ENTERTAINMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 99, 12 September 1912, Page 4

ENTERTAINMENTS.

EMPIRE PICTURE PALACE.

The Umpire Pk-ture Palace was well filled last night on the occasion of the screening of an excellent dramatic subject in the shape of "The Black Chancellor." The film ran to a length of 3000 feet, and was from the popular Nordisk Company. The venue of the piece was one of the Balkan States, and the story was a perfect maze of political intrigue and velvet-gloved villainy. Princes, princesses, counts and other high personages largely figured in the piece, and some of them not to the best advantage with regard to 'honor and morals. The tale hinged on the objection of an unscrupulous potentate,' "The Black Chancellor," to the marriage of a princess—the heiress to the throne—with an army officer. The chancellor was for a diplomatic marriage with mome titled personage, while the princess plumped for love in another direction. A secret marriage between the two lovers was witnessed by a minion of the Chancellor, who informed his "noble" master. The latter stealthily proceeded to remove the unwelcome bridegroom, together with one or two other political "notwanteds." The appearance of the inevitable Englishman on the scene finally succeeded in overthrowing the despotic rule of the, Chancellor, and in rescuing the several inmates of the State dungeons. This was not accomplished before the hero and heroine underwent a series of -hair-raising adventures, which served to illustrate the danger of becoming involved in Balkan politics. The setting of the film was of a bigb order, and added interest was lent to the drama by the incidental scenery. Some of the scenes on the castle grounds would take a lot of beating from the point of vie,? of picturcsqu-.Micss. A stirring Western drama, "Her Last Shot," disclosed a mother in the act of shooting her child in order to save him from the tender mercies of a band of redskins. She fired, but missed her mark, and great was the joy thereof when, 'help coming immediately aftei'iV.ir.N. obviated the stern necessity of taking her child's life. Most interesting and instructive was a film dealing with the STew Fmindland codfish industry, hum the catching of the. fish on the world-famed codbanks to their transportation from John in the shape of that pau-'.eea of ills, cod-liver oil! "Seville audits (''aniens" provided some beautiful scenery, ty] icaily Spanish, while a mirth-provoking comedy, "Kateh?m Kate." showed, that clever and versatile actr?ss (Miss Mary Pickford) in the role of an amn.teur detective. Oilier good comic subjects were also released.