“FOURTH COMMANDMENT”

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 162, 29 September 1927, Page 16

“FOURTH COMMANDMENT”

NEW REGENT TO-MORROW A fire and earthquake, patterned after the great San Francisco disaster, opens ‘The Fourth Commandment.” which, featuring Belle Bennett and with what is said to be a notable cast, comes to the New Regent Theatre to-mor-row*. The calamity reverses the fortunes of the Grahams and the Millers, destroying the wealth of the former, and bringing riches to the lowly Millers, through the work of rebuilding the city. This opening sequence is said to be an awe-inspiring reproduction of a great disaster. Many thousands of dollars were spent in filming the scenes that show buildings tumbling, streets afire and the fear-driven flight of the refugees. The entire sequence is considered one of the mechanical triumphs of motion pictures. The story then moves forward fifteen years, showing the life of Gordon Graham, now a struggling young architect, his wife, Virginia, and their adored child. Sonny. In a later phase of their lives Virginia is surrounded by luxury. The sets for this part of the production are some of the most beautiful ever used in pictures. To Emory Johnson, the director, who studied to be an architect before embarking on a picture career as an art director, and later as an actor, much credit must go. A worshipper of beautiful things all his life, he incorporates as much beauty as possible in each of his productions. Audiences will revel in this phase of Virginia’s dramatic life. A spacious dinig room is a copy of a room in a famous English castle; and another set showing a boudoir is one such as every woman dreams of some day possessing. The lavish production also includes famous Paris boulevards peopled with typical Parisian crowds. This scene, constructed at Universal City and faithful in every detail, is the last of many settings in this fascinating photoplay.