AMUSEMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 March 1916, Page 7

AMUSEMENTS.

EMPIRE PICTURE PALACE. The special feature of the new programme of motion pictures which will be screened ab the Empire Picture Palace tu-day, both afternoon and evening, is .v star feature drama entitled "The Secret Agent from Russia." Tiie picture is the thirteenth episode of "The Million Dollar Mystery." This 2000 feet of melodrama is full of pulse-quickeniHg incidents, and shows in detail the methods adopted by the executive of the Black Hand gang to trace a valuable box of securities. The plot is very cleverly worked out, and exciting incidents are introduced right to the end of the picture. A most sensational drama is "The Steeplejack's Revenge." It is an exciting story of love and jealousy, in which two life-long friends quarrel over a pretty woman. The subsequent scenes show some thrilling happenings, including a sensational struggle on the top of a high chimney. The climax is reached when the young engineer succeeds in throwing the steeplcack off the staging, and the unfortunate man is seen falling through space. Two excellent comics are included in the programme. That inimitable comedian, Billy Reeves, is seen in an hilarious item entitled "Billy Joins the Navy." "Over and back", is a laughable comedy which features beautiful Fay Tickner. The damage done by the Germans is clearly shown' in. a pretty scenic of Scarborough. "The Gaumont Gazette" contains a number of highly interesting war views, while "Labor Day in Wellington" is a local topical picture. Special music is played by the Symphony orchestra and adds much to the enjoyment of the entertainment.

THEATRE ROYAL PICTURES. A splendid programme of feature photoplays will be presented at the Theatre Royal to-day. There will be the usual afternoon matinee in addition to the evening performance. A drama of the stage and the pulpit, entitled "Nell of the Dance Halls," occupies the top position. The story describes how" the Rev. Justine Miles is instrumental in saving a young cabaret dancer from the insulting attentions of a bully of the dance hall. He eMct3 her promise to give up the stage life. A love affair develops, and the balance deals with the girl's fight against the prejudice of the parish, and her efforts to save the minister, who is expelled from the church. Excellent supporting films include, "Playing the Game," a two-act Vitagraph comedy in which Lilian Walker is seen to great advantage. The twelfth episode of the thrilling serial drama "The Master Key," "Pathe Gazette" (topical), "The Police Dog" (cartoon-comedy), and "Diana of the Farm," a rollicking Kalem farce featuring "Bud" and Ethel Tearle as a "driving venus." MARGUERITE CLARK IN "THE CRUCIBLE."

At the Theatre Royal, for three nights, commencing next Monday, the management will present Mary Pickford's rival in the latest Fahious Players-Lasky production entitled "The Crucible." Miss Marguerite Clark in this new play is to be seen at her best. In the character of "Jean Fanshawe," the lovable littlo tomboy who is sadly misunderstood, and who is tested severely in the "crucible" of life, tried, as it were, by the fire of temptation and adversity until she develops a nobility and strength that may be likened to "pure gold," Miss Clark is sincere and convincing. The story rings true throughout. There is nothing stilted nor forced, nor ultra-melodramatic. It is a gripping, emotional and romantic story of real life. There is a heartthrob in every phase of it, which shows a brave girl of the metropolis fighting cleanly an apparently losing battle for existence —the girl who is loved by a man of whom she feels herself unworthy. The man has fallen under the influence of in unprincipled adventuress. There are a number of light and laughing moments in the play, in addition to the numerous sidelights on the darker side of life—of despair, of happiness shortlived, and of final triumph—which make the contrasts quite remarkable. "The Crucible" ran for 18 consecutive months in New York, which should be sufficient guarantee of its merit. Patrons would do well to book their seats.