AMUSEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 15, 19 January 1933, Page 10

AMUSEMENTS.

MAJESTIC THEATRE. One of the finest all round programmes presented to patrons of the Majestic Theatre for a lons time was that which opened to a crowded house last evening. The "shorts/' selected with the management's customary appreciation of public taste, provide a wealth of entertainment. "Cricket Flickers," a film showing the Australian stars in action on their American tour last year, is surely one of the finest of its type ever produced. The film opens with an old-time cricket scene, and goes on to show the masterly strokes of Vic. Richardson, the Aussie captain, the left-hand googjy bowling of Fleetwood Smith, the artistry of Don Bradman, the delightful shots of Stan McCabe and the tactics of Alan Kippax. Arthur Mailey, the famous googly bowler, demonstrates his art in slow motion. The film, which is of intense interest to cricket enthusiasts, runs for nearly 20 minutes, and is relieved by the comedy of Jack Oakie. Other "shorts" are a Paramount News, showing Gandhi and his followers, and excellent shots of the running of the famous St. Leger. New war tactics of the British Army are shown. by the troops in manoeuvres. "Hollywood on Parade," is a delightful little revue item, and the supporting programme is completed with a song cartoon, "Down Among the Sugar Cane." A delightful comedy drama, full of refreshing humour, is "The Sporting Widow." The leading role is taken by Alison Skipworth, a veteran of the American stage, who shows a fine appreciation of the dramatic. Her artistry is one of -the highlights of the picture; The story opens with the "Countess of Auburn, or plain Martha Hicks (Alison Skipworth), being released from gaol. She is a notorious international confidence woman, and celebrates her release .by extracting from the chief warder 20 dollars for a watch. She pays a visit to Paradise Springs Hotel, owned by her former husband, played by Richard Bennett. There she finds a real tangle. Her eldest daughter is in love with a 'banker's son, whose father will not give consent to _ the marriage. Her youngest daughter is in love with a New York "crook." Her children know her identity, but in a series o£ deep-laid schemes and -screamingly funny situations, she marries her daughter to the banker's son, relieves the father of 10,000 dollars by a clever ruse, uncloaks the crook, locks a detective in the bathroom and departs. The film, full of sparkling comedy and brilliant dialogue, is played by an excellent cast, and the picture ends with the "countess once ao-airi in gaol, telling her friends of her delightful stay at Paradise Springs. NATIONAL THEATRE. As fast-moving as New York city itself, "Big City Blues," the new production starring Joan Blondell and Linden, promises lovers of the unusual in _ entertainment something more than satisfying when it comes to the National Theatre to-morrow. The experiences of a country boy and a city-wise chorus girl, thrown together hy chance in the whirlpool of the metropolis, constitute the chief pattern of the drama. Everything that happens to these two—and almost everything imaginable does happen to them —takes place within the compass of three days. An unusually large cast is required to depict the numerous individual characters, men and women, who shuffle hack and forth through the situations or "Big _ City Blues." Every part, down to the briefest, is portrayed by an experienced player with an authority that stamps the most transient character with the badge of reality. As Vida, the happy-go-lucky chorus girl, Joan Blondell is in her element. Eric Linden, star of "Are These Our Children?" and "The Crowd Roars," is cast as Bud Reeves, the country boy. Many well-known names -appear in the cast. Some of them are Inez Courtney, Evalyn Knapp, Guy Kibbee, Walter Catlett, Jobyna Howland, Josephine Dunn, Humphrey Bogart, Grant Mitchell, Ned Sparks, and Sheila Terry. NEW REGENT, EPSOM.'

Filmed from the stage "thriller" byArnold Ridley, "The Ghost Train" preserves all the tenseness and weird appeal of the play and the silent film, in the "talkie" version, which is now screening at the New Regent Theatre, Epsom. Jack Hulbert and Cicely Courtneidge manage the laughs, while Donald Calthorp, Ann Todd and Allan Jeayes take the main dramatic roles.

TUDOR CINEMA, REMUERA. Melvyn Douglas jumped straigiit to film fame in the male lead opposite Gloria Swanson in "To-night or Never," in which Alison Skipworth also has a splendid part. This entertaining film will be the chief faro at the Tudor Cinema, Remuera, this evening.

ST. JAMES' THEATRE. A beautiful human story has been built around the adventures of a little orphan girl in the film version of the amazingly popular cartoon and radio character, "Little Orphan Annie," which will be the film offering at the St. James' Theatre to-morrow. But who is Annie? How did she become famous? What made her "the orphan with ten million homes"? Her creator is* Harold Gray, who adopted the name for his cartoonist activities. On August 5, 1924, he launched the initial adventure of "Little Orphan Annie" in the New York "Daily News." Annie made her debut without special fanfare, and proved an instantaneous success. Gray attributed the immediate popularity to the uniqueness of his cartoon. The "Little Orphan Annie" cartoon strip is now a daily feature in scores of big newspapers in the United States and Canada. In his comic strip, he injects romance, suspense, thrills and danger along with freshness and originality. Paralleling the success of "Little Orphan Annie'' on the comic strip was that of the radio broadcasts. In December, 1930, the first etherised exploit of the red-headed girl was unostentatiously given on station WGN, Chicago. In time the radio series acquired an audience of 5,000,000 boys and girls and grown-ups. Then the screen, as the latest dispenser of entertainment, claimed Annie as a feature lengthy comedy-drama, "Li l .tle Orphan Annie,' which is coming to the St. James' Theatre to-morrow. The versatile juvenile actress, Mitzi Green, plays the title role, and is featured with May Robson as her wealthy foster-mother. "ROAD TO HAPPINESS."

Classified by the "Motion Picture Herald of New York as ninth on the list of the year's best pictures, "The Road to Happiness," which opened a season at the Strand Theatre last evening, fully justifies its selection. Produced by Paramount, it is one of those rare gems of acting and photography, together with direct human appeal, that do not often come from Hollywood, being more like the British product in this respect. Created with a typical modern American atmosphere surrounding every action of the main characters, it tells the story of a couple of city sufferers, an "ex-pug." and a cabaret girl who both thought they were immune to any of the gentler emotions that flurry the human breast. They left the city to aid a pal, and when they discovered him to be dead they set about caring for the ten-year-old youngster who was left. _ For five minutes they stayed to cook him a meal,, then they were to have 'gone back to their own town, which they knew so well and which had dealt them both such hard luck. Then for a day they remained to help the boy, then a week, a year to see him through grammar school, and finally they had the pleasure of seeing him graduate from college and make a name for himself as a national football star. He had been their son for ten years. They had never been united according to the laws of man, but their love and the agreement of their hearcs was never questioned. Each made the greatest sacrifices possible for the boy, who eventually proved the worth of their work by sticking by them when trouble came. And in the end they went through that ceremony which neither had worried about, 'because their "son" had to have a name. George Bancroft and Wynne Gibson take the main roles, while Charles Starrett is cast as Ted, the grown-up boy.

HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. The final presentation of the highlyentertaining vaudeville revue show-, "Sunny Days," by Producer Frank Neil's Australian company (which includes the English male impersonator, Ella Shields), will be made in His Majesty's Theatre tomorrow evening. Both the afternoon matinees, which are given every day, and the evening sessions, are being well patronised, keeping up the success attained by the first three shows —■ "Pleasure Bound," "Whoopee Nights" and "Hello, Happiness." Besides the splendid wprk of Miss Shields in "Burlington Bertie" and her other song successes, the company offers the inanities of George Wallace, whose wit has lost none of its savour by reason of the fact that he has been seen here so many times. On each occasion he brings fresh jokes and more amusing situations. The "Four Diabolos" are also very good in their wide range or daring acts. The lady in the quartet is Miss Olga r-appls, who has reached a high pinnacle of perfection in her dangerous work. In the final summarised revue, "Youth and Laughter," to be staged for three days, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, Miss Shields will sing one of her most appealing numbers, while George Wallace will extend himself to farewell the city which has given him and the rest of the company one of tlieir greatest successes.

ROXY AND TIVOLI. One of the year's most virile dramas, "Tiger Shark, was the main vehicle of the dual programme which opened last evening at the Roxy and Tivoli Theatres. Edward G. Kobinson, Richard Arlen and Zita Johann, a new-comer to the screen, are the principals. The drama is skilfully interwoven with actual scenes of tuna fishing in shark-infested waters, and the obvious, authenticity of these episodes assists a story that otherwise would be frankly incredible. It opens with the hero throwing to the sharks a man who had attempted to steal the last few drops of water from the comrades- with whom he is cast away 011 the ocean. It ends with the hero knocking his pal insensible, on grounds of jealousy over a woman, and setting him loose on a shark-ridden sea in a boat with a hole in the bottom, but in so doing he himself falls among the sharks, and the other man is rcsc-ued. Robinson acts with magnificent force, and the intense vitality of his performance, with its streak _of quaintly primitive humour, is effectively contrasted with the more normal portrayals given by Arlen and Zita Johann, though Miss Johann's appeal is all but swamped .by the masculine ruggedness of this vivid picture from places "where men are men" and women "also rans." The other attraction at both theatres is "Caught Cheating,a rollicking comedy with the original "Cohens apd Ivellys" in the leads. George Sidney and Charlie Murray go through the j gamut of all their hilarious jokes, providing I a most acceptable climax to the strong appeal of "Tiger Shark."

LONDON THEATRE. Two first-class British pictures are screening currently at the London Theatre. They are "Bill and Coo," a Billy Merson comedy, and "Many Waters," the beautifully-done version of Monckton Hoffe's play, featuring Lillian Hall Davis and Arthur Margetson. The* London will revive two other British pictures to-mor-row, "Fascination" (Madeleine Carroll) and "Men Like These," in which John Batten stare in a splendid dramatic submarine story.

CRYSTAL PALACE AND RIALTO. In the list of the twelve best pictures of the year, nominated by the "Motion Picture Herald," New York, admittedly one of the world's most authoritative journals on the subject of films, Marie Dressler's most recent effort, "Emma," takes fifth place. The popular character comedienne will be seen in this production at the Crystal Palace and Rialto Theatres this evening. Miss Dressier takes the role of a sympathetic housekeeper, who makes herself indis? pensable to a millionaire, and the story concerns the various reactions of the family when he marries her.