“PARADISE”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 631, 6 April 1929, Page 16

“PARADISE”

MAJESTIC’S NEW PICTURE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS Described as the English Valentino, Alexandre D’Arcy thrilled the heart of feminine Auckland in the British film “Paradise,” which opened the new picture week at the Majestic Theatre last evening. The picture proved conclusively that British producers can more than hold their own in competition with their American cousins, and the film shown last evening laid among the splendour of the Riviera carried conviction to all who saw it. The pursuit of happiness was the theme, and the plot was subtly worked out to show that it does not exist in outer things, but in the attitude of mind toward what are considered the commonplace situations of every-day life. The story is from the pen of that prince of journalists, who has turned his talent toward novels—Sir Philip ■ Gibbs —and it concerns the adventures of a young English gi.rl who is t \ d of the drab and sordid life of English respectability, and longs to experience life from the point of view of the wealthy and care-free. Despite the entreaties of a young doctor who loves her. she decides to go to the Riviera and live a life of social gaiety, following on the winning of £ suo in a crossword competition. She finds she is somewhat out of place among all the whirl of the famous resort and that the tinsel pleasure of the Mediterranean shores are no more to her than the simple delights of home. Meeting a young Russian emigre who is the paid dancer at the hotel where she stays, she is wooed by him and introduced into his little Bohemian coterie, where she finds that convention is honoured more in the breach than in the observanve, and though she strives to accept the situation, the training of an English vicarage cannot be overcome. Followed to the Riviera by her young doctor lover who seeks to win liter back to her home, a series of dramatic situations pile one upon the other and, forced to choose between the Russian dancing partner and the young doctor, she chooses the former. How she is saved from herself and from worse by an apparent accidenthow the scales fall from her eyes, and she is led to see that the simple life of her English birthplace is more than the glamour of the unconventional Riviera—these points are subtly unfolded in a number of delicate situations, requiring characterisation far above the ordinary. The actors excel themselves. Betty Balfour, England's premier actress, is in the title role, and gives one of the finest tite.rpretations of her career. The whole gamut of emotions Is shown over the course of the picture, and Betty Balfour portrays every phase of human feeling delicately and admirably. Alexandre D’Arcy, who, as the young dancing partner, ostensibly occupies the position of villain in the picture, gains sympathy by his restrained portrayal. One of the handsomest men who have ever appeared on the screen, he throws vigour and enthusiasm into his part. Joseph Striker, as the young doctor, is excellent, and the supporting cast, includes Winter Hall, the well-known New Zealand character actor. On the stage, Mr Yorke Gray presents a beautiful dance scena, “The Willow Pattern Plate,” based on the story of the familiar crockery pattern. The whole is staged against a delicate background of blue and white, and Miss Cecil Hall’s ballet gives a charming series of dances, the solo dancer being Miss Isobel Brooke. Other principals in the production arS Mr. George Tarr, Mr. Gerald Wright and Mr. Linton Eskrigge. In the supporting items of the programme are the popular Majestic Magazine, a clever Aesop Fable cartoon, depicting the habits of the annoying little flea, and a scenic film outlining the humorous adventures of a party of tourists on the Mediterranean coast. A special novelty is the film. “Songs of England,” showing English rural scenes, arranged for synchronisation with old English ballads, which are played by the Majestic Orchestra.