THE EMPIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 October 1916, Page 6

THE EMPIRE.

11 JEALOUSY," OB "THE GEEfiN SWAMP."

A STRONG INCE-TRIANULE FILM.

'"Don't try to MI me that you were "ot Ilirting with tliat impudent 'cat' ill the box next to ours/' is the way in which Bessie Rarriscale expresses her feelings to her husband when returning from the theatre .n the iirst real of "Tlie aieen Swamp," the Thomas H. Ince production which oDened at the Empire last night. This- is biit the first episode of jealousy, worse following worse until the big scene of the piny is reached with the setting outside the door of an operating room. Inside is her husband, being operated on for lockjaw, which lie contracted when attending a patient. His head had been opened and the doctor is making a delicate incision with his scalpel. Ilis wife does not know of th» operation, or eveji of any sickness, and there she stands on the threshold of the theatre, thinking her husband is with somi» woman, inside. She wrestles with her desire to break into the room, and then—does she yield, or do her repeated promises to her husband to trust him hold gord? This fcfene is full of a human interest and inljuse suspense, ar.d lets Miss Barriscale give full play to hci emotional talen's. T'he settings are most appropriate and have been selected with preat discrimination and care, while the photography serves but to enhance the excellence of the production. A well-select-ed list of subjects is shown in support of "The Green Swamp," comprising soenies, humorous and educational studies. To-night will be the last screeirng of thi? powerful subject. ALICE ECVEY IN "THE COMMANDING, OFFICER." Commencing at the Empire to-morrow night for a two-night season the management will present a superb filming of the celebrated military play, "The Commanding Officer." Produced by the Famous iPlavers. the stirring rh'toadaptation of this noted militf *omaiKe combines in a thrilling una. absorbing manner a novel and varied environment and an original plot that often attains an intensity oi dramatic power and appeal seldom combined in a screen piay. With the interest, of .the film centering abbut the beautiful young wife of t'he comnvmding officer, who is unjustly accused of an immoral setd of which she is thoroughly guiltless, the development of the plot is marked by a uniformity of merit and a consistency of suspense that result in a complete conquest of the sympathies of the audience. The difficult and swcetlv pathetic. role of .the misjudged young wire is entrusted to Alice Covey, well and favorably known in America and England as one of the most charming and gifted ingenues of the contemporary stage. Needless to say, before the termination of the four-part feature, the intricate situation and circumstantial episodes that for a time endanger the honor of the accused woman are logically explained, and the pall that threaten} the repute and happiness of the commanding officer's wife rise into t'he clouds that drift into nowhere. A counterplot of remarkable power adds to the overwhelming interest of the story. Owing to other bookings, "The Commanding Oljieer" can only be screened in New Plymouth, on Wednesday and Thursday nights.