ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 84, 3 January 1940, Page 12

ENTERTAINMENTS

jr Regent Theatre No sooner had the last spike been driven in the railroad to the town destined to become Dodge City than business nourished rapidly—dozens of earloads of hides and meat were trucked daily ; from the four corners of the earth men came to the “wide open Babylon oi the \\ est ’ to build, to ravage, to tight. But behind the pioneers came the flotsam and jetsam of n civilization, to reap only the gold that: lay . within easy reach. Saloons, gambling halls and bawdy houses sprang up overnight and lawlessness and shooting ran s riot. Dodge City, the city that started 'S off with such high ideals, became the melting pot of adventurers, of settlers—such !: that came—and of gunmen. "West of g Chicago there's no law. west of Dodge y City no Hod." was what was said of it. •s lilto litis maelstrom rode a devil-may-care, • liell-fiir-leather figure bent on taming the •' wildest town in the West —and was he < successful I “ The foregoing is but an indication of ” the story told in "Dodge City,” today ending an extended season at the Regent Thei_ titre. The town tamer is played by Errol Flynn, and lie is given staunch acting .support by Alan Hale, Olivia De llavilland \ and Ann Sheridan. S “It’s a Wonderful World.” s Lt With amusing situations tumbling over one another and sprightly dialogue rat- <•’ Hing off at almost machine-gun pace, “It's t a Wonderful World,” happily teaming r Claudette Colbert with James Stewart, e will be shown at the Regent Theatre from ■ next Thursday. Claudette is a poetess who joins Stewart, private detective, in '> the tracking down of a murderer. ii s De Luxe Theatre i) 1 Though he wears the somberero, buek--j skin jacket and high-heeled riding boots i of the frontier gun-fighter of the nineteenth century, though he carries a brace f of old Colt six-shooters on his hips l instead of a modern automatic in a e shoulder holster, though he discloses that ) he is a real hell-for-leather horseman, .i Jimmy Cagney is fundamentally the e same type of character as thrilled audii“ ences in such productions as 1 “Angels With Dirty Faces” and “I’ublic 1 Enemy,” in “Oklahoma Kid.” the main :> attraction at the De Luxe Theatre. r The antics of a singing policeman pro--1 voke laughter in “She Married a Cop,” • the associate attraction. .. , / i State Theatre 3 A heroic story of the United States 3 Coast Guard, “Coast Guard,’’ with Ran- ? dolph Scott, Frances Dee, Ralph Rellamy j and Walter Connolly in the leads, will 3 be (he main feature at the State Theatre 3 from today. The activities of the ser- » vice are clearly shown: Cutters patrolling , the iceberg lanes of the North Atlantic i or guarding seals from the depredations , of poaehers: aircraft winging over little- . frequented ; and great ambu- . lance planes taking seriously injured men 3 from ships at sea. The romantic inter- • est centres on Frances Dee, granddaughter s of Connolly, a sea captain, and Scott and > Bellamy, reckless pilot of a coast guard ! ambulance plane and officer in the service i respectively. I In giving some indication of the material of which “Behind Prison Gates,” • the associate feature to be, is made, the > quotation. “Better to die in a fight for ’ freedom than a living death behind bars,” 1 is )apt. The principals are Brian Don--1 levy and Jacqueline Wells. • Plaza Theatre Memorable for work in “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” Basil Rothbone and ; Nigel Bruce, the perfect Sherlock Holmes -Dr. "Watson team, maintain their reputations in these roles in “Sherlock Holmes,” this week at the Plaza Theatre. George' Zueco, as _ Professor Moriarty, the cunning and fiendish one who pits 'himself against the brilliant and fearless Holmes, is the foremost of the supporting players, among whom are Ida Lupino and Alan Marshal, iu the romantic leads’, Henry Stephenson. Terry Kilburn, as the _ pageboy protege of Holmes, and E. E. Clive. To reveal the plot would be unfair to the theatre management and to prospective audiences; sufficient is it to mention that among the baffling clues that confront, Holmes there is a strange chin- . chilla fetish and a mystery about the Traitor's "Gate in the Tower of London. The British crown jewels—replicas of which are on view at the Centennial Exhibition.—are no insignificant inspiration to Moriarty’s schemes. “Stanley And Livingstone.” Happenings that thrilled the world in days gone by will be recalled with the release of “Stanley and Livingstone,” a Darryl F. Zanuck production, at the Plaza 'Theatre early this year. Spencer Tracy, twice winner of an award by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as the heroic adven-turer-reporter who risks his life to “Find, Livingstone I” iu the black heart of unknown Africa, gives a performance worthy of himself and the part he plays, ami lie is supported to convincing effect by Nancy Kelly and Richard Greene. SL James Theatre The sixth film to feature Deanna Durbin—renowned for her singing and her acting—“ First Love” is well worthy of its extended season at the St. James Theatre. Deanna plays an orphan girl who is forced to live with an aunt and uncle and two consins of her own ago. They are a

rich mid snobbish family, and never . let Demina forget that she is merely a poor relation accepting their benefits. By her personality, consideration mid’ kindness Deanna wins over the servants and, with their aid, brings about an upheaval in the family. But the real interest develops when Demina and her female cousin (played by Helen Parrish) both lavish their affections on (he same object, the voung Robert Stack, bachelor. Majestic Theatre How a little Kansas farm girl gets .caught in a cyclone and believes she is carried to Oz, where she meets, a Scarecrow who wants brains, u Tiu Woodman who wants a heart and a Cowardly Lion who seeks courage, and how they all go to the Wizard to, ask him to grant their wishes, is the concern of "Tlie Wizard of Oz.’’ in the second week of a season at the Majestic Theatre. 'l'he farm girl wishes to go home again, and her return to ordinary life after her delirium is given an unusual dramatic twist. — King’s Theatre Despiie its eober theme—espionage and sabotage in (lie air force of a great nut ion—-mid its sombre title, "Clouds fiver Europe,” presented by tlie management of lhe King’s Theatre, is possessed I of a delightful melody of persiflage, i mainly .contributed by Ralph Richardson i I and reaching its peak in his digression on | women. I The disabling of planes by a myster- I ions ray, and a buttle royal in which rhythmic machine-gun lire, sporadic rifle shots and the resultant dead or wounded falling over the decks of a salvage vessel are intermingled with an abandon (hat is amazing to hear and to watch, furbish a not very dull story. Tudor Theatre Enjoying great, success at the Tudor Theatre, "Fifth Avenue Girl” describes how a millionaire shocks his apathetic family into taking some notice of him. Tlie scheme the millionaire adopts to achieve his object involves the “adoption” of a young girl, she to pose :us a "golddigger." 'l'he millionaire is Walter Connolly and the "gold-digger" Ginger Rogers. - Highlights of "Career.” the associate film, are the two romances, the conversion of u drunkard to respectability and a near-lynching.