Evening star., 1922-08-07
Photoplays.
, COLUMBIA-"The Loves of
Pharaoh"

LOew Columbla ihedter iauHCHeu
its fall season yesterday with n scenic
spectacle that gives brilliant assur-
ance of what may he expected later
If this opening attraction types the
character of future programs
The Loves Vf Pharaoh is a mark
back to the ancient fheheS when
Egypt was the slave driver of the
world The land of the 1haraohs is
rcuroduced with the geographic rea =
Ism of desert and dust wilted palms,
to (which is added the human atmos-
phere of dark skinned natives in the
picturesque rrirlitiVcncSS of trlDal
custom and dress.
Pharaoh. himself. the supreme fig
urc of the play. is Il tragic blend OF
the tyranny of inheritance and the
lonely personality of 4 greatness that
knows itself to own a million slaves
and not a single friend lie is not
a rnincaruatiou of any one of the
pharaohs who made immortality Tor
himself on the throne of the world :
Oldest empire, hut seems rather a
romance-creatI"n. since the plot
causes him to I've buried in the OBJ
1ivion Of one " hp has lived unhonored
and died alone. The character is por-
traNed by Emil JanningS. whose work
is well remembered as Henry VIII in
"Deception." the German-made mas
terpiece which was shown IN America
last year.
The production owes its creation
to IubitSCh-directpr OF deception
and of Passion anu his admitted
genius for the massing Of crowds is
again asserted in the Interviewing OF
armiesrEgyptian and Ethiopian; the
slaves and time servers OF both
nations. and the undercurrent of a
population that conveys the furtive
fears and feelings of a helpless peo-
pie forever pursued by the lash.
The plot has it's beginning in the
arrogant coneeit of the King OF
Ethiopia. who seeks to become
beautiful daughter" in marriage He
follows his message with countless
black slaves, laden with treasure
of ivory and gold. headed by himself
and the iewel-crusted maid. Pharaoh's
sense of humor fiickers for second
in his somber eyes, but the fortune
spread at the foot of his throne is
enticing and he is weighing the sit
uation when the Ethiopian king de-
man,ls the return of a slave that
has been stolen from his retinue by
an Egyptian, who has secreted her
in Pharaoh'S treasure house-the
penalty of which is death.
The son of the royal architect of
this building. who has rescued the
girl from the barbarous cruelty of
the Ethiopian princess, is condemned
to be ground under the stone of
execution. but the girl awakens an
honest love in the heart of Pharaoh,
who commutes the young mans SEN
tence to life Imprisonment in the
quarries. and crowns the slave girl
Queen of Egypt.
The Ethiopian king declares war
and overruns Egypt with his hordes
of wild warriors who swarm over the
desert and storm the iron spiked
gates of Thebes. Against the advice
of the high priest. Pharaoh risks
Egypt for the sake of the queen
who loves the boy who saved her
and from that decision, the story
that, to outline, would not be fair to
those yet to see the play.
Dagny ServaeS. a European actress
new to America, plays the role of the
Queen of Egypt, in stately contrast
to the timidity Of her introduction as
to both an earnest characterization
study that would signalize her work
even it it were not for her beauty
that is classic both infigure and face.
The average. good hearted spectator will,
perhaps, criticize her for not withhold
Pharaoh, who. with all his cruelty
to others, had saved her from the
torture Of Ethiopian jealousy and
honored her with Egypt's crown.
But, that, of course. was in the story.
Lubitsch has given to his latest
production a cast of such thorough
artistic. ability that each player re-
fleets in gesture and look the mighty
passons on which the play is founded.
In the additional features a motion
news view of ''the revival of the
5uggernaut In a procession in India"
brings out the followers of impris-
oned Ghandi in such countless thou
sands, as to seem, a news camera tes-
timonial to the realism of the Lu-