ROMANTIC COMEDY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 173, 23 July 1936, Page 8

ROMANTIC COMEDY.

FOR REGENT THEATRE. Pictures come and pictures go, some ate merely eiitei'taining, others .Te voted real attractions, and it is in the latter class that the coming attraction at the Regent Theatre, " Otic Rainy Afternoon," may be placed. It is one of. those bright, thoroughly original comedies that never fail to please audiences, a comedy with a talented cast and an unusual plot, the first ottering of the newly-organised producing company headed -by Mary Pickford and Jesse Easky. The story presents • the charming Ida Eupino opposite Francis Lederer, who has not been seen here for a considerable .time, and ivill soon he pleasing iiis admirers with a pleasant singing voice, which lie is to use for the first time on the screen in " One Rainy Afternoon." Overseas critics . have hailed the plot as distinctly unusual, and when local audiences have seen the opening scene which sets the picture in motion they Will be inclined to agree.

It shows Lederer, a struggling young Paris actor who has been carrying on a clandestine flirtation with a lady whom he always meets in a picture theatre, being shown into the wrong scat, and as a result lie kisses the beautiful stranger nest to him. The resulting scandal and the publicity it brings in its train make him the talk of Paris. Ida Lupino, whose performances were admired so much ijj " Palis in Spring " and " Anything Goes, is said to be better than ever, while in the opinion of the Hollywood reporter, a well-known critic, Francis Lederer " delivers a performance that will stand for a long time." The-same critic wrote that the picture was tilled with nonsensical situations and twists of comedy, and that the dialogue throughout was bright and sparkling. Included in the story are two song numbers that should prove popular in "One Rainy Afternoon" and " Secrct Rendezvous."