BOUCICAULT SEASON

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 576, 31 January 1929, Page 15

BOUCICAULT SEASON

“ALL THE KING’S HORSES” TO-NIGHT Mr. Carroway Pim, one of the most delightful characl ers of modern drama, “passed-” for the last time at Ilis Majesty's last evening. There was a big audience to see the last of tlio famous old rabbit-like gentleman, who causes such consternation in the Marden household. Irene Vanbrugh was charming and Dion Boucicoult marvellous in the parts which were made for them and which make the show. The other members of the cast, notably Rowena Ronald, played their roles delightfully. This evening and on the five following evenings the supporting company will present for the first time to playgoers of New Zealand C. E. Openshaw’s comedy, “All the King’s Horses,” which was specially written for Miss Vanbrugh. In it she made her reappearance in London after her triumphant tour of New Zealand and Australia, and her debut in the role of Alice Everett was the signal for unprecedented enthusiasm. “It is one of Miss Vanbrugh's greatest charms that she can turn from heavy emotional acting to the lightest and airiest of fun and achieve equal success in each,” a Sydney critic wrote. “Miss Vanbrugh’s Mrs. Everett in ‘All the King’s Horses,’ which she portrayed with great success in London, was a woman such as anyone would be glad and proud to meet. “She was genuinely funny in the scene following the little dinner in her own room, at which she fortified herself with a pint of champagne. Like the beverage she. sparkled and sizzled until the house roared.” It would be quite a difficult matter to select from Mr. Boucicault’s long list of successful characterisations the best of them, but an Australian critic stated he has never been seen to better advantage than he was in “All the King’s Horses.” The cast includes Annie Saker, Rowena Ronald, Ronald Ward, J. B. Rowe, Beatrice Fischer, Esmond Jones and Eileen Morris. Next Thursday and on the two following nights the season will close with three presentations of “Aren't We All?” Arrangements have been completed for the early release of “The Trail of ’98,” the screen version of Robert W. Service’s novel. “The Trail of ’9B” has been described by critics as “the greatest film the screen has known.” At the Tivoli Theatre, London, this picture smashed the record previously held by "Ben Hur,” although the receipts for the latter picture constituted a record for the British Isles, -which it was thought impossible to approach. The principal roles in the picture are played by Dolores Del Rio, Ralph Forbes, Karl Dane, George Cooper and Tully Marshal. Lewis Stone will be associated in another Greta Garbo picture following “The Woman of Affairs,” in which John Gilbert is co-starred. The title of the new picture is not yet announced.