AMUSEMENTS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 230, 3 February 1911, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS

THE LIOX AXD THE MOI'SK. At lialf-past eight o'clock to-morrow hiorning, nt Collier's, the box plans will be opened for the first and only production to be staged here of "The Lion and the Mouse" bv Mr. J. €. Williamson's Katherine Orey Company, at the Theatre Royal, on Monday night next. (iroat interest has been centred on the initial appearance here of .Miss Oroy, (hroiign the brilliant triumphs she has achieved in Wellington and Chri.stehurch, and the probabilities are that there will be a record demand for seats. To avoid unnecessary crushing a staff of ushers will form a queue from 8 o'clock, which will ensure that the earliest arrivals shall have the first choice of s'eats. The theme of ''The Lion and the Mouse" is one very much before the world to-dav. It is the burning question of America, and to a great extent it is a.subject that is forcing itself on other countries. This is the power of wealth. The lion in Mr. Charles Klein's drama is John fhirkett lvvder, a powerful financier, whose operations in the .struggle for the supremacy 'which great wealth brings to its possessor, have gained him the title of the American octopus. The mouse is Shirley lios.sroore who, as interpreted by Miss Katherine Orey, is said to be a delightful picture of a girl imbued with, a noble purpose, in the fulfilment', of which she is prepared to sacrifice her-own happi-[ ness.; Tue new "leading man," Mr. William Desmond, it is .said, gets every ounce out of the character.of .John linrkett Ryder (the lion). Ills, voice, appearance, manner, diction, are.all in accordance with the general notion of the heartless Yankee plutocrat. The furnishings of "The Lion and the .Mouse" are spoken of as being of a particularly handsome character. The fact that » great portion of the piece is enacted in the living room of the richest man in the world, necessitates the ejylie.llishing being of a more than ordinary luxuriant nature. Again, the ' by the ladies are, it is .said, ra'r.e of the modiste's art. Owing 1 to arrangements made ahead only one. representation can be given of "The Li'on and the Mouse," as the company are booked to open at l'ahnerston Xorth on Thursday i night.

BUFFALO BILL AND WILD WEST PICTURES. After protracted negotiations, the Messrs, McMahon have now secured the exclusive rights for New Zealanl of several of the remarkable bioscope films controlled in Australia by the big firm of J. D. Williams, the Greater, Ltd., Colonial Theatre, Sydney. This firm has drawn its subjects from all over the world. . The subject must be novel, and the treatment clean, but there must be originality, grip, compelling human interest. The firm has made it a rule to present no picture of which the immediate success is not assured, and that rule has never yet been broken. On Monday night McMalion Bros., in conjunction with Mr. G. H. Saunders, will present the first of these startling picture novelties, in the remarkable film, over four thousand feet in length, depicting scenes and incidents in the life oi the world-famed scout "Buffalo Bill." Every schoolboy has read of the thousands of hair-breadth escapes and marvellous shooting powers of this remarkable man, who, by sheer force of unflinching bravery and devotion to duty, has become one of the greatest and most famous figures of the time.

WHAT THE PEOPLE LIKE. New Plymouth people apparently )ikn the Biograph pictures, and the attennanc« at each succeeding concert is a proof of this. The wonder is, however, that the picture entertainments do nou draw crowded houses. The man who wants to see the sights of the worla can do it by this means without leaving his native town, and there is no doubt whatever that patrons of the pictures have a far better idea than others of

the habits, customs, buildings, and occupations of the inhabitants of the various countries depicted by this wonderful machine. A shillingsworth of a biograph is a profitable investment. h educates, it entertains, and it amuses, and it makes one wonder what science

will produce next. It has produced for us to-night a splendid collection of industrial, scenic, and humorous films. The scenic pictures alone are worth the money. The first of these, "Across the Glaciers," depicts a party of mountaineers ascending and descending some of the most inaccessible snow-clad peaks in the world. At every turn the climbers are best with extreme danger, and as the 'film runs out a splendid panorama of rugged grandeur is presented. "The Italian Lakes" is another beautiful film, and takes the onlooker over a very interesting trip. The dramas a ; re welt varied and highly interesting, while the educational and comic pictures make up a two hours' programme that should not be missed.