PRINCESS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 223, 9 December 1927, Page 14

PRINCESS

“WHITE PANTS WILLIE” Johnny Hines is the feature at the Princess Theatre this week in his latest First National Picture, “White Pants Willie,” produced under the personal supervision of C. C. Burr. The picture is a screen adaptation of the “Liberty Magazine” serial story of the same name by the humorist, Elmer Davis.

A splendid cast of players appear in support of the comedian with Leila Hyams playing the leading feminine role. Others appearing prominently are Ruth Dwyer, Walter Long, Henry Burrows, Margaret Seddon, George Kuwa, and last but not least, Bozo, the educated goose. “White Pants Willie” abounds in humorous sequences, one of the most hilarious being a fast polo match played by crack players with the comedian being mistaken for a polo champion, thrust into the game and forced to win or lose the girl. Naturally the comedian’s white pants play an important role and supply moments of genuine humour, starting the picture off with a gale of laughter that doesn’t cease until the final fade-out. With the great number of comedies of such high calibre as “Charley’s Aunt,” “Reckless Romance,” and “Hold Your Breath” to their credit, Al. and Charles Christie might well set themselves up as dictators of what does or does not constitute good comedy. “Stop Flirting,” the latest Christie offering, which is also at the Princess Theatre, presents a ne w angle on the so-called social whirl of high society, according to Al Christie. The film is a picturisation of a popular musical comedy, and while the locale of this version will be virtually the same as it was in the play, that of the luxurious seaside home of a young man of wealth surrounded by a gay and flirtatious crowd of pleasure seekers, the thing which will make the Christie comedy different will be the presentation of this sort of life from the farce comedy angle, with no problematic or melodrama worries to insinuate themselves into the action ot the comedy.