MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 753, 28 August 1929, Page 17

MAJESTIC

“LADY OF THE NIGHT” With all the wealth of the French Renaissance, the gilded palaces of the Third Empire and the almost medieval luxury of a decadent dynasty as his background, 3). W. Griffith has made one of the most noteworthy pictures of his career in “Lady of the Night.” now at the Majesic Theatre. With the single exception of “Intolerance,” with its acres of sets and thousands of “extras,” the settings for ‘ The Love Song” rival in magnitude and expense anything the pioneer producer of epics has done in recent years. One ballroom scene alone accommodates 500 dancers and rises to a height of 100 feet, with huge swinging doors 20 feet high. Griffith does not rely solely on “properties” to make his production an outstanding one. Ever an exponent of that school of directors who believe* in “hand-picked” talent, he selected William Boyd to play a role for which he was artistically suited—an idealistic romanticist in Prussian uniform. Jetta Goudal lits naturally into the environment of regal splendour of Napoleon’s court. Lupe Velez, whose talents turn to acting, dancing and singing, is given the opportunity to display her mastery of the latter art in those sequences of the picture which are synchronised to lier voice. The programme also includes a number of short talkies, including one in which George Robey, the famous London comedian, appears. Samuel Goldwyn’s first dialogue pic-, ture comes to the Majestic on Friday in “This Is Heaven,” Yilma Hanky’s second individual starring vehicle and the first time she lias appeared before the American public in a modern comedy role. In addition to the dialogue sequences in which Miss Hanky’s voice is heard on the screen, the picture possesses a synchronised score arranged and directed by Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld, whose recent work for Samuel Goldwyn has included the scoring of “The Awakening.”

James Hall and Fritzi Ridgeway, who appear prominently in support of Miss Hanky, have had ample stage experience. Miss Hanky herself was completing training for the Viennese stage when Samuel Goldwyn first signed her to come to Hollywood.