THE PLAZA AND TIVOLI

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 465, 21 September 1928, Page 14

THE PLAZA AND TIVOLI

“DANCING VIENNA” The adventures of an American boy, a jazz enthusiast, in the old YMenna of stately mansions and family feuds, is the theme of an interesting picture shown for the first time at the Plaza and Tivoli Theatres last evening. This is “Dancing Vienna,” in which the talented little actress, Lya Mara, has a leading role. Miss Mara seemed perfectly at home as a lively girl brought up in the severe atmosphere of the poor but aristocratic home of her grandparents. These grandparents still retained a family feud against the Konzaga branch of the family. The Konzagas, however, had made money in America, and when their old family mansion in Vienna was being sold, Johnnie was sent to buy it. In Vienna he meets Fritzi, the youngest member of the Zirsky family, and despite the family feud they fall in -ove. Troubles galore fall on the young lovers. Johnnie’s father arrives from America to stop the marriage, and Fritzi is denied a home with her incensed old grandparents. How happiness comes through the success of a revue in which Fritzi appears, fnakes an Interesting climax. The suspense is maintained right to the end of the story. Two outstanding features of this picture are the unique photographic effects and the splendid characterisations. Every performer fitted his part exactly. , The showing of the picture was preceded by a novel dancing prologue contrasting the jazz and the waltz, which was a feature of the picjture. The second picture shown, entitled “The Call of the Heart,” is made remarkable by the performance of the dog actor, “Dynamite.” He did numbers of new and clever tricks, including carrying a rabbit round in his mouth. The story is a fast-moving one of the early days on the ranges. An excellently varied supporting programme was presented. At the Tivoli Theatre Miss M. Anderson’s orchestra played “La Traviata” as the overture and “The Belle of New York” for the entr’acte. Incidental music included “The Bat” > and “A Waltz Dream” (Strauss), “Robin Hood” (Ketelbey), “The Silver Bell” (Schlepegrell), and Overture Italienne, ‘‘ls tna ” (Franceschi). HIRING EXTRAS FOR PICTURES The practice of hiring “extras” to carry their real-life tasks before the camera has proved of remarkable success in the past. Many people of varied walks of life who had never been inside a studio have often found themselves called on to act their everyday lives before the camera. Recently a company of players and technicians left the Paramount studios on a 3,000-mile location trip to a small fishing village. They were to film certain scenes for “The First Kiss,” the Garry Cooper-Fay Wray co-starring picture. On arrival there the director engaged over 125 sailormen and an entire oirster fleet for the production. A tall stnanger was seen recently at a popular dance hall in Los Angeles. He was Malcolm St. Clair, director of Clara Bow’s next Paramount picture, “The Fleet’s In.” Before the end of the evening he had hired 300 couples to appear in dance hall sequences of the new picture.

BRITANNIA SHOWS “WINGS”

“Bringing Up Father” will be shown at the Britannia Theatre this evening, starring Polly Moran and Farrel McDonald.

The fact that the new picture is based on George McManus’s famous cartoon comics presupposed laughs—but even this gives no idea of the utter hilarity of the picture. It is simply a collection of chuckles, guffaws and howls, bound together with a little heart interest story. There are moments when £he picture tugs at the heart-strings, it is true—deft little touches of human interest that only makes the comedy funner—but in the main it is 100 per cent, comic entertainment. “Wings,” the great aviation picture, with Clara Bow, Richard Arlen and Charles Rogers, will also be shown.

Following the triumphant opening of Warner’s “The Jazz Singer,” starring A 1 Jolson, it has been said that the premiere created more excitement than any other picture ever presented in New York. All of the reviewers on the New York papers went into ecstaeies over tha picture, and there is every reason for believing that in the presentation of the famous comedian in The Jazz Singer” Warner Bros, have achieved the greatest triumph of their careers.

With fhe addition of Charles Klein, Ray Cannon and Norman McLeod to its directing staff. Fox Films now has 21 directors at its West Coast studios. “The Fog,” based on a story by Charles F. Coe, will be Klein’s first directorial effort for Fox. He will have Mary Astor, George O’Brien, Earle Foxe and Ben Bard in the east for this production. McLeod will direct Rex Bell, the new Fox western star, and Mr. Cannon has not yet been assigned a picture.