STRAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 587, 13 February 1929, Page 14

STRAND

_ “TWO LOVERS” Vivid, unforgettable scenes of mar- | tial history have been joined with a love story of poignant tenderness to j make “Two Lovers,” the lilm now at * the Strand Theatre, a really brilliant | farewell appearance for the co-starr- , ins team of Ronald Colman and Vilma | Banky, under the insignia of Samuel | (ioldwyn. Hereafter they will ap- i pear as stars in their own right. “Two Lovers” is an adaptation from the famous Baroness Orczy novel, “Leatherface.” Though this novel and exciting story has been read by many and holds countless enthusiasts in advance, as many—and more—can now thrill to the visual representation of the mysterious leather - masked man who always turned up suddenly to save his lord liege, the Prince of Orange, from being captured by the enemy and letting Planders go into the hands of the invading Spaniards. Miss Banky, who grows more entrancing to behold with each picture, appears here appropriately as “the flower of Spain.” As niece of the barbaric, scheming Duke of Azar. she is forced into marriage with Mark Van Rycke, son of the high bailiff of Ghent. This marriage seems intended to pacify relations between the opposing countries, but its real qjni is to provide Lenora (Miss Banky) with facilities for spying. Her forced marriage is made doubly unhappy, soon after, when she learns that her real sweetheart has been murdered by the unknown Leatherface. And her embittered spying yields a list of the names of the conspirators who are plotting to oust the loahed Iberians from their beloved Flanders. How she discovers the identity of Leatherface, how she eventually comes to love her husband, Mark (Ronald Colman), and how her hands are painfully blistered in the desperate—and successful —effort to give the Flemish their freedom from the Spanish whom she represented; all this is told in a series of colourful and swift-moving and charming passages which would bo spoiled for you if they were related he-’© in detail. Enough to say that there is a marked sequence of dramatic and important events, and that the action is never halted for any extraneous spectacular episodes, the love scenes fitting in especially well and with tins restraint. The film is preceded by a gorgeous stage presentation, “A Night in Venice,” in which the soloists are Mary Cofield and Birrell O’Malley. Music is supplied by Eve Bentley’s Strand Orchestra.