MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 624, 28 March 1929, Page 17

MAJESTIC

“ROMANCE OF THE UNDERWORLD” “The Constant Nymph,” the delightfully fresh and entertaining picture of the famous novel, with Mabel Poulton and Ivor Novello in the leading roles will be shown at the Majestic Theatre for the last time this evening. The gorgeous stage presentation, “The Fan Fantasy,” will also finish this evening. Picturegoers who delight in screen stories that catch the interest in the first hundred feet of projected film and hold them tense for an hour, will do well to visit the Majestic Theatre, where “Romance of the Underworld,” a Fox Film directed by Irving Cummings, will be shown from Saturday next. Having in mind the former brilliant production of Cummings’s “Dressed to Kill,” it may be of interest to state that everywhere “Romance of the Underworld” has been shown, Cummings and Fox Films have been credited with surpassing their former combined effort. Based on the stage play of the same name, written by Paul Armstrong, this melodrama of the underworld and gangland has been brought right up to date. It is logical every foot of its film way, and is marvellously acted by a brilliant cast headed by Mary Astor, Ben Bard and Robert Elliott. It tells the story of a girl driven by circumstances to eke out a livelihood as an entertainer in a cabaret of a “speak-easy,” and who resolves to go straight, an effort not without many heartaches and struggles. She finally achieves her goal through the offices of a good-hearted detective. Thrills abound and the tensest moments are lightened by some genuine comedy situation, which the director has well taken advantage of.