ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 152, 24 March 1938, Page 16

ENTERTAINMENTS

George Arliss In “Dr. Syn” At Plaza Theatre The story of ‘‘Dr. Syn,” George Arliss’s latest film, which is now at the Plaza Theatre, is full of action. It deals with the smuggling exploits of a well-known Kentish fishing village more than a hundred years ago; it has humour, tension and excitement, and shows Arliss in a completely new type of role. The story was written by Russell Thorndike, whose novel of this name was a best seller. Pretty nineteeu-year-old Margaret Lockwood appears as George Arliss's daughter. “Topper” Still At The Majestic The adventures of Cosmo Topper are transcribed to the ' screen in the new comedy “Topper,” in its third week at the Majestic. Constance Bennett and Cary Grant are starred as the young married couple who are dead but who can materialise at will. “Big City.” Now the humble taxi-driver comes into his own as a movie hero. Spencer Tracy, last year's Academy Award winner, appears to symbolise the hero behind the wheel. Luise Rainer, who was O-Lan. the Chinese woman in “The Good Earth,” appears as hi s immigrant wife. “Big City,” which begins at the Majestic tomorrow, is a pretentious picture in that it sets out to paint a canvas of life as it is in the whirling maelstrom of the crowded places. It is a simple, beautiful thing because it accomplishes exactly that. Tracy becomes a hackman. Unshaved, laconic, and suspicious of everything that walks on two feet or rolls on four wheels, be typifies the species which flourishes in spite of hardship in every city. Luise Rainer, 1936 and last yearns Academy Award winner for female roles, becomes the lowly, half-frightened foreign girl, soon to become a mother, terrified with the threat of the big’town, yet ready to live or die for the husky-voiced mate who drives home in his cab between fares. Tracy personifies the breed to which all is fair in love or taxi-cab war. He refuses to be bullied in a war. between two factions and is trapped by unprincipled racketeers. He fights for business and for freedom from the shackles of the gang. Then, in the knowledge that every man has his price, the racketeers engineer the deportation of the girl. Now the taxi-cab driver really starts to fight. He blocks the gang and gets to the mayor himself, dining, in a great restaurant, Jack Dempsey’s place opposite Madison Square Garden in New York. The scene was actually made there. “Between Two Women” At St. James Theatre zV great metropolitan hospital forms the background of the dramatic story told in “Between Two Women,” showing at the St. James Theatre. Heading a strong cast are Franchot Tone, Maureen O’Sullivan and Virginia Bruce. Tone gives an outstanding performance in the role of an ambitious young interne. Miss Bruce is an heiress who goes to the hospital as a patient and falls in love with him. “London By Night.” Contrast between stage and screen becomes more marked as Hollywood continues to adapt from the theatre and at the same time draw from Broadway for its players. There can be no doubt that “London By Kight,” Meter-Goldwyu-Mayer adaptation o£ Will Scott’s stage play, “The Umbrella Man,” which commences at the St. James Theatre tomorrow, is superior. The resources of the studio, coupled with the ability of the players, leave no room for doubt. George Murphy, once a Broadway dancer of note, more recently of the screen, appears in his first dramatic role. Rita Johnson, likewise of the New York theatre, makes her firm debut. And Leo G. Carroll, long of the theatre, plays a pivotal role, Others in the cast are Virginia Field, George Zucco, 'Montagu Love, and Eddie Quillan. “London By Night” is a mystery story, and to reveal the plot would be not only to deprive readers of a thrill which they deserve to enjoy, but it would ■be unethical in the business of reporting pictures. Let it go then, with the hint that Murphy plays the role of a Fleet Street reporter who solves a mystery that baffles Scotland Yard. Rita Johnson is the girl involved, and with whom he falls in love. Carroll plays a role of mysterious characterisation that may well launch him in the footsteps of the late Lon Chaney. “Sanders Of The River” Returns To The New Paramount Paul Robeson, Leslie Banks and Nina May McKinney are starred in “Sanders of the River,” which is now at the New Paramount. Spectacular scenes of African rivers and native life, songs by Robeson in an ideal setting, and a powerful character study by Leslie Banks-are features of the picture. “Stella Dallas.” Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles and Anne Shirley appear in “Stella Dallas,” which begins at the New Paramount Theatre to-morrow. It is a dramatic story of a woman who marries above her station, and who makes a great sacrifice for the sake of her daughter. Joe E. Brown King’s Attraction The hilarious adventures of Joe E. Brown are brought to the screen again in “Fit for a King,” which is showing at the King’s Theatre. His latest riot of laughter shows him as a foreign correspondent of a newspaper, who is sent on an assignment in a mythical European kingdom. The associate feature, “Dang rqusly Yours,” is the story of a diamond which is being taken across the Atlantic. It is the cynosure of many crooks’ eyes, and the whole plot centres around their activities to obtain it. “Forty Naughty Girls” and “Danger Patrol.” The murder of a Press agent in a theatre dressing-room and the even more mysterious killing of the leading man of a show in full view of the entire audience form the setting of "Forty Naughty Girls,” RKO Radio’s new comedy thriller, which again brings the popular sleuthing team of Inspector Oscar Piper and his schoolmarm aide, Hildegard.e Withers (James Gleason and Zasu Pitts) t 0 the screen. It comes to the King’s Theatre to-morrow. Packed with danger and excitement, RKO Radio’s new thrill romance, “Danger Patrol.” the second feature, brings Sally Eilers and John Beal together with Harry Carey in an unusual type of screen offering. The lives of the men who make and transport the world's most treacherous explosive, nitroglycerine. form the background of the story, whose plot turns on the romance between the two young people. Spy Drama Now At The State Theatre The State Theatre’s present attraction, “Lancer Spy,” starring George Sanders and Dolores Del Rio, has risen above the majority of spy dramas. The secrecies of war and the official intrigues have been deftly woven into the film. “Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel.” A young British actor makes a sensational film debut in “The "Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel,” a new London Films’ production, which begins at the State Theatre to-morrow. He is Barry K. Barnes, who hap the unenviable task of portraying Sir Percy Blakeney, a role brilliantly created on the screen by Leslie Howard. Barnes puts up a magnificent performance, and there is no doubt that he is a discovery of first-class importance. Only 28 years of age, Barnes has the technique of a man twice as old. The film, as the title implies, is a further chapter in the adventures of the man who struck terror into the hearts of men of terror — /‘that denmed elusive Pint-.

pernel.” J\.nd this sequel is even more thrilling than the excellent Howard version. Sophie Stewart plays opposite Barnes. Nearly everyone is familiar with the Baroness Orczy character, the English dandy who devoted his life to the rescue of innocent victims of the French Revolution. “Ever Since Eve” At Regent Theatre Fiast-moving comedy of the craziest and most entertaining kind characterises “Ever Since Eve,” the Regent Theatre’s offering. The two leading roles are taken by Marion Davies and Robert Montgomery. Marion ' Davies is the secretary cursed by an over-abund-ance of good looks, and Robert. Montgomery is a young and erratic novelist. Patsy Kelly is in her very best form as the girl secretary’s room-mate, and as her boyfriend, Allen Jenkins, as usual, contributes his full share to the lighter side of the picture. Louise Fazenda is cast as the dynanjic publisher. “Oh, Mr. Porter!” And “Outlaws Of The Orient” At De Luxe “Oh, Mr. Porter I” the hilarious new Will Hay starring vehicle, is at the De Luxe. The associate feature is a drama of the East, “Outlaws of the Orient,” starring Jack Holt. z\n added attraction is the yodelling cowboy, Jack Carter. "The Mutiny of the Elsinore” and “Carnival Queen.” “The Mutiny of the Elsinore,” Jack London’s mighty dramatic novel transferred to the screen, will begin at the De Luxe Theatre to-morrow. It stars Paul Lukas. The second attraction will be “Carnival Queen,” starring Robert Wilcox and Dorothea Kent. It is an exciting comedy drama of circus life.