TALKING FILMS.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20921, 31 July 1933, Page 3

TALKING FILMS.

i * THE CIVIC. "THERE GOES THE BKIDE." Typical of the Gainsborough musical comedies which have been seen in Christchurch in recent months, "There Goes the Bride," which opened what promises to be a most successful season at the Civic Theatre on Saturday night, is a delightful picture. Full of a humour that is pleasantly quiet, I it was a fitting vehicle in which to ; introduce to New Zealand audiences . the whimsicalities of Jessie Maunews, [ for long a leading artist on the London stage and now well on her way I to screen favouritism. Miss Matthews is cast as Annette, > daughter of M. and Mme. Masquand, ; i and when the picture begins, her i father is forcing her into marriage to save a business deal. She escapes from her home and tne marriage, only to become stranded in a train when her bag is stolen. She accuses a fellow passenger named Max (Owen Nares) of the theft, and in order to straighten out the complications which follow, the two repair to his palatial home. Max is a bachelor, and while he and I Annette are in earnest conference to find out the truth about each other, his fiancee arrives. She discovers An- . nette's presence and, of course, leaves l Max, never to return. Max is convinced | that Annette is a thief hiding from j justice, but he nevertheless allows her I to remain in his home. A party is i arranged by some of his friends in order to meet his fiancee, and when he i does not keep the engagement, he is ' visited by three members of his party and forced to the revelry with Annette as his betrothed. The situations which arise provide the real ioundations of the picture, and upon them the cast builds an excellent structure. Miss Matthews has been given a difficult role; but there is something about her which cannot fail to appeal to audiences. She can be naive and demure, and she can be shrewish. But whatever her mood, her acting is always marked by spontaneity and freshness. She is able to turn every little incident to advantage, and on Saturday night she kept the audience in a constant ripple of laughter. Two songs sung by her, "I'll Stay With You," and "Looking for You," were much appreciated. Owen Nares proves an admirable foil for Miss Matthews in the role of a serious-minded young man with no small regard for himself. He acts with considerable artistry, and in combination with Miss Matthews provides some comedy which will not soon be forgotten. The others in the cast are Jerry Verno, Carol Goodner, Charles Carson, Barbara Everest, and Basil Radford, and every one of them gives a performance worthy of association with the principals. The standard of the supporting programme is no less high than that of the main film. "Sights O' London" shows some of the most famous places and buildings in the world's greatest city. "The Wild North West" is a novelty film of aboriginal life in the northwest corner of Australia, and "Shakespeare's County" describes the quaint little town of Stratford-on-Avon. The programme is completed with an exceedingly clever novelty news : film, "About Turns." i PLAZA THEATRE. i "THE WOMAN IN HIS HOUSE" SEASON EXTENDED. A capacity audience each night last week witnessed the screening of "The ; Woman in his House," the brilliant • film adaptation of Philip Barrie's fam- < ous play, "The Animal Kingdom." Its < season at the Plaza Theatre has been '.

extended, and this week picture-goers have a further opportunity of witnessing a film that is an outstanding example of its kind. It has a direct and very human story to tell, and it itells it simply and with a sense of realism that it is the good fortune of a motion picture director to capture only once in a while. A great deal of its success is due to the accomplished acting of Ann Harding and Leslie Howard, that pleasing duo who have won a high place in the esteem of the theatregoing public. Much of the interest of the film centres in the doings of Tom Collier, principal of a printing firm, whose trade contracts include anything but the best of literature. As Collier, Leslie Howard gives one of the best interpretations of his career, and his interviews with the jovial and homely butler are highly amusing. Ann Harding is well suited for her part as the loveable woman whose regard for a man challenges the justice of the inexorable conventions which through centuries have gradually been built up in the social structure. Her sweetness of nature, as compared with the almost unmoral coldness of the woman who, through a chain of unfortunate circumstances, is installed as the wife of the leading male character, is at once a challenge to the conventions. She is superb as the struggling artist who is ready to sacrifice all her joys for the sake of the man she loved, and her battle of wits with the conventionally - recognised wife is remarkable. Her sweet influence gradually causes a new outlook in the home, and the ending is as human and satisfying as one could wish, resulting in the regeneration of the man who made the fatal mistake of marrying a woman to whom warmheartedness was an apparent stranger, and of whom convention was a god to be slavishly worshipped. Myrna Loy has the part of the wife by marriage, and her acting is up to the standard set by the others.

Theatre Royal—"Hallelujah, I'm a Tramp," 2.30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Regent Theatre—"The White Sister," 2.30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Crystal Palace Theatre—"The Medicine Man," 12, 2.30 p.m., and 8 p.m. Everybody's Theatre —"Horse Feathers," 12, 2.30 p.m., and 8 p.m. Liberty Theatre—"The Monkey's Paw," and "Easy Street," 2.30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Majestic Theatre—"The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble," 12, 2.30 p.m., and 8 p.m. Grand Theatre—"The Santa Fe Trail," continuously from 11 a.m.