CITY THEATRES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21356, 26 December 1934, Page 3

CITY THEATRES

MAJESTIC I "THE GIRL FROM MISSOURI" Having already won her reputation in the field of heavy romantic drama, Jean Harlow is turning her attention (or it is being turned for her) to light comedy. The change is a welcome one. There are a good many actresses who can do what the Americans call the "heavy love stuff" as well as she can, but very few are such good comediennes. Her last picture, "Blpnde, Bombshell," first marked the change: "The Girl from Missouri," which is now being shown at the Majestic Theatre, establishes it. Miss Harlow is still very attractive and very alluring, but instead of swooning from one pair of arms to another she sets the pace of the picture from beginning to end with some excellent comedy work. She is cast as a young girl from Missouri, who decides early in life that marriage and a home are the only things worth having. She being as she is, the decision is a little unconvincing; but having made it, she follows it resolutely. She sets to work to find the most eligible and wealthiest man in New York. By a lucky chance she finds him more quickly than she hoped; she is even able to propose to him, and he accepts. Her cup is full. But he has accepted only because he is about to commit suicide, and when he does shoot himself she is left precisely where she started. She is a resourceful maiden, however, and next time she is a little more fortunate, for the millionaire she pursues has a son who, besides being almost a millionaire himself, is also very handsome and very ardent. She falls in love with him, he with her; and she is able to convince him. in a dramatic scene, of her sincerity of purpose. But his father takes a hand, and the latter part of,the film is occupied with his efforts to compromise and dishonour her, and her very neat retaliation. The story is sound, the pictures moves well, and it is admirably acted not only by Miss Harlow herself, but by Franchot Tone (young millionaire), Lionel Barrymore (father millionaire), and Lewis Stone (suicide millionaire), who are the three men in that part of her life which we are privileged to see. "The Girl from Missouri" was greatly enjoyed by a full house at the Majestic on Saturday night, and should have a good season. This theatre has always kept its supporting programme to a high standard, and this week's supports, headed by a Laurel and Hardy comedy, are, if anything, above the average. The comedy, "Dirty Work," detailing the adventures of Laurel and Hardy as chimney-sweeps, is extremely funny, and at times quite uproarious. There are also gazettes, a travelogue, and a Betty Boop cartoon.

REGENT "GREAT EXPECTATIONS" Rarely have the special qualities of an author's work been so well conveyed on the screen as in the film version of Charles Dickens's "Great Expectations," which is now being shown at the Regent Theatre. The film itself, however, is strong enough to stand on its own feet—without the aid of the name of Dickens. It tells an unusual and humanly interesting story, and it is admirably acted. Its story is well knit together, never too complex, and it has a splendid movement. It is unfailingly interesting, its sentiment is maintained in proper proportion, and it js faithful to Dickens. What is most remarkable is that the film gives a new impression of the inventive greatness of Dickens as a story-teller. Dickens wrote for a younger and differently credulous world. His readers enjoyed meeting in his books eccentric—laughable or terrifying—people. In this they were much like the people of to-day, but with the difference that they preferred their characters to show their eccentricity in features, clothing, and everyday behaviour. Dickens wrote about raeople living in the sort of environment his readers knew, but he gave to it a strange light of his own. He seems to have seen his characters in a distorting mirror, but however queer or unusual they were, they were always human.

It is just these qualities of Dickens's imagination that the film of "Great Expectations" has recaptured. Because this particular story is probably better suited than the rest of his work for dramatic presentation, "Great Expectations" is a remarkable and successful film. No finer tribute can be paid to it than that its situations and its characters, and the problems they present, remain in the mind long after the film has been seen. The film abounds in fine acting. Notably there is Henry Hull who takes the part of Abel Magwitch, the convict. Hull makes him a repulsive yet tragically human creature. Florence Reed, as the partly mad Miss Havisham, is sinister, but she makes the part so much and so sadly alive that the old lady's tragedy and her strange life as a recluse become creditable. These two stand out, but the boy Pip, who is taken from a blacksmith's shop to be brought up as a young man of great expectations, is well conceived, and so is the girl Estella, who is brought up by Miss Havisham. , ~ One of the unusual things about the film is that, though there is no ostentation of period furniture, decoration, clothing, or speech, the sense of historical time is well conveyed. The settings help the story, but they never take command of it, and in fact they are hardly noticed. Such things as these show the care and the skill ol those who have made the film. "Great Expectations" can be recommended as a thoroughly good film.

CRYSTAL PALACE "AFFAIRS OF A GENTLEMAN" Victor Gresham, in "Affairs of a Gentleman," the film now at the Crystal Palace, says: "We don't just grow up; we change into many different persons one after another." What happens to a man when he has passed the zenith of his career, when he has changed from the finest and brightest personality of all to one that seems drab and sad and unreasonable? Taken to the screen as the theme of a mystery thriller, the question has many interesting possibilities, not the least of which is the possibility that a great man may be proved to be no greater than his butler —indeed, in "Affairs of a Gentleman," the great man may be proved to be a great deal less in moral, mental, and every other stature than his butler. "Affairs of a Gentleman" emphasises this, and with many surprises. Victor Gresham was a novelist, and in the best-seller which he published each season, there were two outstanding characters. One was himself, and the other was a woman, generally another roan's wife, with whom "he had deliberately had "affairs" to create material. The picture is good for more reasons than one. It is concise and even, with the dialogue sensible and natural. Its every action and every thought which it seeks to demonstrate are reasonable and coordinated, and the element of surprise. so necessary to this type of film, is always present. The part of Gresham is played by Paul Lukas, whose restrained acting, combined with an obvious understanding of all that ihe role requires, is at once decorous, eloquent, and impressive Others in the cast who act well are Leila Hyams, Patricia Ellis, Phillip Reed, and Onslow Stevens.

CIVIC "LILIES OF THE FIELD" Recently the type of British comedy, popularised by Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn and their excellent team, which depends for its appeal on comic situations and sparkling dialogue, has been comparatively little seen in Christchurch theatres. This fact alone would ensure a good season for the British Dominions play, "Lilies of the Field," which is now being screened at the Civic Theatra But apart from possessing the invariable merits of its type, "Lilies of the Field" nas merits peculiar to itself which make it one of the most delightful comedies seen here. Winifred Shotlcr has appeared in most of the Walls-Lynn comedies, but in those she was naturally overshadowed by the principal male comedians. In the present film she shows herself to have an ability for humorous roles far greater than one would have suspected after seeing her only as a rather minor feminine lead. She is cast for the p»rt of the twin daughter of the rector of an English village. She is possessed of a clever imagination, and when it comes to a contest of wits between her and her twin sister as to who shall attract the attention of a handsome young collector of antiques, she wins without any trouble. It was natural, after all, to suppose that the costume and manners of a young lady of the Victorian age would appeal to the young man's fancy. And, as it turned out, not only to his fancy, but also to that of a great part of fashionable London. Complications occur, of course, in the best tradition of farcois of this kind, and through a variety of delightful situations and nuances of humour the story runs on to an amusing climax. General aspects of the film worth mention arc the excellent scenes in the village, where picturesqueness and humour are admirably blended, and the even ability of the whole cast. Hubert liai ben, as the rector, is finely suited to th« part, and handles it without any attempt at vulgar caricature. Judy Gunn, as the other twin, gives an excellent performance, and it can be added that her performance suggests that there are leading roles in store for her.

There are some well-chosen short features, completing a programme of a high order.

TIVOLI "MALA THE MAGNIFICENT" The search for the unusual in film material has led the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer company to the Arctic, and has resulted in a picture of great interest and many virtues. "Mala the Magnificent," which is now being shown at the Tivoli Theatre, has few actors in it except Eskimos, and these latter, as actors, play their parts with a refreshing simplicity and intelligence. It is, of course, true that they are not called upon to portray complicated emotions or any form of western sophistication, but within their limited range their performance is indeed good. Equally this restriction creates in the film an impression of honesty. The producers took as the basis of the story Peter Freuchen's novel "Eskimo," the theme of which is simple and dramatic enough, and in praiseworthy fashion kept that theme constantly before them, avoiding the error of overstressing the scenic part and so upsetting the balance. The hunting scenes, of which there are a good number, are excellent; but they do not appear heralded with a blare of trumpets, as if they were the only notable parts of the picture to which all else was subordinate. They appear, dramatic, unusual, and convincing as they are, as incidents in the struggle to secure food in a region of the earth where food is scarce. The chase, harpooning, and final capture of the whale, the polar bear, and the walrus are shown as they occur. Most amazing of all is the hunt of the caribou, in which the hunters are shown driving them down to the water in hundreds, following them out into it in their boats, and there killing them with all available weapons. The plot is concerned with the conflict caused when the representatives of two peoples, with widely different codes have dealings with each other. Mala's wife is ill-treated and accidentally killed; Mala, in revenge. kills the man who was indirectly responsible for her death, and is in consequence pursued and captured by the Canadian North West Mounted Police. The dialogue, for the niost part, is in Eskimo, spoken expressively and with a pleasant lilting sound. Some individual scenes, in addition to those of the hunting, are excellently done. Mala, when the face of the man he has killed appears to him, is advised by the man of the tribe who is skilled in these matters to ask the spirits to change his name; his relief and renewed happiness when, at the place where the spirits dwell, a bird's call appears to him as the new name they offer him, are finely shown. His escape from the police outpost, his journey back, when he is compelled to eat his dogs one by one, his fight with the wolf, a most dramatic interlude, all these events deserve underlining only to a slightly greater degree than the rest of the picture. Humour is not lacking, and there is a faithful account of the distinctive customs of the Eskimos. "Mala the Magnificent" is a picture which deserves very great commendation.

PLAZA "THE BLUE SQUADRON" Public appreciation of the features and possibilities of aviation has been made more easy and general by a succession of films, over a number of years, presenting dramas concerning "its various phases under war and peace conditions. There have been stories of adventure and combat on the silent and talking screen, and the latter, with its equipment so well suited to exploit roaring motors, humming propellors, and the whistle and whine of the wind through struts and stays, has certainly played no small part in making the public air-minded. "The Blue Squadron," the latest of this flying series, and the principal film on the splendid holiday proprogramme which is now being shown at the Plaza Theatre, is a worthy addition to it. Its demonstration of flying, especially squadron flying, alone carries it to high rank among its kind. Complicated and spectacular aerial manoeuvres by scores of aeroplanes during a mimic battle, brilliant aerobatics during which some of the most daring stunting is performed by squadrons flying in formation, and Hying and parachute jumping over the alps are among the outstanding features the film presents. The whole of the flying is carried out by the Italian Air Force, and the display made is very impressive. The story is of secondary importance only, and in many instances the imagination has to be strained to break away from appreciating the real flying to consider the other features which fiction introduces. It concerns the lives of two men—one a brilliant pilot and the other a brilliant technician. The lifelong friendship is made to strike many "bumps" because of a beautiful woman —the fiancee of the technician. In addition to the general aeriel manoeuvres there are some very good scenes taken from an aeroplane flying over the alps. These culminate with the landing of an aeroplane, fitted with skis, on a snow field—a spectacular performance. "The Blue Squadron" is worth seeing for its flying alone. The featured players are John Stuart, Esmond Knight, and Greta Hansen.

The supporting programme is outstandingly good. Laurel and Hardy entertain in a slap-stick comedy—"Our Wife"—which is hilarious fun, and "The Steeplechase" must be ranked as one of the best Mickey Mouse cartoons that Walt Disney has produced. They represent perfection in this type of screen entertainment. There are also interesting gazettes and a good travelogue.

LIBERTY "THANK YOUR STARS" AND "SLEEPERS EAST" The main attraction at the Liberty Theatre this week is "Thank Your Stars," a clever production, with the versatile Jack Oakie in the lead. The setting is the world of cabarets and shows in New York, which is realistically presented in all its interludes of bad and good fortune. Jack Oakie is the principal behind a series of rapidly failing entertainments called the Nicky Nelson Enterprises, the principal stock of which includes "the son of the whale that swallowed Jonah" and the talented orchestra leader, Ben Bernie. The situation is at its worst when Nicky meets the heroine in a theatrical agent's office and persuades her of his influence with stage managers and financiers. Supporting Jack Oakie are Dorothy Dell and Alison Skipworth, both of whom give excellent performances.

The second film is "Sleepers East," with Wynne Gibson and Preston Foster in the principal roles. The film is full of incident, and the battle of wits between the two main characters culminates in an admirably handled dramatic climax. Wynne Gibson gives an outstanding performance as the heroine and she is ably supported by Mona Barrie, a young Australian actress of considerable talent, who has appeared on the stage in London. Preston Foster, as Jason Everett, handles a difficult role with marked success.

GRAND "TURKEY TIME" The Aldwych Theatre players are up to all their old-time tricks in "Turkey Time," which is having a return season at the Grand Theatre. There is Ralph Lynn, Robertson Hare; and, of course, the delightful Mary Brough, with all her determination to "stand on her dignity" and uphold her moral convictions. Written by Ben Travers, the story is naturally an ingeniously constructed series of ludicrous situations, to which added zest is given by cleverdialogue. A good list of "shorts" will include chapter one of the thrilling serial "Gordon of Ghost City," which is based on a story by Peter B. Kyne. The popular Buck Jones is starred in this exciting film, and others in the cast are Madge Bellamy, Walter Miller, William Desmond, and Francis Ford. Box plans are at the D.I.C.