PLAZA AND TIVOLI

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 618, 21 March 1929, Page 15

PLAZA AND TIVOLI

“BEGGARS OF LIFE’’ Characters culled from, that littleknown world, the fringe of the social milieu, portrayed by a. cast of players selected from Hollywood’s best, are presented in the story of tramps—strong, hard, raw, stark—“ Beggars of Life,” to be shown at the Plaza and Tivoli Theatres this evening. Wallace Beery, back to serious( heavy roles, presents one of the greatest fictional characters of all time. As Oklahoma Ked, Beery is once again pictured in a part worthy of his talent. He is the incarnation of the glorious vagabond, huge, vital, human, an animal with a deep roaring laugh, roving through the world, beating a living out of life, cruel, lustful, domineering, brutal, -sacrificing himself with the same easy smile with which but a moment previously he hurled a man to a violent death. Intriguing, interesting, with a cold, half-insolent beauty of face and figure masking a hidden fire, Louise Brooks is here allowed to flame on the screen for the first time. In “Beggars of Life” a new Louise Brooks bursts forth to grasp the first big chance of her career. There are others —characters, of men seldom seen on the screen, and almost never revealed to the world. The slinking figures that appear tor a moment at the back door, on the ciay streets, beg a morsel of food or a bit of money, and then disappear. few know where or why they go. Billie Love, whose newest picture will be the second attraction this evening, has been supplied with one of the finest casts that it would be possible to assemble. The picture is “Adoration,” an exotic drama of Lussia and Paris. ' ' . Antonio Moreno plays the masculine lead opposite the beautiful star, Ninette a French maid who later becomes a fashionable pet of Parisian society of the underworld, is played by Lucy Loraine, former U.F.A. star, and one of the most beautiful and popular ot European screen artists. Nicholas Soussanin is cast as Vladimir, the villain of the piece, and Nicholas Bela plays Ivan, a super-valet, who grows rich in Paris after the Russian revolution sweeps away all old

social landmarks. Winifred Bryson is a baroness; Lucien Prival is her husband in the film; Emil Chautard, former director, plays Muravjev, a Russian general. The prince and princess, Moreno and Miss Love, have emotional roles that are extremely effective. For sheer emotional thrill. there have been few" screen stories to equal “Adoration.”