AMUSEMENTS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 23 March 1926, Page 8

AMUSEMENTS.

. o — : PAT O’MALLEY AT THE GRAND. Lawrence Rising ' starts out in his sensational novel, ‘‘Proud Flesh,” by asking tilt; much vexed question, “Are we horn equal?” and then lias his main characters answer in their own way. One is a beautiful girl born during the San Francisco earthquake, and brought up in Spain; another, a clever, satirical Spaish Don, and the thii‘(l, an Irish plumbing contractor in San Francisco. 'inie story of their reactions to one another in an attempt to solve the 1 problem has made this book a best seller, and now the subject of a motion picture, the King Vidor Metro-Goldwyn production, “Proud Flesh,” which comes to the Grand Theatre to-night. King Vidor has given the theme the requisite lightness of couch, and is responsible for one of '.lie most, entertaining pictures ever mrado. The girl is loved bv both the Don and the plumber. She considers the' plumber beneath her in the social scale, but cannot deny a growing interest in him. The Don fights his rival with biting satire, and the climax is cleverly reached. The three principal players, Eleanor Boardman, Pat O’Malley as the p’umber, and Harrison Ford, ns the Spanish Don, have grasped the full import of their characters and render unforgettable portrayals. Supports include the latest “Pathe News,” a lengthy Now Zealand .scenic, screen snapshots and a humorous Animated Cartoon. -Seats may be reserved as usual. ’Phone 486.. “THE RENDEZVOUS.” AT FULLERS’ TO-NIGHT. Marshall Ncilan’s new picture for Goldwvn, “The l Rendezvous,” from the original story by Madeline Ruth- j ven. wil be screened at tbe Theatre Royal for the first time this evening. The film is an exceedingly dramatic one; its characters arc picturesque and the settings exotic. Prince Sergei Tamiroff has been exiled to Siberia for marrying against the Czar’s wishes. The wife dies at the birth of their daughter, Vera, and court plotting forces the Prince to flee for his life. The child, Vera, is brought up by the Prince’s friend, Vassily Leonidoff. Juan Godunoff, Tartar brigand, heroines Soviet governor, and is attracted by the beauty of the 16-vear-old Vera. I She is saved from his advances - by ; Walter Stanford, an -American army

officer, but upon the latter’s return to America, Godunoff forces Vera to marry him in order to save the man she thinks is her father. But, the same day Godunoff is imprisoned by agents of tbe Soviet, just before Stanford returns. The brigand escapes and hides'in the shrine which the Prince had erected to the memory of his wife, and which had been used as a rendezvous by Stanford and Vera, intending to kill both when they should next visit the spot. But the lovers escape. F'foin the dramatic point of view, the picture is one of the best that Nei'an has made; in technique and in photography and in lighting it is unusual and compelling. The cast contains players of world-wide prominence. Conrad Nagel in the role of the American officer plays his first part of Vassily Leonidoff; Elmo Lincoln is the Tartar chieftain, Godunoff; Sidney Chaplin plays the part of a British Tommy, with a refreshing sense of humour; Lucille Hickson has in “The Rendezvous” her first grown-up role, and ‘makes it very appealing. Others in the cast are Richard Travers. Kathleen Key, Kate Lester, Cecil Holland, Luoicn Littlefield, Eugenie Boss'erer and R. O. Pennell. Further interest will be offered in the Gaumont Graphic,” a scenic of charm in “A Sailor’s Life.” and a clever Hodge- Podge comedy “Spcodville.” Seats may be reserved through ’phone 570. GERALDINE. MUNICIPAL PICTURES TO-tfIGHT. “Find Your Man.” which is to be shown at the Municipal Theatre tonight, is a photoplay story specially written by Darryl Francis Zannuek to show Rin-Tin-Tin, the wonder dog; at his best. While it is in no souse merely a “stunt” picture, it provides abundant opportunity for the dog to offer additional proof that here is an animal governed more by a thinking intellect than, by instinct. The principal “humans” in the east are also of more than passing interest. .Tune Marlowe plays the leading feminine role, and Erie St. Clair has the male lead. Miss Marlowe is a comparative newcomer to the ranks of stardom, and is particularly well worth seeing because of the fact that she is admittedly the most beautiful girl discovered lor the screen during the past five years. Erie St. Clair is a. young romantic actor, whoso future has already been brilliantly forecasted by his work in a number of worthwhile photoplays.