ENTERTAINMENTS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 228, 25 March 1912, Page 4

ENTERTAINMENTS

EMPIRE PICTURES. Another crowded house greeted the change of programme on Saturday evening, when some splendid pictures were screened. Bobby Leach's daring feat of shooting the Niagara Falls inside a barrel drew continuous applause from the audience. He is towed by a boat to the edge of the rapids, and is then precipitated into the water, eventually being picked up by the boat and brought back to his starting place, where he receives the congratulations of a large crowd of spectators who had gathered round. "The Hot Lands" is a drama that is worthy of considerable praise. A woman is seen about her daily work, the temperature being at 90 deg. Her daughter comes along and asks to be allowed to go to a dance with her cousin, but is refused, and the mother, through the i harsh words spoken to her by her J daughter, drops upon the ground with f shock. A servant happens to be near I and at once calls out to the girl, who is in the act of making off. The girl at once goes for a doctor, and on the way meets her cousin, borrows his horse, | and speeds off with all haste. On ari rival at the doctor's house she at once j informs him of her mother's illness, and | they start off back to the house. ' The ) doctor pronounced her to be suffering I from sunstroke and fever, and orders J that ice must be applied to her head within three hours. In those parts ice is as "rare as gold," and the nearest place was 25 miles distant. The girl does not hesitate, however, but borrows one of her cousin's horses from the stable and makes off with all speed, but to her horror she finds the door of the cellar locked and no one near. This does not deter her, however. She ties j a rope attached to her saddle to the lock on the door and then moves the horse off. The lock yields to the pres»«re, and she helps herself to the ice. She starts on her homeward journey, but when about seven miles from home is held up by a robber. He mounts her horse and rides off. The poor girl is overcome with horror at the thought of her mother lying at home, and she determines to do the remainder of the journey on foot. She has many hardships on her way, but finally she'reaches 1 the house overcome with fatigue, so much so that she just manages to open the door and falls headlong in the doorway. The ice is applied to the mother's head and by its timely arrival she quickly recovers. Two weeks later shows mother and daughter happier than ever. The exhibition of swimming, floating, and life-saving by Miss Lily Smith is a good sporting picture. She (lives from the springboard, but before commencing to swim she turns a complete somersault in the water, and does it so neatly that one would think it quite an ordinary occurrence. The Essanay drama, "The Diamond flang," proved to be up to the usual standard of these high class films. A detective, by order of the chief of police, enters the gang's plaee of abode, but on his arrival finds that the suspects are missing. While speaking with a servant they arrive. The detective retires, but comes back later and donning the servant's clothes commences to do the lather's work. While in the act of peeping through the door the suspects open it and the door opening inwards, he is thrown into the hands of the diamond gang, who at once handcuff and gag him, lock the room and hasten off by motor-car. The detective loses no time and soon withdraws the handkerchief flrom his mouth, and with the aid of his teeth he communicates by telephone to the police office. A squad of policemen soon arrive, and, releasing him, follow in hot pursuit of the gang. The police board a tram car, and the line running parallel with the road enables them to soon pick up the scent. After a run of several miles, during which revolver shots have been exchanged by both pursuers and assailants, the desperadoes seek shelter in an old hovel, but the place is rushed by the police, and the whole gang is promptly arrested' A good scenic picture is "The Isle of Man," whilst "A Handsome Man," "Too Many Burglars" and "A Delayed Proposal" are about the hest we have seen in the comic element. The same programme will be screened to-night and again to-morrow evening, when it is certain the Empire Theatre will be again packed by New Plymouth picture lovers.