ENTERTAINMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 March 1918, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS.

EVERYBODY'S. "THE BARRIER" TO-NIGHT. The seven act dramatisation in picture form, of Rex Reach's notable novel ''The Barrier" will bo shown at Everybody's to-night, at a matinee to-morrow and for the last time to-morrow night under the direction of E. .J. Carroll who holds the sole Australasian right of this great magnifeature film. Reviewing this picture in Sydney the Sunday Sun said among many other highly complimentary tliings'The Barrier" is as remarkable a photo-drama as any wo have seen in Sydney It has all the essentials of a truly great picture. "The Barrier" leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. In characterisation and production the play is llawless. Adapted from Rex Beach's world renowned Alaskan novel, the story illustrates a phase of development. The characters are for the most part an epiloine of human nature. Red Wood runs in their veins. They stand out clear-cut and virile. The dramatic quality of the story is enhanced by a trio of man-to-man combats as terribly realistic as any ever witnessed on stage or screen. As for the acting, Rex Beach's contention that big artistic pictures are not possible without the aid of high-class actors is adequately substantiated in this case. The Box Plan is now open at Collier's.

THE EMPIRE. OLIVE THOMAS' BEST PICTURE. "BROADWAY ARIZONA." The fascinating Olive Thomas is the star this week at the Empire Theatre in ''Broadway, Arizona," a. double-title which describes sufficiently the location of the story. Miss Thomas appears in a role which she filled in real life until her meteoric rise into- the film firmament —that of a premiere daneusc in a Broadway roof garden. The other character is a cowboy millionaire, who proposes to the stage butterfly and has a heartless joke played upon him with the assistance of a wily Press agent on the lookout for advertising ''copy" for the star. The Westerner is a bit too smart for Broadway, as it I'.irns out, and almost before she knows it the. fair onft finds herself abducted and drop 1 ed down amongst the cowboys, lariats, corrals, mesas, and other features of the Arizona landscape. There she finds rather different from that of Broadway, but not less exciting, and there are developments of an emotional, and ultimately sentimental character, such as the audience has no doubt anticipatedThe Broadway scenes and the heroine's dresses are on a remarkable scale of magnificence- Another chapter of. "The Secret Kingdom" serial is included in the programme. Amongst the supports there is the pautomine picture •'Robinson Crusoe" in which Robert Leonard and Margerita Fischer take the loading parts. Owing to previous booking "Robinson Crusoe" will show for the last, time to-night.