ENTERTAINMENTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 254, 25 September 1929, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

AT THE PALACE. “SHOW BOAT” DRAWING CROWDS. There has been much discussion as to whether the public’s favourite screen stars would be pushed aside, due to inferior voices and' acting technique, as a. result of the ascendancy of talking pictures. Some of them undoubtedly are slipping into the back-ground. Others, however, are proving their complete adaptability to the new screen art. Laura La Plante, Universal’s popular blonde comedienne, has proved to be an excellent talking picture star. In fact, sho is shining with more brilliance th’an sho did on the silent screen. Not only has she mastered diction and the delivery of dialogue, but she has blossomed forth as a singer of considerable appeal and as an accomplished actress of serious roles. Her portrayal of Magnolia in “Show Boat,” the big Universal talking special now showing at the Palace Theatre, supports this statement fully. The part runs the gamut of gaiety, pathos, cheerfulness, tragedy, sunshine ami shadow, in addition to the singing of ballads, coon songs, spirituals, and a bit of broad, almost burlesqued acting in the show boat troupe. She is said to reveal an artistry and powers hereto unsuspected in her portrayal. Joseph Schil cl kraut plays opposite her in the role of Gaylord Ravenal.

KOSY THEATRE. “SEVEN FOOTPRINTS TO SATAN.” A most unusual programme will ■ be screened at the Kosy to-night, headed by a First National masterpiece, entitled “Seven Footprints to Satan.” This is a straight mystery play but exceptionally fascinating, and by its very fantasy holds the interest and attention throughout. From the moment Eve and Jim, sweethearts, are kidnapped and taken to the house of Satan, until the time they escape after the wildest experiences that ever befell two human beings, there is no let up in the excitement. Creighton Hale and Thelma Todd are in the leading roles. Sheldon Lewis, Wm. V. Mong and the noted Chinese actor, Sojin, play their parts to perfection. This is reported to be the greatest- mystery story ever filmed, and is quite a sensation, in film entertainment. Also showing is Rex Bell in “Ihe Girl Shy Cowboy.” The story concerns a group of schoolgirls who go west on an expedition in search of the remains of prehistoric animals. Rex Bell and his two pals are engaged as guides for the party. Rex is bashful at first, but when lie unearths a conspiracy against the expedition ho gets into action, fights the band ot bad men, brings into play all the reckless feats of horsemanship for which lie is noted and wins the heart of a pretty girl.

THEATRE DE LUXE. SATIRE ON HOLLYWOOD. “The first clcseup of Hollywood public life.” This is how picture peoplo describe “A Man’s Man,” James Cruze s satire on “Hollywooditis,” starring William Haines, which comes to the Theatre de Luxe this evening. This new Metro-Gold-wyn-Mayer picture, based on Patrick Kearney’s stage play, is a romance of Hollywood. It sblows the famous Hollywood premiere of “The Broadway Melody at Grauman’s famous Chinese Theatre, the big show affair of filmdom, with famous stars on parade in one of the red letter nights of the screen season, and other details of the lives of film folk. Haines plays a soda water clerk in a Hollywood soda fountain, a boy with a correspondence school complex and an ambition to join the Elks, while Josephine Dunn plays a girl who wants to be a movie star. The cast is a notable one. Besides Haines and Miss Dunn, whom Cruze also directed in “Excess Baggage,” there arc Sam Hardy, the gangster of “Diamond Handcuffs,” playing the villainous assistant film director, and Mae Busch, as an extra girl who takes the movie-aspiring bride under her wing. Others of' note are among the supporting players.