches every mood and emotion, so does the music, chosen from the greatest composers as well as popular moderns. A “Musical Medley,” which is played as the overture

is very bright and sparkling, and the interlude entitled “Question and Answer.” Westenholm’s magnificent composition forms the basis of a novel competition. The audience is asked to interpret what the question is and also what is the answer. It is described as a beautiful “Reverie” in two parts. In the first part the man asks a question of a girl, and in the second part she makes her answer. An exquisite Oriental bowl is offered for the best interpretation in writing of this “Reverie.” It is a far cry from the gay whirl of the Ziegfeld Follies, jazz-inspired presentation of the newest in song and dance, to the romantic, colourful, yet cruel Paris of the time of Louis XI. Yet such a gap is bridged by Jane Winton, who, not so long ago a reigning beauty of the Follies, now appears in support of John Barrymore in ‘‘The Beloved Rogue,” at the Majestic Theatre. In “The Beloved Rogue” the great Barrymore restores to life on the screen Froncois Villon, vagabond poet and creature of impulse who, dying at a comparatively young age after a brief spell of strenuous living, left the world enriched by the brilliant creations of his facile pen. Seeking an actress to fill the role of “The Abbess,” a somewhat hoydenish character of the Paris streets, Barrymore personalis' selected Miss Winton from a score of candidates. His choice is amply justified by the ease and grace with which she enters into the spirit of the part.