PRINCE EDWARD

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 134, 27 August 1927, Page 14

PRINCE EDWARD

“THE GAY DECEIVER” Transferred from the stage to the screen, “The Gay Deceiver,” the famous legitimate success known as “Toto,” offers splendid and intelligent entertainment at the Prince Edward Theatre to-night. Lew Cody heads the cast in the title role. He gives a distinguished performance as a Parisian boulevardicr. Dorothy Phillips plays opposite Cody in the role of the wife who was tolerant enough to forgive the flirtations of her husband and begin all over again. Others in the cast include Carmel Myers and Roy D’Arcy, Malcolm McGregor and Marceline Day. There are two love stories in “The Gay Deceiver,” one the re-established romance of the estranged parents, and the other is of warm and vigorous youth, fighting its way through obstacles to a glamorous goal of destiny. Both are finely done, by Cody and Miss Phillips as the adults, and by Malcolm McGregor and Miss Day as the youngsters. Stahl’s masterful direction gives the situations of the story sincerity and conviction. None of the charm has been lost by the transfer of the stage play to the screen. Through the entire narrative there runs a delicious vein of whimsical humour in which particular field Lew Cody is singularly adept. The story has a background of Paris and France, and there are particularly interesting 'scenes of backstage theatre life in the French capital, where “Toto” is an idolised favourite. “The Gay Deceiver” should not be missed by anyone interested in superior motion pictures.