NEW SOUND SCREEN

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 744, 17 August 1929, Page 16

NEW SOUND SCREEN

MAJESTIC BECOMES A TALKIE THEATRE “THE AWAKENING’’ OPENS Last evening the Majestic became a talkie theatre. i he screen spoke, and the orchestra, though still present, was but a fleeting shadow of its former, familiar self. The occasion was a significant one in that it marked the capitulation or the most prominent rampart in the last tailing fortress of Auckland's silent screen entertainment. Obviously the move-was an inevitable one. Talkies have captured the imagination of the public and have made good. As representatives of a new era in films they seem destined to supplant the old entirely. “The Awakening,” an exceptional United Artists picture, sound synchronised and enriched with songs, headed the opening programme under the new regime. Starring Vilmu Banky and Walter Byron, it proved to be a photoplay of artistry and imagination far above the average. “Beautiful” is an adjective rarely merited by any film in an age when art is more than often sacrificed on the altar of action. Yet “The Awakening” demands this description. Played in a series of entrancingly lovely settings, that capture with wonderful realism the -quiet, old-world charm of Alsace, it is superbly photographed in every scene. The acting—and excellent acting it is—takes place before a background of rustic beauty that brings the atmosphere of the romance right iiito the theatre and keeps it there until the last sequence hy.s passed through the projector. Three chorus songs are blended into the action. There is “Marie,” a pretty number written for the picture by Irving Berlin, "Ave Maria” sung by a choir of nuns and a spirited Uhlan chorus. Telling the age-old triangle story m a new way “The Awakening” deals with the love of a peasant girl of Alsace for a Uhlan officer who visits her village in the palmy days before the Great War. For him she compromises herself and is made an outcast. Then comes the turmoil, and she meets her lover in altered circumstances. She remains true to him and finds happiness through the efforts of her most bitter one-time accuser. Vilma Banky plays the peasant girl with a dreamy artistry that is flawless. Walter Byron is all that an immaculate leading man should be, while Louis Wolheim gives a splendid portrayal of the embittered French farmer. Supporting the feature film is an outstanding talking Dickens sketch by the famous Bransby Williams. To a greater degree than before does this film demonstrate the worth of talkies as a means of bringing the cream of the world’s talent to one’s doorstep, so to speak. Mr. Williams is magnificent as “Grandfather Small weed,” and his art may be enjoyed to a far greater extent than is possible in the legitimate theatre. Every syllable be uttera is heard distinctly, and every facial expression is registered and enjoyed. A copy of Fox Movietone News and selections by Waring’s Pennsylvania Band completed the talkie films and Eve’s Review was screened to the accompaniment of the Majestic Orchestra. the continued presence of which was appreciated.