AMUSEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 136, 10 June 1932, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS.

THE REGENT. "Tho Ago for Love," the new picture at the Regent Theatre, explains why the divorce court judges in the States have to work overtime and why the bootleggers become millionaires. Billie Dove plays the part of the heroine, an attractive sort of off-eider to a literary agent who happens to be E. E. Horton. He is better at sleep than at work, and Billie frequently has to rouse him from the couch at the back of the shop and prod him to get on with the work of reading ]ilays submitted to the firm. Billie thinks she fallo in love with a young man played by Charles Starrctt. who has the ''home and family" instinct well developed. Billie, the" bright business girl, has got so need to tho rush and bustle of the ofiico (where they make rather a fuss of her), that she finds home life in a flat a. trifle boring. She at last goe» back to the old office almost bankn pt since she droppei off into private life, and Horton become* almost bright once more, but still amusingly somnolent. One night when Starrett lias been helping with a birthday party at some of his bourgeois friends ho broods over Billie's defection from the family hearth, gets far too much "hooch" aboard and when he comes home he lias a real he-man outburst and the sequel is divorce papers for two. In an incredibly short while we find him married again, this time to the home-loving girl everyone said he should have married originally. Unfortunately he cannot forget Billie, in spite of her objection to home and its concomitants, and you begin to pity his second partner. The working out of the tangle is the motif of the film and eventually things coins out all right, or at least as they should in filmland. There is a varied collection of films in support of the principal item. The news pictures are particularly interesting and make one wish there was more of" this sort of thing at the theatres. "Rhythms of a Big City" shows "aspects of city life in unconventional style, and is distinctly interesting.

MAJESTIC THEATRE.

Sally Eilers, Spencer Tracy and El Brendel, three Fox stars, have been associated in several fine pictures, but their triumph is undoubtedly scored in '•Disorderly Conduct," which opened its Auckland season at the Majestic Theatre last evening. With a realism that makes its story at once vivid and dramatic, the picture is one of the most exciting thflt has been seen in Auckland for several months. It is a strange story—a story of a police officer who found that his refusal to touch tainted money led to disgrace, a man who eventually deckled to "go wrong." Handsome bribes lie turns down, but Tracy, playing the part of Motor Cycle Sergeant Dick Fay, has the misfortune to arrest the daughter of the city's biggest politician and ruin-runner. Fay is sent back on to the beat and he decides that honesty does not pay. Various complications set in. He becomes hopelessly involved with his commanding officer and with the girl who brought about his downfall. There is a. grim side to the story, a part which shows the dashing Tracy dodging machine-gun bullets from a gangster's ear, and taking part in a* revolver duel with two crooks. It is an attractive theme with many delightful and exciting sidelights. Sally Eilers plays her difficult part to perfection, and Spencer Tracy is excellent in the role of the policeman who "goes wrong." Delightful comedy relief is provided by El Brendel. Chosen with the usual discretion shown by the management of the Majestic Theatre, the supporting programme is full of interest. One of ] the outstanding" features of the news reel is the English Soccer Cup final at I Wembley Stadium, and the arrival of the King and Queen. An Australian news reel has among its interesting features a Pomeranian dog dancing on top of a piano, and a team of camels pulling a wagon of wool on an outback station. One of the finest shots in the American news reel is that which de- ■ picts the American Field Artillery in | manoeuvres It is a splendid all-round ■ programme. STRAND THEATRE. It has been said of Constance Bennett, the highest salaried screen star in the world, that her ability to wear good clothes, her undoubted acting ability, and her physical beauty are the chief reason* for her phenomenal success. To these must be added her irresistible charm, ■which she displays with appealing wistfulncse in her latest success, ''Lady With a Past," which had its Xcw Zealand premiere at the Strand Theatre last evening. Miss Bennett takes the very difficult part of Venice Muir, a rich society girl, who, unfortunately, lacks the art of sex appeal and whose conversation is limited to her interest in literature and her very complete knowledge of French. Unfortunately these subjects fail to find response in the young hearts of New York's "bright set." Tired of being shunned and sick of the continued success of a girl called Nora (Blanche Frederici), who had beer, acquitted of poisoning her husband, in consequence of which she seemed to attract men all the more, Venice goes to Paris. There ehc meets a young American (Ben Lyon) who is stranded there. She engages him as a "gigolo," and thanks to his assistance, she meets many men in Paris society, among whom is Viscomte la. Thenardier (Albert Conti). She also learns the intricacies of "holding her man," and carries her knowledge into effect with devastating results. When she is later sued for "loss of love" loy another man's wife, Venice becomes notorious as a slayer of men's hearts. She returns to New York, where she is received with open arms. David Manners, Don Alvarado, Albert Conti and .John Kichc are. the other actors in a brilliant cast. The supporting prograin mo comprises three newsrcels, among the chief items of which are a demonstration by massed bands in London, the Springboks in action, and the election of the Lord Mayor of London. A "Gay Girls" comedy, "Men Only Wanted," completes a very enjoyable programme.