AMUSEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 209, 4 September 1930, Page 11

AMUSEMENTS.

CIVIC THEATRE. The epic film showing. Rear-Admiral Bvrd's adventures in the liarren wastes of the Antarctic will be shown at the Civic Theatre to-morrow. The pictures were taken by Willard Vander Veer and Joseph Rucker, who went with the expedition. The everyday life of the explorers, the dangerpus cruise through the ice, a storm at sea, blizzards, the incident with the killer whales, the stranding of Gould knd all the thrilling adventures encountered by the gallant band are shown. The climax is reached with the picture of the flight to the pole. The long pull to get over the hump to the polar plateau, the dropping of food to lighten the plane, which only just managed to surmount the hump, and finally the great moment, when they reach the pole and Rear-Admiral Byrd opens the trap door and looks straight down on to the bottom of the world are seen through the eyes of the camera exactly as they happened. The picture is of educational and scientific value, but it is also a thrilling entertainment and an amazing romance. Never before has such a record been filmed. From the moment the expedition landed in the unknown wastes. of the Antarctic until when, two and a half years later, they started their trek home, the life they l6d, the sights they saw, the thrills experienced, are in this picture for everybody to wonder and marvel at. It is a picture which should be seen by everybody. Every incident is explained by the famous Floyd Gibbons, while the music score was written by Manny Baer.

NATIONAL THEATRE. Popular in the days of silent pictures, the tropical romantic drama has returned to the talking screen in "Hell Harbour," which is at present being screened to large audiences at the National Theatre. The film is a notable one, notable on account' of the splendid performance given by the leading player,,Lupe Velez, and notable because of the wonderful scenic effects which have been incorporated. Miss Velez plays the part of the vivacious daughter of a drunken trader in a small island settlement in the Caribbean Sea. She rebels against the cruelty of her father and acts her way through a maze of thrilling adventures. Effective scenes of the harbour at night and of the ill-lit cafe at the trading settlement provide a splendid background for the story. Pride of place on the supporting programme is given to a Pathe Sportlight film, "Happy Golf," in which Alex. Morrison, an expert American golfer, demonstrates the "three essentials"' in driving by means of the slow-motion camera. He also gives an exhibition of trick shots. The Tom Thumb vaudeville by 40 Auckland children is attracting a good deal of interest.

ST. JAMES' THEATRE. "Sally" as a stage play was one of the prettiest musical comedies in history. As a picture its beauty exceeds even that of the stage version, for the screen allows a much greater latitude in spectacular settings and effects. On the stage "Sally" was Marilyn Miller's greatest success, on the screen it has already established her as a star of the first magnitude and full houses have been the order at St. James' since the opening night. The cafe scenes (for which an entire restaurant was constructed and equipped—from the front door to the kitchen), the huge Balkan gardens, the spectacular revue scenes and the exquisite Long Island garden party are all rich and colourful to a degree which is said to be unequalled in the history of the screen.

PLAZA THEATRE. The final screenings of "Ladies Love Brutes" will be given to-day at the 1 laza Theatre. George Bancroft, the principal, has a typical and congenial lole as a building contractor, who tries to scale social heights, only to meet greater difficulties than he imagined. To-morrow "The Cuckoos," the hilarious farce, with Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey as the principals, will open a season. Based 011 the adventures of two pseudo fortune-tellers who arc stranded in Mexico, the picture runs through a series of comic episodes that keeps the audience continuously amused.

ROXY THEATRE. lioot. Gibson,the popular player in pictures of Western American ranch life, appears in "Trailing Trouble," now' showing at the Rosy Theatre. Entirely different from the usual type of talking picture, this film deals entirely witS life and fast action. Six shorter items will also be shown. 011 Monday, two outstanding British talking films will open a season. In the first, "Song of Love," Anna May Wong, the charming and enigmatic Chinese actress, takes the leading role. The second attraction will be "Song of Soho" in which Carl Brisson 'is introduced to the talking screen.

MUSIC SOCIETY. A performance of the works of Mendelssohn and Dvorak, with vocal items, will be given by the Auckland Chamber Music Society 011 Monday, September 8, in the Lewis Eady Hall. The works of Dvorak to be played on the night were composed in 1893. They are founded on themes drawn from the plantations.

LONDON THEATRE. "Atlantic" will be replaced at the London Theatre to-morrow by "The Sky Hawk." This is an epic of the air and many thrilling aviation scenes have been filmed. It is one of the best pictures of that kind ever made. The "stunts" are breath-taking. There will be a good supporting programme.

STRAITD THEATRE. "William Powell, as Philo Vance, the famous amateur detective, gives a polished performance in "The Benson Murder Case," an intriguing picture which has prido of place on the programme now being shown at the Straiul Theatre. The second attraction in "Crazy that Way," a comedy drama featuring Joan Bennett. A splendid proc gramme will be commenced to-morrow evening, when "He Ivnew Women" and "Tanned Legs" will be screened. The former is a subtle comedy-drama, which contains the clement of genuine appeal, and concerns the conflict between two selves of a man—one earnestly desiring the true love of his dreams, the other materialistically, apparising inclolenco and comfort with a wealthy widow. Lowell Sherman plays this role with deftness, while Alice Joy plays the role of the willow with considerable talent. David Manners and Frances Dade arc included in the cast. "Tanned Legs" is a story of jazz and beauty with an unusual and interesting plot. The story deals with a pretty girl, and the manner in which she gets her younger sister out of the clutches of a blackmailer, and provides plenty of thrills. Ann Pennington, of the "Golddiggers of Broadway," is included in the notable cast, which also contains June Clyde, Arthur Lake, Dorothy Revier and a number of other well-known screen stars.

REGENT THEATRE. To be screened at the Regent Theatre for ' the last" time this evening, "This Mad World" is built up on the emotional conflict between the claims of love and patriotism. The daughter of a German general, quartered in a French village, meets a young officer in the Intelligence Department of the French army and he falls in love with her. She discovers that he is a spy and she is torn between her love for him and her love for her country. The climax makes a powerful ending to the film. The supporting programme is excellent. The next attraction will be the faree-melodrama "Seven Keys v to Baldpate," which will be screened to-morrow evening. As a stage play the drama has provided thrills for many audiences, but as a picture it is claimed that it excels the original. In the dead of winter a novelist visits* a strange house in order to write a story. He is given a key, which he is told is the only one to the house, but a collection of unwelcome guests begin to arrive, each letting himself in with a kev. iinally it is found that there are "seven keys to Baldpate." Thrilling incidents follow and great interest is aroused as to the outcome. Richard Dix has been cast in the leading role and is supported by an able cast. The supporting programme contains a number of interesting items.