CITY THEATRES

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22197, 14 September 1937, Page 4

CITY THEATRES

MAYFAIR "CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OLYMPICB" As Imperturbable and cunning as ever, Charlie Chan (played once again by Warner Oland) Indulges in fresh sleuthing in "Charlie Chan at the Olympics," the film which is showing for another week at the Mayfair Theatre. ' "Sea Devils" Courageous coastguard crews rescue from a horrible death the passengers from a burning ship, and later passengers and crew from a hurricane battered vessel, in "Sea Devils," starring Victor McLaglen, Preston Foster, and Ida Lupino, with Donald Woods heading the supporting cast, which is coming to the Mayfair. Victor McLaglen and Preston Foster are cast together again after a memorable association in the prize-winning screen play of 1935, "The Informer." Victor McLaglen won the academy award that year for his performance. Supporting the principal players in Important roles are Gordon Jones, Helen Flint, Pierre Watkln, Murray Alper, and Billy Gilbert. Preston Foster, an adventurer, no sooner joins the crew of Victor McLaren's ship than trouble starts between the two. Boasting of his prowess with the weaker sex, Foster begins courting McLaglen's daughter, Ida Lupino. Preston Foster is about the last man in the service Victor McLaglen would choose as a son-in-law, but it happens that his daughter has a mind of her own, so Victor McLaglen initiates a bitter feud with the sailor. AVON "MOONLIGHT SONATA" Two world celebrities. Ignace Jan Paderewskl and Marie Tempest, are brought to the screen in "Moonlight Sonata," the film which is extending its season at the Avon Theatre. Paderewskl is famous as a pianist: but there was just a doubt in the mind of some music-lovers as to whether the Aimed production could do justice to his genius. It is safe to say that, right from the outset, their fears were set at rest, and they were treated to an evening of exquisite entertainment. "A Star is Born" A real gala Hollywood premiere, complete with pressing throngs, searchlights, radio announcer, and celebrities, Is one of the thrilling highlights of "A Star is Born," the technicolour production starring Janet Gaynor and' Fredric March, Which is coming to the Avon. Streets, buildings, and places of amusement, which have made the name of Hollywood famous throughout' the world, will be seen for the first time In their natural colours by moviegoers throughout thr world in "A Star Is Born." Aa the title indicates, the picture portrays the rise of a little country girl to Hollywood stardom. In the picture the audience shares with Esther Blodgett, portrayed by Janet Gaynor, the heartaches and happiness, the gaietv and despair, that go into the ultimate crowning of a motion picture star. Such world-famous Hollywood landmarks as the Trocadero, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Brown Derby, and the Biltmore Bowl are shown in natural colour for the first time.

PLAZA "WHEN THIEF MEETS THIEF" AH kinds of crime films have been made, but "When Thie£ meets Thief," when is at the Plaza Theatre, uses a story about crime in an unusual way. It presents Douglas Fairbanks, junior, Valerie Hobson. and Alan Hale in a story (hat opens in America, with the familiar American gangster setting, but moves later to London, where a number of typical English characters give a homely touch to the usual slick polish of crime films. The supporting programme includes several items so good that it is worth seeing for its own sake. STATE "HIS AFFAIR" "His Affair," the film continuing a season at the State Theatre, is in many respects outstanding. For its dramatic moments and its extraordinary story it stands out from the ordinary American crime drama and approaches front rank in this type of dramatic entertainment. Competently acted by a cast of well-known stars, it is a film that is likely to draw, and certain to satisfy, large audiences. Robert Taylor, now one of the foremost of Hollywood's male stars, shares the lead with Victor McLaglen, one of the greatest dramatic actors on the screen at the moment. "Step Lively, Jeeves!" Jeeves, so sad-eyed, so gentle, so utterly proper, thought gangland to be "a bit of all right." They could swindle him, bamboozle him, and buffet him about, but he insisted on proper manner. l * and so the underworld was in a dither when P. G. Wodehouse's famed "gentleman's gentleman" went berserk for a delightful period of buffoonery in the second saga of misadventures, "Step Lively, Jeeves!" which is coming to the State. The incomparable Arthur Treacher is featured in the title role. Patricia Ellis and Robert Kent are Jeeves's only friends in the strange America he is seeing for the first time as the unwitting dupe of Alan Dinehart and George Givot, a couple of swindlers trying hard to make a dishonest living. Exceptionally tall, sober-faced, and highly reserved in appearance, Treacher has played hundreds of English butler roles. Aa Jeeves, he is the screen's fir6t servant star. CRYSTAL PALACE DOUBLE-FEATURE PROGRAMME Hilarious romance and thought-pro-voking drama are blended in the double-feature programme at the Crystal Palace. "The Lady Escapes" is full of humour of the lightest brand. "That I May Live" is a story that rises to strongly dramatic heights, but through it all there runs an intense realism that is saved from starkness by very deft use of humour. crvic "WINGS OF THE MORNING" After many successes in the last few years the producers of England have produced a film which will live not for a year but for a century in the history of moving pictures. The greatest film that has ever come from England, and in many respects greater than anythirig produced in America, "Wings of the Morning," which is in another week at the Civic Theatre, places a simple love story against a perfect backscreen of pastel shades and delightful panoramas. CHRISTCHURCH CINEMAS. LIMITED Robert Taylor, a newcomer to starring roles, has the lead with Jean Harlow in "The Man in Possession," which is at the Regent Theatre. The film is a brilliant comedy produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It has a sophisticated story with clever dialogue. "Seven Sinners," starring Edmund Lowe and Constance Cummings, heads the programme at the Liberty Theatre this week. It is an exciting story of crime detection. The second feature i 3 "We Live Again," starring Anna Sten, the Russian actress. "Espionage," a romance with a background of international spying, is showing at the Majestic Theatre this week. The stars are Madge Evans, Paul Lukas, and Ketti Gallian. The second film on the programme is "Armoured Car," with Cesar Romero and Judith Barrett. Franchot Tone, Loretta Young, and Lewis' Stone are starred in "The Unguarded Hour," which is showing at the Tivoli Theatre this week. There is good acting by the principal players, all of whom are firm favourites with the public. "Murder in the Clouds," an exciting film combining romance and adventure, heads the programme at the Grand Theatre this week. The stars are Lyle Talbot and Anne Dvorak. Charles Butterworth and Una Merkel, are starred in the second film, "Baby Face Harrington."