EXCELLENT DOUBLE STAR BILL AT MAJESTIC.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 205, 30 September 1929, Page 2

EXCELLENT DOUBLE STAR BILL AT MAJESTIC.

An excellent double star silcnt hill was featured at the popular Majestic 011 Saturday night, WUen the pi-emier presentation was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's-much heralded "Tlie Bridge of San Luis Rey," the adaptation' to the screen of Thornton Wilder's celebrated historical npvel. This was the literary work which was specially selected out of thousands of others as the most outstanding romance of tlie year, to win the famous. Pulitzer Literary Prize. The film version has proved every bit as masterly as the author's conception of this utterly strange and unusufll 2"omance. Saturday night's screening showed -in full degree tbe fruits of the clever direction of Charles Brabin, who was responsible for the production of this screenic . classic, which c-auses a storm of diseussion wherever it* is, shoum. The production was distinguished outside of the magnificent acting of the principals for the majestic setting of the great Cathedral, picturesqne wilds and strange uncanny lighting and photographic effects, the thrillin'g spectacle of the wrecking of the might.v bridge-ac-ross the mountam gorge. The central theme of this masterpiece was, as in most thihgs, oue of love, but *'a' varietv of incidental themes had been intenvoven to add to the delights of the whole production. A remarkable - caste was assembled for the picture, inc]udiug Lily D.imita, outstanding in the role of the fierv dancer, Ernest Torrence in the charac-ter role of Uncle Pio, Don Alvarado in the juvenile lead and Raouel Torres. Second on the list was tlie first-cla.ss British production, "The Alley Cat." This was the picture which so soundly estahlished the reputation of Mabel Poul-

tan. 'that gay, butterfly little personality, whose very appearance radiates sunshine. Jack Trevor was also admirablv cast as the hero, while the distinguished cast included the New Zealander, Shayle Gardiuer. The- story was full of mcident. In one of the low dives of the Limehouse district of London, mnrder was committed under circumstances which pointed to a lienniless niusician as the niurderer. The unfortunate young man was arrested with but little hope of escaping the liangman's noose, but an unexpected element . developed when a wee Cockne.v girl, his only friend took to the trail of the real nmrderer and succeeded in slieeting home his crime to hini. The picture was first-ciass entertainment and in this respect was in thorough kecping with the rest of the programme, which proved liighly popular with Saturday night's audience.