WHICH IS SHE?

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 170, 8 October 1927, Page 14

WHICH IS SHE?

MISS NEW ZEALAND AT STRAND Among the sports girls who filled the Strand stage last evening with a brilliant tableaux is “Miss New Zealand, 1927.” Which of the finalists will ultimately be crowned and dispatched to Hollywood is to be decided in Auckland. With quite a cosmopolitan impartiality the Strand audience last night gave a hearty round of applause for each competitor. And even if the local stars did come in for an extra round of recognition from personal friends that was counter-balanced by the efforts of such exiles from their native heaths who rallied round their provinces’ finalists, and proved to them that they were far from friendless and alone. The sports tableaux was a fine group, fine in colour, scheme and in arrangement. But an extra homely touch was the dress parade out among the audience. More tha.n any act it tested the bearing of the finalists, and each came through it with a natural grace based upon her individuality. The screen representative of New Zealand at Hollywood must be selected on personality and in the large variety of tests shown last evening there is plenty to confound both the perplexed voter and incidentally the critic. “Come roam the hills and dells with me and learn what Heaven on Earth may be.” Ever the land of the perfect wanderer. France, is the stage of the romance of “Heaven on Earth.” On this simple vagrant verse troubadors of old France may have dwelt and the traveller with the donkey might have echoed it. Edmond Durand, for whom an aunt chose friends, clothes, food and a fiancee, was caught up with them and dramatically stalked out of wealth and its responsibility to walk the roads. A Romany lass separation and a thrilling war rescue go into the story, and all comes out very well, thank you, in the end. With plenty of patriotic fervour, and all the thrills of peace and war interwoven into it the story flows along on a high plane of emotion. Conrad Nagel and Renee Adoree are in the leading roles, and for gipsy parts no better selection could possibly have been made. They make a remarkable pair of vagabonds. The remainder of the programme of smalls are of a high quality. Last, but certainly one of the main factors in the success of the bill is the Strand Orchestra, under Miss Eve Bentley.

“Baby Mine,” one of the most popular stage successes, has been secured by Metro-Goldwvn-Mayer as a costarring vehicle for Karl Dane and George K. Arthur. Lew Lipton will direct.