STRAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 332, 18 April 1928, Page 14

STRAND

CHARLIE IN “THE CIRCUS”

Charlie Chaplin's "The Circus," which is now nearing the completion of its third triumphant week of screening at the Strand Theatre, is a screaming delight from beginning to end. At every screening of this great photoplay. the Strand is packed to the doors bv liappv patrons—an excellent testimonial if by any chance one had been called for. to the great and enduring ; affection in which this illustrious little man is held. » . . -I "The Circus” is one of the best and i most amusing of all Charlie Chaplin s j pictures, and it is one of the best anu most amusing be-

cause of the fact that it is cast in the same old mould out of which so many of his earlier triumphs came. In form and method it is pleasantly reminiscent and familiar, and in it there is much of soft pie. of brushfuls of soapsuds, of chases, of animals, of swift kicks. The ( same general type*** of excruciatingly * funny situations, gag on gag, in

which Charlie dealt in the old days, and these now edged | and glossed with all the fine, sharp shadings, the value of which he knows so well, and in the execution of which he has always been so genuinely the master. . No outline of the story, of simple statement of narrative, of course, serves to impart, or even suggest any very great deal of the warmth and beauty in which a Chaplin comedy is played, but Auckland picturegoers may rest assured that in the picture at the Strand there is to be found quite as much of the deep and piercing drama j which is embedded in every lonely, ; humble life, as there is in the life of a . man who must be funny. There is a pleasant prologue to “The j Circus,” provided by the “Tiny Tots.” i who dance prettily, tumble, and finally introduce their famous elephant, a most intelligent beast. “Memories of the Old Country” is one of the finest scenic films of Great Britain ever shown here, and historical interest is stimulated by scenes of famous events. Eve Bentley and her orchestra play “Pot Pourri” as an -overture, and play pleasant incidental music.