CITY THEATRES

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25329, 31 October 1947, Page 9

CITY THEATRES

PLAZA FILM FESTIVAL WEEK A film festival, during which selected motion pictures of particular interest will be revived, has been arranged by the Christchurch Film Society to begin or} Friday. The festival will be opened by the Mayor (Mr E. H. Andrews) at the Plaza Theatre, and the main picture will be John Ford’s “The Long Voyage Home.’’ which is based on several oneact plays by the noted American dramatist, Eugene O'Neill. The main films chosen for the following five nights, with the exception of Sunday, are ’Walt Disney’s musical feature, "Fantasia,” "Went the Day Well,” a British picture made by Alberto Cavalcanti, “I Married a Witch,” the first American production of the famous French director Rene Clair, "The Big Store” (Marx Brothers), and “Henry V,” the film of Shakespeare’s play directed by Sir Laurence Olivier. To follow the festival, the Film Society has arranged for a Mexican picture “Portrait of Maria” to be screened at a city theatre. Cinema festivals of this kind, which give the public a further opportunity to see the better or more interesting products of the commercial cinema, are regularly arranged by film societies overseas. The societies in Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin have already conducted successful which were arranged in accordance with their aims of drawing attention to the best films the cinema has to offer, and improving the standard of public appreciation of the cinema. MAYFAIR “STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN” Under the title of “A Matter of Life and Death,” the film, “Stairway to Heaven,” which will continue its Christchurch season at the Mayfair Theatre to-day, was selected for the first Royal Command performance in London last year. Although the plot and the scenery in the film are fantastic and imaginative, the story is powerful and the acting excellent. A J. Arthur Rank presentation, “Stairway to Heaven’ stars David Niven, Raymond Massey, and Roger Livesey, and. the story centres on the hallucinations that come j,o a British airman who was injured when his aircraft crashed in flames into, the sea. The new chromatic Technicolour process is used in this production. Niven takes the part of the affected airman, and the film shows what happens when a “jury” of British-haters —Jews, Russians, Irish Republicans, and others —seated in heaven, sit in judgment on Niven and determine whether he should be admitted to heaven. STATE “THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR” Adapted from ( a best-selling American novel, “The Ghost and Mrs Muir,” the Twentieth Century Fox film which will continue its Christchurch season at the State Theatre, stars three popular screen figures. They are Rex Harrison (of “Rake’s Progress” and “Blithe Spirit” fame), Gene Tierney, and George Sanders. Rex Harrison wears a thick beard in “The Ghost and Mrs Muir” and lives up to his wide reputation as a cultured comedian, appearing as *the ghost of a sea captain which has been haunting an old house for many years, and which chases dway any prospective tenants, until an attractive young widow takes over the house. Sanders, in his now customary role of the cad and dubious bon viveur, appears as the novelist who seeks the hand of the widow. The widow is Gene Tierney. Members of the supporting cast fare Edna Best, Vanessa Brown, Anna Lee. Robert Coote, Isobel Elsom, and Natalie Wood. The story takes many strange and sudden twists and is good entertainment. CRYSTAL PALACE “THE HOMESTRETCH” With “The Homestretch,” which will continue its Christchurch season at the Crystal Palace Theatre to-day with Cornel Wilde and Maureen O’Hara in the main roles, Twentieth Century-Fox Films have turned the technicolour camera on the sport of racing and have produced a motion picture which combines all the colour and drama of the American turf scene, together with the usual love interest. The romance in this picture is that of two contrasting personalities—a carefree, reckless spendthrift who dreams of conquering the racing world, and a reserved and sensitive girl whose regard for the spendthrift is put to the test in the world of racing. They spend their time in three continents in a race against misunderstanding, jealousy, and good fortune. The Ascot Gold Cup, the Grand Premio Nacional, the Kentucky Derby, and other track events of world fame are brought to the screen. Some of the other members of the cast are Glenn Langan, who takes the part of Miss O’Hara’s patient fiance, Bill van Dyke, and Helen Walker. The film was directed by Bruce Humberstone, and the producer was Robert Bassier. Miss O’Hara has 41 changes of dress. MAJESTIC “THE YEARLING” Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s prize-win-ning film, “The Yearling,” which stars Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, and Claude Jarman (a juvenile newcomer to the screen), is a film that received the highest praise from critics oversea, and a film in which the principals, Peck and Wyman, take parts substantially different from their usual roles. Based on Marjorie Kinnon Rawlings’ Pulitzer prize-winning novel of the same name, “The Yearling” is a film that will have an instant appeal to cinema-goers of all ages. The yearling in the story is a fawn which Claude Jarman (Jody) finds near his home. The story is set in the rough country of Florida and tells of the struggles and disputes that beset the "poor whites” who settle in the area. The baby deer which becomes Jody’s playmate eventually becomes a 1 contentious element in the frugal home of the family of three, and the father (Peck), finding that the little animal is eating his crops, wishes to destroy it. The film is produced in Technicolour. CENTURY “PERFECT STRANGERS” The story of an insignificant London office worker and of his mousy little wife, both of whom join the Royal Navy—he as a seaman and she as a member of the Wrens is divertingly told in the film “Perfect Strangers,” which is at the Century Theatre. Much happens during their long separation and both imagine that the other will be an unsatisfactory comrade after the war. The principals in this film are Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr, with Glynis Johns, Ann Todd, and Roland Culver in the supporting roles. EMPIRE “LOVE STORY” Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger. Patricia Roc, and Tom Walls appear in the film "Love Story,” which will open at the Empire Theatre today. The film is set in Cornwall and tells the story of a girl who learns that she has only a short while to live and decides to have a good time before she dies. The film features the National Symphony Orchestra which plays the popular “Cornish Rhapsody.” The second feature is ‘‘Earl Carroll’s Vanities.” which stars Dennis O’Keefe, Constance Moore, and Alan Mowbray, and is a musical picture.

LIBERTY “DON’T TAKE IT TO HEART” r “Don’t Take it to Heart,” the amusing Twentieth Century Fox picture which will open at the Liberty Theatre today, presents in the principal roles Richard Greenq, and Patricia Medina. Although Greene is more notable for his dramatic performances, he appears to advantage in this comedy film, which is for universal exhibition. The supporting feature is "Backlash,” another Twentieth Century Fox production, and a mystery film. The principals in the picture are Jean Rogers, Richard Travis, and Robert Shayne. Jean Rogers appears as the wife of a lawyer who is believed to have been murdered, and upon whom the suspicion for the crime falls. John Eldridge is the Lawyer, who, in fact, is not dead, but has killed a man in such a way that identification is difficult, and it is thought that the body is his own. Jealousy of his young wife caused him to commit the crime. The picture is fast-moving and has plenty of incident. For a small film, the production and direction are good.

AVON “THE IMPERFECT LADY” Ray Milland, a screen favourite after his masterful performance in the notable film “The Lost Week End,” will appear in the principal male role in the film “The Imperfect Lady," one of Paramount Pictures’ recent productions which will open at the Avon Theatre to-day with three sessions. The story is set in mid-Victorian London with all its prudery and malicious chatter, and tells of the fortunes of a young woman who, not realising that any misconstruction will follow her thoughtless action, enters a man’s rooms while the police are seeking her. The lady is played by Teresa Wright, and her fight against scandal —which follows her even on her wedding night—is the theme of the picture. Included in the supporting cast are Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Virginia Field, and Reginald Owen, all boxoffiefe stars themselves. The picture is recommended by the censor for adults. Milland anpears as the young candidate for Parliament who falls in love with the “imperfect lady,” and whose career is jeopardised as a result