BRITANNIA

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 636, 12 April 1929, Page 14

BRITANNIA

“THE MAN WHO LAUGHS” The film version of the great \ ictor Hugo novel, “The Man Who Laughs, is now at the Britannia Theatre. The* story tells of a laughing man who jiad the eternal grin etched on his face by gipsy traders when a child; When he grows to manhood he suffers more than the usual run of heartbreaks, yet the laughing expression- belies his tortures. Cdnrad Veidt gives a fine performance in the title role. Here is an actor who is capable of portraying every emotion with one facial expression; his sadness, sufferings and joy being revealed only through the medium of his eyes. Josephine Crowell makes an interesting and perverse Queen Anne, who “takes care” of people in her own fine fashion; Mary Philbin is a pretty heroine, and Olga Baclanova a tempestous siren. “Ladies Must Dress,” the second picture, is an enjoyable comedy of domestic worries, starring Virginia Valli. Five of the foremost stars in the screen world made their “talkie” debut at United Artists’ studios last month. They are Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Vilma Banky, Douglas Fairbanks, and Ronald Colman, who talk in

“Coquette,” “Queen Kelly,” “Child of Fifth Avenue,” “The Iron Mask,” and “Bulldog Drummond” respectively.