PRINCESS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 233, 21 December 1927, Page 14

PRINCESS

“THE PERFECT CLOWN” To-morrow Larry Semon's newest screen endeavour “The Perfect Clown" comes to the Princess Theatre. Semon is his eccentric self, rushing, and scurrying through reels of films. A poor, luckless, loveless clerk, he attains wealth, the girl and happiness at the finish of a side-splitting comedy. Tearing through detours in a tumbledown flivver, crossing a cemetery in the dead of night, forced to change clothes with an escaped convict—all these situations and then some, tend to ensure a fun-loving audience of an evening’s mirth. With the greatest ease, Semon in the role of Bert Larry, produces laughs galore, and with such able

support as Dorothy Dwan, Oliver Hardy, Otis Harlan, Kate Price, G. Howe Black among others, “The Perfect Clown” is the ideally “perfect comedy.” Many ingenious ideas are carried out in the plot and the desired effect of the poor misunderstood clerk who loves, is - rivalled and wins—is most certainly produced. An excellent example of this can be found in an office scene where Bert Larry who has repeatedly come late to work is about to be dismissed by the boss. The former stutters and stammers excuses until his eye catches the clock and he notices that it has been turned back one hour by his lady-love. Of course, this alters the situation, and he is retained on the job. First National’s gay college story, “The Drop Kick,” starring Richard Barthelmess, will also be shown at the Princess to-morrow. This story, dealing with college life to-day, is full of college boys and girls, college scenes, football games, fraternity dances and all the college atmosphere of to-day. Director Millard Webb was advised on the technical end of the story by actual college students, and it is true to life from start to finish. However, there is not a pillow fight nor a college yell from the beginning of the picture to the end.

Dorothy Sebastian has been loaned to Tiffany Productions by Metro-Gold-wyn-Mayer to play one of the leading roles in “The Ghost Ship,” adapted from the Jack London story, “White and Yellow.” Miss Sebastian has just completed the leading feminine role in “Wyoming.” She has also been selected to play opposite Ramon Novarro in his next big production.