REGENT THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 February 1941, Page 2

REGENT THEATRE

j “FORTY THOUSAND HORSEMEN." I With Hie concentration of a large number of Australian and New Zealand troops and airmen in the East attention is again focused on the contribution of the Dominions to the Brii tish Empire's war effort. In the 1914- > 18 war the most picturesque unit of I the Australian forces was the Light 1 Horse, which won immortal glory by i victory in the Sinai Desert under the command of their leader. Sir Harry ! Chauvel. .Although modern war is ' mechanised, there are still a 'large s number of Light Horsefnen in AustraI lia, and recently there was a series of I spectacular camps in the country dis- • tricts of New South Wales and Vici toria. Hundreds of- the non-commis- ! sioned men in the Light Horse are j wealthy landowners, and others have i substantial means. Their horses arc i their own. Whet) it was decided to ; produce in .Australia a romantic film i of the “Bengal Lancers" type, to tell ’ the story of the Light Horse campaign i in the last war. they co-operated in assuring accuracy in the recreating of ; the valiant efforts of 1914-18. And the i result of the film "Forty Thousand i Horsemen," which will be shown to- | night. Thousands of Light Horse* | men became actors in the large j scenes, a complete Sinai desert village was reconstructed on the sands of 1 Botany Bay. near Sydney, and Charles Chauvel, who previously made the .Australian film success, "In the Wake - of the Bounty" and "Uncivilised," was chosen by the New South Wales State : ‘Government and Universal Pictures todirect it. Topical Australian types, were chosen as 'lie Light Horse leads, i i and, after a Commonwealth-wide | I search of a vear, an Australian girl.,' Betty Bry..r,L was given the starring! I role. In same of the charge scenes I ! at least 3000 Light Horsemen partici-- 1 pate, and there are also thousands of i extras who play the parts of Eastern I