PRINCESS AND TIVOLI

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 399, 6 July 1928, Page 15

PRINCESS AND TIVOLI

“COHENS AND KELLYS” An Irishman, a Jew, and a Parisian model—what a combination. Their adventures raised the merriest of laughter at the Princess and Tivoli Theatres last night and, then when drama and pathos followed, the house was perfectly silent, only to be plunged into laughter again when another comedy bit was flashed on the screen. As the fiery Irishman, J. Farrel MacDonald has given one of the performances of rare skill for which he is noted. Comedy and not a little real acting fall to him during the picture. The director of this picture, “The Cohens and Kellys in Paris,” was careful that the picture should at no time approach slap-stick and there is no hint of that type of humour. Rather the story is a serious heart drama with a goodly dose of comedy thrown in by the clever acting and the intelligent directing—so much comedy, in fact, that the picture is labelled as a comedy-drama. Vera Gordon rose to feature heights through her performance in the first “Cohens and Kellys,” which was one of the most successful comedy-dramas ever released. “The Cohens and Kellys in Paris” proves that she is also gifted with the ability to tinge her acting with subtle comedy touches. An exceptionally appealing father is played by George Sidney, while Kate Price does her best comedy work as the wife of the Irish partner. Gertrude Astor is a dizzy French model and Sue Carol is good to look at. Charles Delaney accounts handsomely for the role of young Kelly, an art student in love with Miss Cohen. The story concerns an Irish and a Jewish family who are partners in business. Frequent fights between them result in a feud which carried both families to Paris on the same boat to stop the wedding of Miss Cohen to young Mr. Kelly. That’s where the fun begins and it would detract from the pleasure of witnessing the picture to tell the whole plot. The story can’t be beat and the cast was well chosen. A British picture is also being shown on the same programme, an imagina-

five and picturesque film entitled “Confetti.” “Confetti” is a charming fantasy of carnival time in Nice, and its theme is “age to age and youth to youth.” It begins with masquerade, slips into real life, and finishes on masquerade again. The two most outstanding features of the picture are the wonderful scenes of the Nice Carnival and the brilliant character acting by Miss Sydney Fairbrother, as the Grand Duchess. Most of the work falls to Mr. Jack Buchanan as the Count, and he proves himself an able actor.