AMUSEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 186, 8 August 1930, Page 13

AMUSEMENTS.

STRAND THEATRE.

All of the famous motion picture stars of the Paramount Studio, Maurice Chevalier, Clara Bow, Clive Brook, William Powell, Mary Eaton, Mary Brian, George Bancroft, Jack Oakie and a host of other screen favourites, give a sample of their powers in "Paramount on Parade" a spectacular entertainment now at the Strand Theatre. Drama, light comedy, bright songs and scintillating dancing are skillfully interwoven in the panorama of beauty which the picture presents. Many new song "hits" are sung by the clever artists, and the dancing numbers screened in technicolour are beautiful in the extreme. Doing the lion's share of the work, that inimitable entertainer, Maurice Chevalier, pervades the audience with his charm and effervescent spirits. Hutu Chatterton supplies the drama, Jack Oakie and George Bancroft the comedy, and Nancy Carroll and Clara Bow the singing and dancing. Clive Brook, as Sherlock Holmes, and William Powell, as Philo Vance, appear in a merry scene which has for its villain the mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu. The many other members ensure that there is not a dull moment throughout the Avhole of the production. ST. JAMES' THEATRE. As a merry, mischievous mix-up, no talking picture has yet been exhibited that can equal "Bookery Nook," at St. James' Theatre. So well did Londoners take to the stage version of the play that it was presented for a whole year at the famous house and birthplace of plays, the Aldwych Theatre. So delightful, refreshing and charming is the talking picture version that its popularity is likely to eclipse that of the play. The subleties of the many amusing situations are done full justice by the identical cast which appeared in the London presentation. All the ingenuous humour of the piece is brought out. The story tells of the adventures of a wearied young husband who goes to Chumpton-by-the-Sea in search of a rest cure, taking with him a friend of his bachelor days. The arrival of a pretty young girl seeking refuge from an angry step-father creates an awkward situation, which is intensified by the appearance of an indignant wife. The musical comedy "Sally" will open a season on Friday next. MAJESTIC THEATRE. The lure of speed in one form or another will never o®&se to attract both young and old, and in no form does it attract more than in motor racing. Richard Arlen in "Burning Up" proves himself not only a master of racing, but also where the fairer sex is concerned. As "Suicide" Lou Larrigan, he gains an enviable reputation for daredevil coolness and an unlimited ability to provide thrills of the first magnitude. He is unwittingly mixed up in the un» scrupulous schemes of a gang of still more unscrupulous promoters. Then Mary Brian comes on the scene and Richard Arlen discovers that her father is to be victimised by the gang for an enormous sum of money His rival, both for the race and for adorable Mary, is their agent and bo swears to run Richard off the track. Thrill follows thrill as Arlen fights the gang, and how he finally triumphs over them provides genuine excitement. The lighter side is very aptly brought in on occasions, and Arlen seems to have a born tendency to eay the wrong thing at the wrong time, much to Mary's chagrin. He is admirably supported in the cast by Francis McDonald, Tully Marshall, Sam Hardy, and Charles Sellon, all of them well-known actors. The picture itself is a departure from the usual type, in that Arlen's likeable nature manages the task of winning a beautiful girl very well without the aid of a lot of sickly sentimentality. The star is one of the screen's finest and most clean-cut young actors, and with Mary Brian, who has been seen in several popular pictures in Auckland recently, he must perforce make a great success of a very entertaining role. The accompanying talking featurettes include a novel and interesting study of deep sea cable-laying, in which a storm is depicted with wonderful reality. The inimitable Mickey the Mouse provides a reel of fun in "Yes, We Have No Bananas," and a short comedy, a newsreel, and a gorgeous technicolour scene from the ancient Hawaiian Islands complete an unusual programme. NATIONAL THEATRE. Although "Anna Christie," the picture at the National Theatre, brings the talented Greta Garbo to the talking screen for the first time, that fact is far from being the production's only merit. Adapted from the play by Eugene O'Neill, which has also appeared in book form, the story is a tense drama set against the squalid background of the waterfront of New York. Miss Garbo has the part of a woman who, as the daughter of a renegade barge captain, is embittered against all men. Brought by her repentant father from a farm whero she spent her youth she accepts her life on the barge without enthusiasm. In spite of his weakness for drink the captain shows a sincere affection for his daughter. Life on the barge is uneventful until three shipwrecked sailors aru rescued by the captain, when events take a dramatic turn. Although the actress lias a Swedish accent her voice is said to record remarkably well. Charles~*Bickford, George F. Marion, Marie Dressier, James T. Mack and Lee Phelps are also in the cast PLAZA THEATRE. In "Sunnyside Up" at the Plaza Theatre Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell are scoring a sensational success. It is the first time either of the famous Fox stara has appeared in a musical comedy role, and their performances in this production proves their adaptability to this style of entertainment., Sharon Lynn, who made her musical debut in "Fox Movietone Follies of 1929" has a featured role as also has Frank Richardson, who was first heard in "Fox Follies." Marjorie White, Broadway comedienne, and El Brendel, Swedish comedian, also are winning applause by their performance in this musioal comedy of the audible screen. LONDON THEATRE. British in origin and sentiment '"'Strange Cargo" a mysterious gripping drama opens a season at the London Theatre to-day. The action takes place at sea and the story deals ffitk a mysterious murder on board a pleasure yacht a few days out, on a voyage to the Azores. One evening, while the wealthy owner is seen talking to his friends in a brilliantly illuminated saloon, the lights go out suddenly, a groan is heard, and when lights are brought the man has vanished. Every passenger is suspected, and a searching investigation is made, in the course of which strange happenings occur. The way in which the assassin is discovered makes a most unusual and thrilling climax. Notable stage and screen players are included in the cast, the principals being Lee Patrick, June Nasli, George Barraud, Kyrle Bellew, Frank Reicher and Josephine Brown.

GRAMMAR SCHOOL CONCERT. Enthusiasm was the keynote at the Town Hall last evening, when yet another side of the Auckland Grammar School life was shown, in the annual concert. The hall was packed to the doors. Not content with a choir of 100 voices and an orchestra, the school produced a creditable band and a highly trained gymnasium squad. Perhaps the most popular of the items were those in which the crystal clearness of the unbroken soprano of the smaller boys was predominant. A soprano solo, "Robin Adair," by L. Jones, was well received. The harmony of the part singing by the choir was also deservedly popular, particularly in the sonorous Latin song "Integer Vian Vitae" and in "Excelsior." "Londonderry Air," a violin solo played by J. Pelham, was given an ovation, as also were the items by the brass quartet, "Sweet and Low" and the hymn "St. Aeldred." In the latter the instrumentalists were F. R. BellBooth, J. E. Edwards, D. Mcintosh and A. A. Irvine. Various pieces were rendered by the orchestra and the full band, and the audience were surprised to see what-had been done in that Avay by the school. Two different performances were given by the gymnasium squad, one, an exhibition of Indian club swinging, and the other, work on the horizontal bar. Some difficult movements were performed in the latter item.