ENTERTAINMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 June 1915, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS.

ROYAL I'lCTUltrcS. A: ii main iittraetitm, the .Majestic ,'ompany's feature draiiiii, "A Fight for i fortune" will l)i> introduced iit (:!■ I'hoalro lioyal to-morrow at the liiiuii .'i viLk tlie new programme. According 'm he plot, Mary, :iu orphan, is se;:t to Cowers, ii lawyer, to l;r in liis care wh '■ iit guardian, wild \as never seen In r,',' mi's abroad. M'arv has-a largo income which powers mn'ken her believe h.i ;■ , ceased, ns Ik; is using it to save; him■sell' and his |inrtni'r from ruin. Brown, ii vouii.if clerk in tin' lawyers' employ, I'iil'ls in love with .Mary 'when she is given a position as typist in their ollicc. Tin' orphan girl's' guardian telegraphs Powers that lie is about to vi.iit their ollicc, ho Powers decides to substitute bis daughter for the heiress. He takes .Mary out to an island to keep her out of the way until her guardian has departed. Brown discovers the scheme, and sets out in a fast motor boat to bring -Mary buck. "Mary, in the ineanwhile, has got away from the island in a small boat. Powers discovers that she has now escaped, and lie pursue her in a motorbunt. Brown observes Power's action, and mounting an hvdro-aoroplane, races after Mary. lie 'overhauls her ilrst. and diving into the sea, swims to lier assistance. Powers is afraid to interfere further, and Urown and Mary arrive; at the lawyers' olliee in time to meet her guardian and outwit the. rogues, hi addition to the 'star' item there is a grand selection of dramas, lopieais, and comedies, including one front Keystone's, entitled "Ilngue the Porter." EMPIKIC THKATKE. "The Two Ordeals" (part two) of Selig's great a-nimal drama "The Adventures of Kathlyn," was continued on la.st night's new programme. In the opening scenes we find that Kathlyn has quickly recovered from the curious sensation of being forced to occupy an unwelcome, throne in compliance '.villi tlir> sc'icr.i'mg councillors of a jinatic people. The, high priest determines to marry her to Minballab, the mainspring of all her troubles, but the girl conserves all her powers of resistance to this proceeding, and with the dominant force of the Anglo-Saxon, for the time, eowes the superstitious brown men who hover about the throne. The Council of Three finally decide that she will be given a week in which to consent to the marriage. During this horrible week of respite for the captive queen, a high caste native, Kamabai, is charged with murder and, under the law, nil his property including his wife reverts to the reigning sovereign. Kathlyn at once dec!are» Bamabai innocent and sets bin and his wife free, and they are given position in the queen's household, Ramabai acting as personal bodyguard to her Highness. During this trying period, while Kathlyn is working to thwart the connivance of Ihe crafty people about her, an American sportsman, llruee, happens upon the scene, and praises himself as si hero. Kathlyn. still refusing an alliance with ilinballah, the council decrees that she must submit to two ordeals with wild animals, and if site survives will be permitted to occupy the throne as a maiden queen. Fundita communicates to Bruce the circumstances of the ordeals. Kathlyn is dragged to a leopard's trap and lashed to the mainstay of the deadfall as ;i human bait to lure the spotted cat from the depths of the jungle. Pundita assures her that Bruce will come to her assistance, and all will be well. The stealthy leopard convu's closer and closer to the trap. At the last moment there is a flash, but it is. not the form of the leopard hurtling through the, air, but Bruce, who instantly fires at the leopard, which limps back to the jungle, broken from his tire. Kathlyn, still resenting the marriage with the villainous man who dominates tlie people, is ordered to be taken to the arena and thrown to the hungry lions, Bruce appears before the high priest and the council with a view to stopping this cruel ordeal, saying that they persist the same force would destroy many of the people assembled to witness her death, but stern "Minballah jeers at him. Ramabai, the leader of a band of high-minded conspirators, and Bruce discover some hidden land-mines which have lieen smuggled by revolutionists under Allaha, in view of impending military troubles. Under cover of night they despatcli them to the silent and deserted arena and connect them with wires to a box in the lower amphitheatre. The eventful day comes, and Kathlyn is led if 1.0 the arena. Minballah and his council are in the royal box, and the populace crowd everywhere. The lions are let loose and crouch their sinewy bodies for the fatal spring. Bruce manipulates his blasting machine, there is a rush, a roar, and a volcano of earth and stones bursts in the arena, leaving in its wake a great gash between Kathlyn and the savage lions. Spectators flee in a lianie, leaving many dead and wounded. Bruce, the hero, leaps from his box, and seizes Kathlyn in his arms unharmed. Part three of this masterpiece, entitled "The Temple of Lions," will be shown next Thursday and Friday, and promises to eclipse even previous productions.