STRAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 309, 21 March 1928, Page 15

STRAND

“SORRELL AND SON” “The spirit and beauty of rural England,” writes a well-known critic, “has been perfectly captured in ‘Sorrell and Son,’ ” the United Artists’ production which is now enjoying a very successful season at the Strand Theatre. Based on the novel of the same name by Warwick Deeping, the celebrated English author, the story of a father’s love and sacrifice for his son, and the son’s devotion to his father, is told with an utter absence of sentimentality, but with a pathos that is very Close to tears throughout. The return from the war of Captain Stephen Sorrell, only to find that his wife has deserted him, and his bitter fight with life to provide his son with a gentleman’s education, provides a main theme of deep tragedy, while the later scenes showing the romance of the adult Kit Sorrell provide a well-bal-anced relief. In addition to the main plot there are many undercurrents of love, hate and passion, all of which are handled in a masterly manner. The rustic beauty of the English countryside makes a picturesque and beautiful background, while the photography maintains a very high artistic standard throughout. As the father, H. 73. Warner acts with great sincerity and depth of feeling, while Nils Asther gives a remarkable performance as the son, Kit, as a man. Kit as a small boy is played by Mickey Mcßan, a most promising juvenile. The others in a uniformly good cast include Anna Q. Nilsson as Dora Sorrell, Carmel 'layers as Florence Palfrey, Norman Trevor as Thomas Roland, Alice Joyce as Fanny Garland, Mary Nolan as Molly Roland, and Louis Wolheim as Sergeant Buck. A speical prologue precedes the screening of “Sorrell and Son,” while a special musical score is contributed by the Strand Symphony Orchestra, which plays a beautiful composition of well-known English airs, “The Rose,” as the overture.