ROUND THE SHOWS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 500, 1 November 1928, Page 14

ROUND THE SHOWS

BIG PROGRAMMES AT GRAND The big programme now at .the Grand Theatre will be presented for the last time this evening. This includes the two special features, “The Big City,’* with . Lon Chaney as an underworld gang leader, and “The Devil Dancer,” with Gilda Gray as a slave dancer in a Tibetan pagan temple. An entirely new programme will be presented to-morrow, headed by the great naval film, “The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands.” This big picture was made with the full cooperation of the British Admiralty and depicts in a dramatic manner the sequence of events when the British and German squadrons met off the coast of South America. “GHOST TRAIN” AT EDENDALE “The Gateway of. the Moon.” an outstanding story of engineers in the South American jungle, will be shown at the Edendale Theatre this evening. Miss Del Rio, who achieved wide world fame with her characterisation of Charmaine in “What Price Glory,” again scores a triumph in the part of Toni, a half-caste girl in the wilds. Perhaps no star in motion pictures has both the alluring beauty and emotional capacity for portraying the role of such a primitive child of Nature as this same Miss Del Rio. "The Ghost Train,” the thrilling mystery comedy, will also be shown.

ADELPHI, GREY LYNN “THE MAGIC RUBY,” AN OPERETTA The bright little operetta, “The Magic Ruby.” will be presented by Miss Lillian Braithwaite, L.A.8., at the Adelphi Theatre, Grey Lynn, this evening. “The Magic Ruby” can be described as a combination of light musical opera and pantomime. and will be interpreted by a cast of 40 performers, mostly adults, with a few children as imps and fairies. Gorgeous dresses and colourful backgrounds are a feature of the play as can be judged from the scenes. Act I. is outside the Raja’s Palace. Act. 11. is set in the cave of Raj, the Rakohaza, and Act 111. is in the beautiful setting of the palace gardens.

“Good Morning Judge” has proved a decided treat for movie goers. It is a Reginald Denny feature, and is his best so far. It tops “Skinner’s Dress Suit,” “On Your Toes,” and others of the Universal star’s popular comedy hits. The handsome Denny is seen at his best, and he romps through the scenes scattering laughs and sparkling humour on every side. The climax, which is a fight between Denny and two crooks, makes up for any lack of tense situations in the early part of the picture. It is as thrilling as the remembered boxing bout in “On Your Toes,” which aroused so much praise from picturegoers.

PLAZA AND TIVOLI “THE COSSACKS” THIS EVENING “The Cossacks,” a red-blooded, lusty tale, thrilling with adventure and romance, and starring the well-known actor, John Gilbert, will be presented for the first time at the Plaza and Tivoli Theatres this evening. The new picture is a vivid romance of a life on the steppes, with Gilbert as a young Cossack soldier during the warfare with the Turks. It is an intimate study of the evolution of the soul of a youth who, from a poet, becomes a swashbuckling warrior as the result of his environment. Renee Adoree plays the heroine, as Gilbert’s Cossack Sweetheart, and Ernest Torrence his father, the old chieftain, with Paul Hurst, Neil Neely, Mary Alden, Josephine Borio, Dale Fuller and others of note in the cast. Besides the Russian locations a huge replica of a Turkish fort, in which the grim torture scene and the sensational storming of the stronghold by the Cossacks take place, is another massive setting. Laura La Plante, blonde, mischievous and delicious, will make the world a better place to live in for an hour and a-half when “Thanks for the Buggy Ride,” one of the best little love farces ever screened, will be shown as the second feature. There is an old Hindu proverb which declares that it takes two to make a buggy ride. The other featured player is Glenn Tryon, that famously funny peanut eater who made millions forget theim immediate troubles when he made them laugh in “Painting the Town” and “A Hero for a Night.”

“Thanks for the Buggy Ride” is just a delightfully humorous love story, written around the composing of the popular song of the same title. A full supporting programme will also be shown.

In “Wickedness Preferred,” Lew Cody and Aileen Pringle give the best performance of their co-starring career for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, far outdoing their previous successes, “Tea for Thrde” and “Adam and Evil.” This picture is a spicy burlesque of cave-man love—the actual application of the torrid theory—and what happens in the cave when the dreams have come true for two runaway romanticists should not be missed by blonde or brunette, male or he-male.

PRINCE EDWARD “RAMONA” AND “FIFTY-FIFTY GIRL” “Ramona” will be shown again this evening at the Prince Edward Theatre. It is a heart-stirring photoplay that makes one the victim of conflicting emotions. Tender pity, fierce resentment, outraged justice battle within as each member of the audience lives the tragic romance of the little halfbreed girl whose hours of love and “Paradise” pass so shortly. It Is one that tugs at the heartstrings, and becomes more potent and intimate through the delicate artistry of Dolores Del Rio, who paints the character of “Ramona” in a way which outdoes any other dramatic effort of the year. “The Fifty-Fifty Girl,” starring Bebe Daniels, completes the programme.

EVERYBODY’S “VANITY” Glamorous and ironical, “Vanity,” to be shown at the Everybody’s Theatre this evening, is an unusual story. Her brief war activities had coni pelled the beautiful, wealthy and fastidious Barbara Fjske to rub shoulders with persons from whom she would have been carefully guarded in her own social set. Among them was Dan Morgan, an audacious bully who, his advances thwarted, vowed to bring the haughty Barbara to terms. Catching her outside her home the afternoon preceding her wedding daV. he invites her to his tramp steamer. She declines, but the boredom of the evening, alone in her luxurious home, overwhelms her, and she acts upon a sudden impulse, grabs her wrap and hurries off to the pier. What happens to Barbarn .1 board the steamer makes up a mosi n ieresting &nd humorous story. Lout rice Joja and Charles Kay are the stars. “Adventure Mad,” with story set around the shores of the Mediterranean, is the second attraction. -Lillian Hall Davis and Nils Asther play the leading roles. LYRIC NEW PROGRAMME TO-MORF^W “A Reno Di\ r orce” is the title of one of the new pictures to be presented to-morrow at the Lyric Theatre. May McAvoy is the star of “A Reno Divorce” in which she plays the part of a reckless society girl, a devotee of all that makes life thrilling. Gaming she loves, and speeding, and it is the latter which changes the whole course of her life. Her wildly-driven car capsizes a youth who is quite the man of her dreams, but menace comes through the agency of a divorced couple, a drunken chaffeur, and innumerable other exciting and amusing things.

Five more players have been added to the already imposing cast of “The Last Warning,” in support of Laura La Plante. They are Charles French, Tom McGuire, Ella McKenzie, Fred Kelcey and Harry Horthrup. Paul Leni is rapidly completing the production.

TUDOR, REMUERA

“RAMONA’ When “Ramona” is thrown on the screen at the Tudor Theatre, Remuera, again this evening, those who have followed the rise of Dolores Del Rio will admit that her portrayal of the little Indian maiden whose life is constantly clouded with bitter grief and who rises to the heights in emotional acting in the character of “Ramona,” has given her best efforts in her career. A beautiful stage prologue has been arranged with Mr. Birrell O’Malley as the soloist.“JAZZ MAD” AT BRITANNIA “Jazz Mad” is the title of one of the new pictures at the Britannia Theatre this evening. This is a tender but powerful story of an old German musical composer who went to America with the score of his masterpiece, but found, instead of fame, poverty, and instead of opera, jazz. Jean Hersholt has the principal role, and Marion Nixon and George Lewis have the romantic leads. The second picture to be shown this evening is a story of the great outdoors. This is “The Sunset Legion.” with Fred Thomson as the star, and it tells of early days in a small Western town, and of many thrilling encounters between bandits and rangers.

Neely Edwards has been chosen to play the part of Sehultzie. the stage manager of the little theatrical company in “Show Boat,” Elise Bartlett the leading lady, Ellie, ana Harry Holden, the character actor, Mr. Means. Gertrude Howard, who was the Aunt Chloe in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” will'play the role of Queenie’ the cook on the show boat.

Charles Brabin has been assigned to direct the M.-G.-M. production of ths best selling novel of this year, 'Thj Bridge of San Luis Key.”