ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 219, 12 June 1930, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS

PARAMOUNT THEATRE. Paramount’s gorgeous musical parade ot royalty, “The Love Parade,” will conclude a record season at the Paramount Theatre to-night. The story is smart and sophisticated, and brings a new type of picture to the talking screen. Maurice Chevalier is cast in the role of n prince who marries a queen aud becomes a very stern prince consort, who refuses to be ruled according to ancient traditions. Ten popular hits form the basis for the musical programme. The settings are most lavish, aud the supporting cast prodigious. Box plans are available at the Bristol and theatre. “SPLINTERS”—FIRST OF THE NEW JUG BRITISH “TALKIES.” “Splinters” is the first talking picture to be produced at the new Imperial Studios at Elstree by British and Dominions in’ alliance with His Master’s Voice. The merit of “Splinters” lies in its having captured the heart of the singing soldier. The humour and sentiment aud drama contained in the picture are proof positive and joyous that, In reality as well as'by repute, old soldiers never die, aud that the insinuation about their fading away is a libel “Splinters” is, as was your first helping of Christmas pudding, grand stuff but not enough, says a critic. “One cannot remember any other picture so happily leaving one with an appetite for more. There is sheer joy in every foot of its length.” Although rich in comedy, a very great part of the virtue of this picture is the singing of the men in chorus. That is rousing and inspiring, and will prove unforgettable to many. The men of “Splinters” are soldiers and not actors in costume. The spirit of “Splinters” is that of the men who created the First Army Concert Party, and that of the men, from the trenches, who made the finest audiences that ever sat in a theatre. In the production ot “Splinters” there are both romance and reality. The cast includes Hal Jones, the original Splinter Number One, Reg. Stone, who was a member of the Concert Party in France, and Lew Lake, to whose greatness of heart as well as excellence of judgment “Splinters” owes its continuous success in England. Musically the best episode in “Splinters” is the “Gretna Green” lyric, sung by Wilfred Temple. Then Nelson Keys makes a marvellous companion in comedy to Sydney Howard. “Splinters” opens qn extended season at the Paramount Theatre to-mor-row.. Box plans are filling rapidly at Bristol and theatre. DE LUXE THEATRE. Packed full of tuneful songs, beautiful girls, and spectacular numbers, "Happy Days” wiU be shown for the last time at th e De Luxe Theatre to-night. Song numbers include “Snake Hips” (Sharyon Lynn), “Crazy Feet," (Dixie Lee), while Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor, perhaps the best-known sweethearts” of the screen, delight in a number specially written for them, called “We’ll Build a Little World of Our Own.” The story concerns a minstrel troupe that plays the local opera houses along the Mississippi River, travelling by steamboat. Lh-oughout the production runs a delightful romance played by Marjorie White and Richard Keene. Included in a good supporting programme -is a thrilling sound record of Miss Amy Johnson’s arrival at Brisbane. “THE BIG PARTY.” New York, from river to river, serves as the background for a surprising amount of entertainment in “The Big Party,” the Fox Movietone .all-talking, singing, dancing production which opens to-morrow at the de Luxe Theatre. In its swift and amusing progress the film takes us from cheap nlckle-and-dlme stores to ultra-ultra modistes’ establishments, from dingy tenements to the most luxurious apartments, from 50-cent-table d’hote cafes to glittering night clubs, while the romance of the slangy but lovable shop girl and her window-trimming boy friend is carried out to everyone’s complete satisfaction. In this amusing, and tuneful story of a shop girl’s romance. Director John Blystone has cleverly woven his narrative threads into a fast-moving background of cafes, shops, night clubs and apartments, representing every stratum of New York life, and has done it in a manner that makes the film frequently hilarious and always entertaining. Sue Carol, Dixie Lee and Walter Catlett enact the leading roles of the picture, and all three give excellent performances, while Charles Judels supplies a large share of the comedy. “Whisnaring” Jack Smith, Richard Keene, Frank Albertson, Dorothy Brown, Ilka Chase, Elizabeth Patterson and other screen and stage celebrities have characterisations that will further delight their followers. It’s a musical Movietone melodydrama. It’s refreshingly entertaining and delightful in every song and situation. Box plans are available at Bristol and Aitken’s. ST. JAMES THEATRE. Whispered words, hidden meanings, the wiles and intrigues of secret agents, and the destiny of a great nation in the balance. . This is the fascinating background in “Disraeli” now at St. James Theatre, against Which is played an absorbing drama of politics and romance. The story deals with one of the most exciting and melodramatic episodes of Disraeli’s career. This great statesman had the eyes of the world on him when he succeeded in acquiring the Suez Canal for England, and it is around this particular bit of political sagacity that the story of the picture “Disraeli” is woven. Benjamin Disraeli was the first Jew to achieve the honour of becoming Prime Minister of England. This was in 1868, just thirtyone years after he made his first speech in the House of Commons. The youhg Disraeli, fantastically garbed, melancholy of mien, and with a mass of curls on his fine head, delivered that maiden speech with extravagant gestures and was greeted with derision. Between that disastrous speech nnd the signal honour paid him in giving him the post of Prime Minister, lay three decades ot strenuously practical life. He wandered up and down London, a kind of unsolved riddle. There was a pose of mystery behind him. He was fascinating, without a peer in the art of repartee, a contradiction of everything the traditional Englishman expected as a leader of politics. And’he still remains one of England’s greatest statesmen. George Arliss’s portrayal of Disraeli runs the gamut of characterisation. It is a thing of ever-changing moods, and therefore fascinating in its unexpectedness. There are excellent supports. 1 1

" ' ■ MAJESTIC THEATRE. “Roadhouse Nights,” a thrilling melodrama dealing with bootlegging operations in a small town cjibaret. will be shown finally at the Majestic Theatre to-night. William Bindbugel, a Press reporter, discovers that the headquarters of the Horner gang is a roadhouse, whose principal attraction is Lola Fagan, a beautiful singer. They fly by night to a wayside hotel, but Horner overtakes the runaways and forces them to return. The exciting story works up to a thrilling climax, in which gunmen play an active part. A splendid view of the arrival and crash, at Brisbane of Amy Johnson after her flight from England is shown. There are three sessions daily. “SLIGHTLY SCARLET” COMING TO MAJESTIC THEATRE.

Supported by a remarkably strong cast, Evelyn Brent and Clive Brook come to the Majestic Theatre on Friday in “Slightly Searlet.” It keeps audiences on the qui vive throughout. Each new situation Is a surprise situation, an unexpected plot twist that’s hard to guess. There’s not a dull moment from the time that beautiful Miss Brent sees handsome Clive Brook in Paris and wishes she could know him. They finally meet, and then the real excitement begins. Each has a secret he dreads revealing to the other. Author and director have built up a clever suspense angle throughout the story. . And yet “Slightly Scarlet" is not a mystery story. It is romance! adventurous romance, in every sense. The tenseness of its situations makes for unusual suspense, however. Paul Lukas, the graceful sophisticate, is seen in “Slightly Scarlet” in another of those delightful .menace roles which have made him so popular with film audiences everywhere. Claude Allister, the harmless fop of "Three Live Ghosts,” and “Bulldog Drummond" Is also present, with a promise of laughs to relieve the tension. And laughter-provoking Eugene Palette struts and blooms in dress clothes. The cast also includes Henry Wadsworth, Morgan Farley, and Virginia Bruce.

QUEEN'S THEATRE. “The Mounted Stranger,” Universal’s thrill-packed picture of the hard-riding, hard-lighting West, will be shown for the last time at the Queen’s Theatre to-night. Hoot GJbson plays the part of a daredevil cowpuncher, who single-handed sets out to avenge the death of his father at the hands of a gang of bad men. Tho second feature Is “Flight,” Columbia's super all-dialogue air thriller, which is being screened for a return season in addition to “The Mounted Stranger.” Jack Holt, Lila Lee nnd Ralph Graves are prominently cast.' “THEY HAD TO SEE PARIS.” . “They Had to See Paris," Fox Movietone all-talking comedy-drama starring Will Rogers, will open to-inorrow night at 8 o’clock at the Queen’s Theatre. The picture deals with the exciting and laughable adventures of the Peters family in Paris after they have been made suddenly• rich. It is a laugh riot from beginning to end, with occasional dramatic high spots In which Rogers reveals himself not only as a comedian, but as an emotional actor of unusunl power. The cast includes Marguerite Churchill. Fit! DorsaV. Owen Davis, jr„ Irene Rich, Rex Bell, Ivan Lebedeff and Tlwodore LodL

REGENT THEATRE. One of the most" glamorous figures in literary history is seen on the talking screen in “The Vagabond King,” Paramount’s super-extravaganza, which is attracting capacity houses at the Regent Theatre. The personage is none other than that romantic, poetic rowdy, Francois Villon—the vagabond who consorted with the thieves and ruffians of his beloved Paris in the fifteenth century and who wrote tween crimes, some of the most beautiful poetry of all time. From the opening scene in the tavern of the Parisian vagabonds, to the final scene at the gallows, when King Louis XI pardons*the man who saved Paris from the army of the Duke of Burgundy, there is just one riot of colour and beauty after another. And above all, there is. Dennis King, the famous English actor, who portrays Francois Villon, the king of the vagabonds, who, for one week, is allowed to rule as king of France. There is also the beautiful, golden-voiced, Jeanette MacDonald, who is cast as Katherine de Vaucelles, niece of the weak Louis XI, and the woman who saves Villon from the gallows. Both are accomplished artists, and both possess remarkable voices. To hear Dennis King sing the well-known “Song of the Vagabonds" is an event, as also to hear him, transformed from vagabond to courtier, sing with Miss MacDonald the lilting melody, “Only a Rose.” “If I were King" is another of Mr. King's, solos. With Miss MacDonald, he is heard in “Love Me' To-night. Mere words fail to describe such a superproduction, and it surely must be conceded that “The Vagabond King” is the greatest of all musical and historical plays that have yet been produced. Together with an excellent supporting programme, "The Vagabond King” will be presented thrice daily. GRAND OPERA HOUSE. This afternoon and to-night will see the last screenings of “Seven Keys to Baldpate,” a thrilling comedy, featuring Richard Dlx, and “The Woman Racket,” an intensely- thrilling drama. The programme is one of outstanding merit. "THE SHIP FROM SHANGHAI.” Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “The Ship From Shanghai,” which opens its season at, the Grand Opera House to-morrow afternoon and evening, presents something new .in screen art in the form of an all-talking picture filmed almost in its entirety on the Pacific Ocean. The plot of this picture, adapted from Dale Collins’s novel, “Ordeal,” concern!, itself with the psychological change experienced by the persons of a yachting party, as a result of a mutiny, typhoon and an ominous water shortage. Charles Brabln has directed the production with a keen Insight, showing by succeeding stages the slow but inevitable breakdown of each of the passengers which finally is precipitated to a hysteria as a result of the terror inspired by a half-mad steward who has gained control of the ship’s water supply and uses his power to coerce the others. “The role of the steward is played by Louis' Woiheim, who gives it a remarkable touch of horror and nausea combined with that half-hidden slyness characteristic of insane persons. Carmel Myers gives an outstanding performance as the selfish wife'of the yacht owner who before the calamity has appeared as an aristocratic type, but whose true weak character is revealed at the climax of the story. Others whose parts, are effectively handled • include Holmes Herbert as the yacht owner, Conrad Nagel and Kay Johnson, as a romantic pair, Zetlie Tilbury as Lady Daley, who goes about her business In complete Indifference to the situations; Ivan Linow as the Swedish cook, and Pat Moriarlty and Pat Harmon as members of the crew. What will interest moviegoers chiefly In this production outside of the novelty of the plot are its remarkable ocean scones, apparently filmed beyond sight of land. At times one has a view of the sea in a tranquil calm, while at the climax of the story a hurricane is shown and the ship lurches In the grip of the huge waves. The photography in these scenes is splendid, attempting at times what has never before been done on the screen.” There will be a second picture entitled “Song of Love.” \ KING’S THEATRE. There are scenes of drama and burlesque, clever and humorous dialogue and action of every description In “Rio Rita',’’ which will conclude a short return season tonight'at the King’s Theatre. Catchy songs and choruses, and perfectly executed ballet dances, are also included in a truly exceptional picture. John Boles has the main lead, and plays opposite to Bebe Daniels, the beauty of a little Mexican town. The second half of the picture Is in technlcolour. “COHENS AND KELLYS IN SCOTLAND” King’s Theatre will present, for a‘ return season in Wellington, commencing tomorrow with matinee daily at 2.30, the hilarious Universal all-talking production, “The Cohens and Kellys In Scotand.” George Sidney, Charlie Murray. Vera Gordon and Kate Price are together again in this latest of Universal’s uproarious “Cohen and Kelly” series. The picture is studded with hilarious bits of business which sound tame when related, but the treatment of which makes for unforgettable comedy. For Instance, the ineffectual attempts of Cohen and Kelly to play golf, their antics when they bet on the horse races, and Cohen trying to talk Scotch, all are extremely comical. It is no exaggeration to say there is not a dull moment in the entire picture. Prominent In the cast are E. J. Ratcliffe, William Colvin and Lloyd Whitlock. Box plans are available at the Bristol. KILBIRNIE KINEMA. At the change of programme at the Kilblrnle- Theatre to-night Marion Davies will reappear in “Marianne,” her first alltalking feature. "Marianne” Is a story about a French peasant girl who tried her hardest to keep Allied soldiers at arms’ length at the end of the war, but finished up bv marrying one of them. Marianne’s destiny is first influenced by the billeting of a company of soldiers in her barnyard, and she rescues the man she loves from the guardroom ceils on a serious charge. The usual soqnd featurettes will also be screened. Reserve at Theatre Confectionery, ’phone 14—202, and Bristol Piano Co.

COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS’ CHOIR. The Commercial Travellers’ Choir is holding its first concert of the 1930 season in the Concert Chamber on Saturday next. The first portion of the programme will be devoted to part songs and solos, but the whole of the second half Trill be taken up with the performance of Maunder's cantata, “The Martyrs.” This is a very fine work, written for male voices and three soloists, viz., soprano, tenor, and bass. The artists selected for these parts are Miss Christina Ormiston, Messrs. E. Pegg and W. B. Brown, all of whom are well and favourably known to the public. An added attraction will be the first appearance of Mr. John Bishop as conductor of the choir. The accompaniments will be in the hands of Mr. Trevor Fisher. The box plan is at the’Bristol Plano Co