STRAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 917, 10 March 1930, Page 15

STRAND

“THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES” How old is Sherlock Holmes? Interest in this question has been revived by the production of the alltalking Paramount picture, “The Return of Sherlock Holmes.” the feature at the Strand Theatre this week. Clive Brook, the featured player, lias figured out that Sherlock Holmes will celebrate his forty-third birthday this year. The sleuth made his literary debut in ISB7 when his creator, Sir Arthur Hoyle, presented him for the first time in “A Study in Scarlet.” In 1881, the master criminal hunter attained tremendous popularity via “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,” which first appeared in the Strand Magazine. His further exploits were recorded in “The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes,” “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” and “The Return of Sherlock Holmes.” Since Sir Arthur Conan Hoyle’s creation of the character, Sherlock Holmes has had a host of imitators and is rightly regarded as the literary ancestor of the large army of scientific detectives who have appeared between the covers of books and on the stage and screen of the world. In “The Return of Sherlock Holmes,” at the Strand Theatre, you meet not only the famous Sergeant Gripper, Sherlock Holmes and Hr. Watson, but also Moriarty, the arch-criminal, Colonel Moran, Sally Cheesecake and most of the other characters of the famous Sir Arthur Conan Hoyle detective stories. This all-talking Paramount picture introduces them in a baffling mystery which brought Sherlock Holmes out of retirement, and to the United States, for the first time. A number of shorter talkie items are also being presented. CRYSTAL PALACE, MT. EDEN The first opportunity to see and hear the sparkling farce comedy. “The Very Idea,” at the Crystal Palace Theatre, comes today, when that laugh feast commences its engagement there. Packed houses have rocked with laughter wherever “The Very Idea” made its bow. Played by a cast of true masters of comedy, the story, which deals with a practical application of the eugenic idea, provokes mirth from opening scene to final fadeout. Frank Craven, stage star making his first debut as a picture actor, provides many of the laughs 'as he tries to put the *” eugenic theory into practice. With him are heard and seen Allen Kearns, Olive Tell, Horis Eaton. JTheodore Von Eltz, Hugh Trevor, Sally Blane and Jeanne de Bard. “The Hocked Hoor.” all-talking picturisation of Channing Pollock’s “The Sign on the Hoor,” is soon to be exhibited here. Hirected by George Fitzmaurice. it has Rod La Rocque, Barbara Stanwyck, William. Boyd and Betty Bronson in its cast..