“RAMONA” STILL PLEASES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 484, 13 October 1928, Page 14

“RAMONA” STILL PLEASES

BIG BRITISH FEATURE COMING TO STRAND The best recommendation for “Ramona,” which is still pleasing large audiences at the Strand Theatre, is that it is to enter its fourth week of showing in Auckland next week. A picture has to be extraordinary to establish such a record. Yet the only extraordinary thing about Ramona is its extreme beauty. The story is a simple romance and is centred in California in- the early days. The exotic touch of Spain is blended with the picturesque romance of a new land. Dolores del Rio has scored a wonderful hit as the heroine, Ramona. She is the fascinating foster-daughter of a dignified Spanish colonial family. She falls in love with Allesandro, an Indian shearer, despite the high hopes of her family, which refuses to countenance the match.

Don Felipe, a Spanish gentleman, also loves Ramona, but sacrifices his affection and aids the lovers. They are married. „ Within three years tragedy ruins their happiness and Felipe’s devotion is rewarded.

Warner Baxter, as Allesandro. gives an impressive portrayal, and Floland Drew makes a convincing Felipe. As a prologue to the picture, Mr. Birrell O’Malley sings “Ramona,” and the orchestra, under Miss Eve Bentley, plays incidental music. On Wednesday the big British naval film,' “The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands” is to be shown for the first time in New Zealand. The great Australian military leader, Sir John Monasli, gave this as his opinion of the film: “The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands’ is in many respects unique and memorable. No previous picture, whether of sea or land warfare, has been so completely realistic, so true in every detail, so educational, and so profoundly inspiring It reveals the story of a great naval drama of which the world so far has known little. The actors in this wonderful reconstruction of great historic happenings included seven of his Majesty’s ships of the Royal Navy, and the whole of their crews, and that alone, when fully realised, stirs the imagination. But, above all, the picture leaves the spectator with a feeling of profound admiration for, and confidence in, the quiet efficiency of the great ‘silent service’ as an instrument for preserving the freedom of the seas, and the integrity of the British Empire.” In this picture the British producers prove that they can lead the rest of the world in realism.