MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 318, 31 March 1928, Page 15

MAJESTIC

BARRIE’S MASTERPIECE

A picture, be it drama or comedy depends almost entirely on the story attached to it. While the Americans are the greatest motion picture producers of the world, it falls to the lot of English authors to supply the great bulk of suitable stories. One of the masters of story is Sir James Barrie, and in the picturisation of his “Quality Street,” that gem of I literature, the Metro-Gold wyn-Mayer studios have given the public a clearer insight into the beauty and qualify of this English author’s writings. The story of quaint people of little Green Willow Vilj lage, when Napoleon thundered at , the doors of Eng* land. “Quality Street” barely | touches on the war, its action taking place in the home of Phoebe Throssel and her sister. Dr. Valentine Brown, beloved of the fair sex, favours Phoebe, and then, when sue tmnKs he will “declare himself,” he goes to war. Left alone these two women, growing older, teach school, and then Valentine comes home. Phoebe is different, so oldlooking, and dressed so severely. Val- i entine thinks she is old, and she J shows him she’s not—and that is where “Miss Livvy,” Phoebe’s “niece,” comes in. But there are few who know not the story. Its charm and delight, its fun and its pathos and its ultimate happiness unfold on the screen as if the book itself were being read aloud. The scene in the garden where “Miss Livvy” repeats to Valentine the very words he used to Phoebe before ho went to the war, and smiles when her heart is breaking at the thought of his being attracted by a pretty face is one of the big scenes of the picture. Marion Davies as Phoebe and Conrad Nagel as Valentine, give masterly j interpretations. No better pair could have been chosen for “Quality Street,” while the supporting cast adds greatly to. the success of the production. The settings are typically English, as is the atmosphere created, and none could say that Americanism has played one single part in this English story. Demure and shy, Phoebe will long be remembered as the girl who was a woman at heart and knew how to win the heart of a man, who was fickle for just a night. This picture is not the only one to entertain and interest the patrons of the Majestic. A long and varied selection of supports is also screened. The great sheep-farming industry carried on in Hawke’s Bay is brought to the public gaze in “Farm Days,” a New Zealand Government publicity picture. The great droves of sheep being sheared and dipped, and the up-to-date methods now employed, are a realistic feature. “Cali a Cuckoo,” with Max Davidson, the little Jew, provides any amount of fun. His house is a strange one. Every button that is pressed does the wrong thing, and what happens then 15 where the fun comes in. There is a plot to this picture which works out to a comical conclusion. During its filming the Majestic Four sing a foxtrot chorus which is introduced into the picture, and provide an attractive interlude. The Majestic News, the film which is always keenly appreciated, is brimful of good things. A feature of this is the attempt to raise the American submarine S 4, which sank with all hands after being rammed. Realistic pictures of the divers going down to establish communication with the trapped men were filmed at close range. Speed-boats tearing through the water, steamers caught in the ice floes, a glimpse of the London floods and the Waratahs at play, all flash on the screen in interesting sequence. The Atlantic Fleet, under Admiral Sir Hubert Brand, preparing to leave for its spring cruise was a most spectacular and popular scene. Longer than most, the Majestic News is never too long for patrons of the theatre. In most appropriate surroundings, LlilltlfBlllllIIIII1ltlllIlltllll!llfll1llltl!!1!Illl(1!l!t!IIII fl!llfliffi!lll!ll

an officers’ mess room, the Majestic j Four combined in a number of pleas- j ing songs. Attired as officers in undress uniform, they sang their way j to popularity. Their numbers were jolly reminders of soldiers in lighter mood, and the songsters were recalled for their efforts. Each member of the Majestic Orchestra was in excellent form, and Mr. J. Whiteford- Waugh had them keyed up to present a splendid musical programme. The overture was “Hajre Kati," the violins being prominent in the big passages. . So excellently was it rendered that the orchestra was I called on to repeat It.