CIVIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 973, 16 May 1930, Page 14

CIVIC

"TAMING OF THE SHREW” TOMORROW The brilliant British film “Atlantic,” a dramatic tale of shipwreck, will have its final presentation at the Civic Tneatre this evening, together with its accompanying programme. From tomorrow the Civic will present Shakespeare’s comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew.” It is the tale of how Petrucliio, mad Petruchio, tamed the beautiful shrew, Katherine, and turned her from a hurricane into a gentle zephyr. But did he? Just how smart was this irresistible demon whose cock-sure

method put the she-devil in her place? Just how many times did the new, demure Katherine smile shyly to herself when obeying her husband’s bellowed commands? W a s the she-devil tamed or did she with coy diplomacy turn the tables on her belligerent spouse? These are the questions answered by Mary Pickford

and Douglas Fairbanks in “Taming of the Shrew,” the first co-starring vehicle for “The World’s Sweetheart’’ and her famous husband. These are the questions propounded by William Shakespeare when he Wrote the glorious comedy which has come finally to motion pictures after four centuries of success on the legitimate stage. The first co-starring production for the players finds Miss Pickford in an entirely new role while Petruchio is the same Fairbanks as of old. In her first costume play since the never-to-be-forgotten “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall,” Miss Pickford, as Katherine, adds a characterisation to her long list of successes which differs radically from the new Mary Pickford, born with the release of “Coquette.” But here again she demonstrates that she is without question the greatest emotional actress on the screen today. “Taming of the Shrew” is an alltalking picture, brought to the screen as a Sam Taylor production. Every bit of the dialogue spoken in the film was taken from the original Shakespeare, and every bit of atmosphere, from the characters to the sets, is in keeping with the customs of the 15th century. Among the players who support the stars in “Taming of the Shrew” are Dorothy Jordan, as Bianca; Joseph Cawthorn, as Gremio; Edwin Maxwell, as Baptista; Clyde Cook, as Grumio, and Geoffrey Wardell as Hortensio.

An excellent musical programme will bo presented.