CITY THEATRES

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21812, 18 June 1936, Page 5

CITY THEATRES

* REGENT “COLLEEN” TO-MORROW “Rendezvous,” starring William Powell, will be shown finally at the Regent to-night. The musical numbers in “Colleen, which will be shown at the Regent Theatre to-morrow, are said to be the mast elaborate ever staged at the Warner Brothers’ studio. Two of the largest sets ever built on sound stages were used in the dance scenes. One of them, a ship's ballroom, double companionway, and bar, was 300 feet long, while a modiste shop set used in the production was three storeys high and covered one entire stage. The modiste number has 150 girls appearing in it They dance on a ramp which is completely surrounded by water. The picture is a stirring comedy romance. The music and lyrics are by Harry Warren and A 1 Dubin. The cast includes Dick Powell. Ruby Keeler, Jack Oakie, Hugh Herbert, Louise Fazenda, Paul Draper, and Joan Blondell. Alfred E. Green directed the picture from the screen play by Peter Milne and F. Hugh Herbert, which was based on Robert Lord’s story. Bobby Connolly staged the special dance numbers. Dick Powell plays the role of nephew-guardian to a troublesome and eccentric uncle, who has a fondness tor women that leads him into all the scrapes imaginable. He also has the habit of entering into involved business arrangements, and his singing and dancing nephew is on his toes all the time in his efforts to guard his uncle’s interests. MAJESTIC “TOUGH GUY” AND “HELL SHIP MORGAN” “Here Comes the Band” will be finally shown at the Majestic to-night. Action, adventure and thrills mark “Tough Guy,” an unusual drama of the oddest comradeship ever conceived, and the work of the Secret Service, which will open at the Majestic Theatre to-morrow with “Hell Ship Morgan.” The principal characters are a man, a boy, and a dog. Jackie Cooper, of “The Champ,” “O’Shaughnessy’s Hoy,” and others, plays the boy—a rich man’s son who runs away to save a pet dog. The dog is Rin Tin Tin, jun. The man is Joseph Calleia, of “Small Miracle,” “Riffraff,” and other hits, playing a notorious public enemy. "Hell Ship Morgan” is a thrilling action sea story, featuring George Bancroft, Ann Sothern, and Victor Jory. AVON “GIVE US THIS NIGHT” “Queen of Hearts,” Grade Fields’s latest comedy triumph, will conclude an extended season at the Avon Theatre to-night. “Give Us This Night,” a charming musical romance, co-starring Jan Kiepura and Gladys Swarthout, will open a season at the Avon Theatre to-mor-row. Bringing together as it does two of the most talented and attractive singers on the screen to-day, this film bids fair to take a prominent place among the more successful musicals of the year. Kiepura won fame as a singer in Europe, while Miss Swarthout hails from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The appealing story deals with the meeting and romance of a young Italian fisherman and a talented young singer already on the way to fame. The girl is so impressed with the fisherman’s voice that she sees he is given his chance. An elderly and wealthy composer helps the young fisherman, but complications arise when the composer discovers that his new-found friend is in love with the . The solution of this triangular affair is neatly worked out. STATE “THE COUNTRY DOCTOR” The extended season of “First a Girl.” featuring the vivacious Jessie Matthews, will be concluded at the State Theatre this evening. The Dion'.e Quintuplets were ushered into the world to the surprise of doctors, the mother, father, and the world in general. Cablegrams soon made the event a family topic in all countries. The question then arose, would they live? They lived, thanks to expert care and their own robust constitutions, and at this early part of their lives they have found the'r way into a talking picture. They have been as widely advertised as any film star, not on account of th_ir ability, but because everyone shows an interest in them and wants to see them. That time has now arrived, and local theatregoers will be able to see them in “The Country Doctor.” which will open a season at the State Theatre to-morrow night. TIVOLI “BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936” “The Private Life of Henry VIII.” will end a season at the Tivoli tonight. “Broadway Melody of 1936” will begin a return season at the Tivoli tomorrow. A highly successful musical comedy, it is said to be difficult from any other picture of its type. A new leading lady, Miss Eleanor Powell, makes her appearance. She is an actress of charm and personality, and is recognised as one of the world’s greatest tap dancers. Perhaps the most impressive feature of the production is the subtle and novel manner in which the various dances and songs are introduced. Each one comes as a worthwhile embellishment of the central story. Nothing is obviously staged or thrust upon the audience, and the various musical scenes sparkle through the piece as gems of entertainment. The comedy is largely in the hands of Jack Benny, noted American radio entertainer. CRYSTAL PALACE “THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1936” An enjoyable and clever screen revue which effectively and cleverly avoids the familiar conventions of its type is “The Big Broadcast of 1938,” which has opened its Christchurch season at the Crystal Palace Theatre. Although the plot is flimsy, the story is a much better one than the nut* jority of musical Aims of its sort, and it has a pleasing continuity in spite of the numerous vaudeville turns, all of which are very good.