MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 565, 18 January 1929, Page 15

MAJESTIC

NEW PICTURES THIS EVENING The programme to be presented by the Majestic Theatre this evening is an exceptionally well-balanced one, comprising both humour and the stark drama 01 war. The two main pictures are Syd Chaplin’s “The Fortune Hunter” and “The Somme,” the story of the great battle. “The Fortune Hunter” is, without a doubt, Syd Chaplin’s best comedy. Here is a picture that bristles with the life of a smart village up in Vermont. Badville is one of those growing towns boasting a high school, a bank, and a -regular post office with combination lockboxes and everything. The o 1 d people may be puritanical a n d slow-going, but the youngsters are up to the minute, for don’t they get all the movie journals and the magazines with the honest-to-goodness stories in them ? In “The Fortune Hunter,” the charm lies in the wholesomeness of the story and the cleverness of the characterisation of types that are sympathetic and human. Syd Chaplin is seen as a young fellow who takes up his home in the village in order that lie may marry into one of the well-to-do families. Of course, he does not do anything of the kind. The greatest British war film, “The Somme,” produced by the Hew Era Company, in close co-operation with the War Office, will also be screened this evening.

Great care lias been taken to reconstruct the facts of the campaign, and many novel photographic effects have been introduced. Reference to German documents has supplied details for the reconstruction of scenes in German trenches, dug-outs and behind the German lines. Actual tanks, which saw service on the Somme, are utilised for scenes showing the first entry of the tanks into the fighting zone, and many thrills are supplied by those un-wieldy-looking machines.

Real shell and machine-gun fire were used for many of the big scenes in the film —the first time this has been permitted for film-making. An attack on German observation balloons (the real things were secured for the production) by our aircraft, is one of the thrills. Acres upon acres of mud, terrible mud, are seen in the latter part of the film —a striking contrast to the chalky dust and dry gravel of earlier scenes.

V.C. incidents include the winning of the honour by Colonel Campbell, of the Coldstream Guards, when he rallied his men—on the verge of collapse—with a call on a hunting horn.

The supporting programme, which includes a Majestic News, is headed by a novel stage presentation by Y-orke Gray entitled “Adam and Eve." Excellent musical accompaniment by Mr. Whiteford Waugh’s Majestic Orchestra will include two of the latest fox-trots, “From Saturday Night to Monday Morning,” and “Anything You Say,” also the famous “1812” overture.

TWO NEW YORK PLAYS

Carl Laemmle has purchased two highly-prized New York stage plays, together with full talking and musical rights. The-first was “The-Climax.” in which Jean Uersholt will play the lead under the direction of Renaud Hoffman. Julian Josephon is writing the continuity, and Carl' Laemmle, jun., will supervise.

The second is "Barnum was Right,” by Philip Bartholomae and John Meehan, purchased for the use of Reginald Lenny. It played a long engagement at the George M. Cohan Theatre with Donald Brian starred.

“Tt’s not like working on the stage or like working in pictures,” says Lila Lee, apropos her first talking picture engagement. It is in “Queen of the Night Club” that Lila is using her stage-trained voice over Vita-phone. Like a number of other picture actors, she is finding previous legitimate experience of great value in the latest form movies are taking, _ *