MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 537, 14 December 1928, Page 15

MAJESTIC

“ANNIE LAURIE” THIS EVENING

Annie Laurie, beloved to the world for centuries in song and «tory, has come to life again—bn the screen. This is the latest role of Lillian Gish, queen of romantic drama, who enacts the historic Scottish heroine in her latest Metro-Gold w;s*n-Mayer vehicle, “Annie Laurie,” the dramatic spectacle of the Scottish Highlands, to be shown at the Majestic Theatre this evening. As the Scottish Joan of Arc, Miss Gish plays a role so totally different from any in her career that it seems amazing. As Annie Laurie, noblewoman and mistress of the great; Maxwelton Castle —then as a woman, braving the spears of her own tribesmen to save the man she loves, she has a role that plumbs the elemental depths of a woman’s soul. ' The new picture is a gorgeous production, with huge replicas of famous Scottish castles, hundreds of huge bearded Scottish warriors, in kilts and tartans, battling in the rugged tliglilands with claymore and shield, the spectacular gathering of the clans at Maxwelton, copied from history, and other elaborate detail. Norman Kerry plays the leading male role as lan, chieftain of the MacDonald clan, and Elobart Bosworth is a mighty figure as the historic “Wolf of Glencoe.” Others in tho cast include Brandon Hurst, David Torrence, Russell Simpson, Creighton Elale, Patricia Avery, Joseph Striker and others of note. Elaborate research made every detail true to actual Scottish history, until the picture could almost be called the epic of Scotland on the screen. All the romance and glamour of the Scottish Highlands was preserved, together with many of the grim details of its turbulent history. The supporting programme will include an Aesop fable, “Hold That Thought,” another laughable Max Davidson, comedy,” Dumb Daddies,” and the latest edition of the Majestic News with scenes of Belgium’s greatest steeplechase, the launching of a threeengined 1-ton flying boat, a giant landslide at Isle of Wight, tho Prince of Wales, second in point-to-point steeplechase, over Willimete cataract in home-made canoe, and civic week marathon at Liverpool. Mr. J. Whiteford Waugh’s Majestic Orchestra will present a special musical programme of Scottish airs.