MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 860, 2 January 1930, Page 15

MAJESTIC

“BROADWAY BABIES” “Broadway Babies,” the new talkie at the Majestic Theatre this evening 1 , tears out the whole back stage \vall and lets one take the theatre apart and find out why it ticks. “Broadway Babies” takes the lid off the theatrical boarding-house, one of America’s great mysteries, and gives a bird’s eye view of its interior and of the working of the minds and beating of the hearts of its interesting occupants. “Broadway Babies” opens tiny windows in the hearts of a worldly-wise little group of chorus girls to show us what is back of their gold-digging, their brassy confidence and their bold attire. In addition, it is a new side light on the racketeering in New York’s night life and it even intimates that gunmen have hearts as well as lives to sacrifice for their dark profession. The story deals with the most interesting street in the world. There is no other real Broadway in the minds of many millions, save that swath of light on Manhattan Island. It has a fascination that cannot be denied, a lure that attracts, thousands yearly, either to become a part of its motley confusion or as sightseers, hungry for a part in the high life exemplified in such flashing fashion.

Alice White, whose success in motion pictures has been as spectacular as any star’s rise on New York’s Broadway ever was, was picked by First National as the ideal type to portray truthfully the story of a ••hoofer,” wise in the way of the world of bright lights but withal human and a bit pathetic. The undeniable fascination and glamour of the New York stage, the ; intoxication of a great Broadway sucI cess, names in lights, pictures in the | papers, fawning admirers, all of this 1 is only a part of the carefully detailed i picturisation of a chorus-girl’s experij ences. The other side is the theatrical j rooming house, the jealousy within the ; profession, the battle to keep a steady : head with a pounding heart, the disapj pointments, failures, and trials and ! tribulations that always precede and ( often follow the high spots of a ! "Broadway Baby’s” career. The cast supporting Miss White in "Broadway Babies” includes Marion I Byron. Sally Filers. Charles Delaney, Fred Kohler, Tommy Dugan and Louis Natheaux. Mervyn Leßoy directed. CRYSTAL PALACE, MT. EDEN i The chief attraction at the Crystal ! Palace Theatre is “High Voltage,” a • strong dramatic story with William i Boyd giving one of his fine characterisations. V ' The story, which is an all-talkie, ! concerns the amazing experiences of a party marooned in a lonely country hut during a big snowstorm. The party includes a fugitive from justice, ; a detective and a woman prisoner in his charge. During the storm the ex-convict takes charge and rations the others. Ho plans to help the girl escape and in this the detective Kelps then;, admiring their courage and character, but at the last moment a search party arrives by airplane. Phyllis Haver, the beautiful blonde actress, is the star of the second big feature, entitled "The Shady Lady.”