LUPE VELEZ SCORES

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1065, 1 September 1930, Page 15

LUPE VELEZ SCORES

NATIONAL’S BIG SHOW EXCITING FILM Lupe Velez is Anita, the daugh- j ter ‘of Morgan, a descendant of the great buccaneer in “Hell Harbor,” which was presented to a large audience at the National Theatre on Saturday evening. “•Hell Harbor” is a. tale of piratelike traders, modern incarnations of Kidd and Silver, who seek to steal, not only gold, but ladies’ hearts. On the Island of Madre, a rough jewel of the Carribbean where a polyglot crowd makes life swift and interest- , ing, Lupe as Anita, is beset by a I treacherous father who wishes to marry her to a shrewd trader, played deftly and ably by that excellent character actor, Jean Hersholt. Out of the frustration of her father’s attempt to marry her to Horngold. the trader, comes Lupe’s true love—a lover, American and bold—played by John Holland. The featured players, Lupe and Jean Hersholt, play their parts admirably. Lupe gives a vigorous interpretation of the wild, young lass whose unbending will gives the story impetus. For the first time she speaks and the voice which was heard singing in “Lady of the Pavements,” comes now vibrantly and sweetly with the words of Anita in “Hell Harbor.” Here is a naivete to the manner in which Lupe speaks her lines that is altogether charming. The story brings one back to those glamorous days when pirates really had cutlasses and black-eyes. It winds its way thrillingly through a scries of murders and scrimmages and concludes as all stories must conclude—with the vivacious Lupe fast in the arms of her man and the moon shining down upon them. But there is really substance to the tale. It recounts the hardness of a father to his daughter and of his attempt to marry her to his own monetary advantage; and of her refusal to bow to his selfish will. Mr, Hersholt has always been a good actor. From the first days many years ago when he played in a Stockholm theatrical company, he has had a genius for characterisations. His portrayals have the warmth of a Dickens caricature. His portrayal of Horngold in '‘Hell Harbor” adds another finely drawn picture to a glowing gallery. As the crafty, shrewd trader of hearts and diamonds, Mr. Hersholt is completely a master. Henry King, the director of “Tol'able David.” “The "White Sister” and other notable camera works of art, is responsible for “Hell Harbor.” He it was who first decided to make the picture entirely outside a studio and far away from California. He has handled the players well and the picture moves with a tempo, proper for the dispatching of this tale of love on the Island of Madre. A fine supporting programme is also being screened, which includes “Happy Golf,” and “Ride ’Em Cowboy.” The former in an extremely interesting film, in which Alex Morrison, a wellknown American golfer, explains each movement in the various strokes. The pantomime, which has been at the matinees during the I past, week, will be continued for a few I more days.