“NOAH’S ARK”

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 952, 21 April 1930, Page 13

“NOAH’S ARK”

MIGHTY SPECTACLE ST. JAMES’S BIG PICTURE Stupendous in conception, magnificent in the sweep of its action, with glittering ancient pageantry contrasting with grim modern drama, the film “Noah’s Ark” amazt'd the packed audience at the St. James Theatre on Saturday evening.

ANE can well believe that the film took three years in the making and employed 10,000 people. It is really big. Here is no light drama or entertaining tale, but two epoch-mak-ing events, powerfully told, with their tenseness gripping the audience. The story opens in Europe in August, 13)14. The Paris-Orient ex.press is roaring through the night with a cosmopolitan crowd —laughing, courting, arguing and drifting heedlessly into the maelstrom of tumult and death, just as the antedeluvian populace drifted in the gay world that was swallowed by the Flood. Startlingly sudden, a train smash! Shrieks and tearing and burning and horrible deaths. There emerges mote or less unharmed, two Americans, a beautiful German girl from the troupe, an old parson and Russian, who turns out to be a secret service official. There follows the mad, hectic days of the war, of the fever of excitement that swept France, and, later, the wild enthusiasm that greeted the first American troops in Paris, which again sweeps the leading characters into the vortex. Then the scene changes. The picture goes back to the days when “Noah walked with God” and when ‘‘the earth was corrupt and filled with violence.” It shows the ' pomp and ceremony of the court of old King Xephilim at the feast of the mighty God Jaghuth—a spectacle of thousands of helmeted spearsmen, of fanfares of trumpets, of courtyards crowded with subjects. Such massive sets have not been seen in films for years. Here the characters are all prototypes of the earlier scenes—the pretty German girl becomes Miriam. her American husband is Japeth, son of Xoah, the old parson is Xoah, the obnoxious Russian is King Xephilim, and so on. God’s command in the mountains telling Xoah that He will wipe out the world and directing the building of an Ark are impressively portrayed. After building his Ark Xoah arrives at the palace with his warning amid scenes of ancient debauchery and torture that are almost unbelievable, and i is scoffed at. “And it came to pass that the waters of the flood were upon the earth ... all the fountains of the great deep broken up and thef windows of heaven were opened.” —Gene-sis vii., 10-11. The swirling waters engulf the people and destroy the mammoth buildings amid scenes of the fiercest turmoil. Miriam and Japeth, who had been captives at the palace, are released, King Xephilim tries in vain to save himself, thousands of people are drowned. Inside the immense Ark all is peace and quiet. Shem and Ham are feeding the animals, Noah gives praise for their deliverance, and the scene in

softly dissolved into the locale of the modern story' again. The bells are pealing and everyone is singing, for the Armistice has just been signed. The acting throughout is of a particularly high standard. Dolores Costello and George O’Brien have the leading roles in both sections, while Xoah Beery is the Russian and the King, and Paul McAllister is Xoah and the old parson. Each give wonderfully accurate characterisations. There was, as usual, an excellent supporting programme. One of the short talkie featurettes had the unusual distinction of drawing warm applause from the audience. This was an amusing but nevertheless accurate indictment of the modern flapper. The Revellers Quartet sang two or three songs, and Giovanni Martinelli. tenor of the Metropolitan Grand Opera Company, sang in his powerful voice a scene from the opera La Juive.”