GOOD NEIGHBOURS-WITH MUSIC

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 268, 7 August 1943, Page 7

GOOD NEIGHBOURS-WITH MUSIC

Astaire & Hayworth Dance In Argentina

(By

T.L.)

Going into the State last night I met a friend who may not be beautiful but is wise. She was with a marine and the three of us chatted for a moment on the many charms of Rita ]laywor|h. “If the Hayworth wench turns on too much oomph I’ll probably drag him out of the theatre,” she said, indicating the boy friend. “The contrast between her screen charm and my iiear-al-liand reality might break up a lovely romance.” Which is a reasonable enough attitude for most girls when they are forced into competition with Rita Hayworth, whose versatility grows with every new film. In “You Were Never Lovelier" she is teamed with Fred Astaire- -a new generation and an older one (for Fred As taire is now 43, partner ot his famous sister, Adele, a London hit of iJ-b in “Lady Be Good.” which Winston Churchill still recalls ns his favourite musical comedy). But in the dance scenes their agility amounts almost to ecstasy, their grace to poetry. Hollywood (which doesn t know so much after all), probably didn’t, realize that the breaking up of the Astaire-Rog-

ers team would become two success stories; that of Ginger Kogers who forged ahead into drama and won an “Oscar with “Kitty Foyle,” and the big dancing chance of Kita Hayworth, who was first with Fred Astaire in “You’ll Never Get Rich.” . Columbia makes its contribution to Roosevelt’s Good Neighbour policy by setting the story of “You Were Never Lovelier” in Buenos Aires. Rita Hayworth, beautiful but with an ice cube tor a heart, is one of four daughters—funny, that strikes a familiar note in town tins week.—sired by Adolphe Menjou. Astaire is a Broadway trouper, an insatiable racing tipster, stranded in the Argentine and with only his nimble limbs to save him from starvation. Menjou owns the city s luxury hotel, Xavier Cugat has the band there. What more natural then, than that Fred Astaire should become the hit of the floor show? And what more probable to the great romantic public than that the Hayworth-Astaire .team should get together for dancing, singing and 10 “You Were Never Lovelier” has music by Jerome Kern —not his best, but stilt better than most of the tunes of today The gay, irresponsible atmosphere tuny bears out the contention of an .earlier film: they say that, life will begin—the very moment you’re in—Argentina. “FOUR MOTHERS” Though the connexion with the title is a trifle slim and the attractive young “troubles” now encumbering the hour Wives” are seen and heard but little, “Four Mothers," at the Opera House, provides many a good laugh am now■and then a subtle tug at the heart-stringt The ups and downs of the enlarged are humanly portrayed, and though tne ulot nebulous the acdon and actin o ofa high Standard. High enough to make the average theatregoer hope that Warner Brothers won’t keep this entertaining team in cold storage till .. they arc ready for “Four Grandmothers. The story revolves round a real estate deal which, having been promoted by one of the husbands, boosted by Dad and substantially backed by the home-town investors, suffers an act of God and in consequence damages the popularity of Dad with his public. The family rally round but fall to prevent him from realizing on the ancestral pile to repay the unhappy inhabitants and satisfy his honour. Leaving town is a hard blow to the old man, but it is somewhat softened by an IDV ““’ tion to conduct a national Beethoven festival, and finally forgotten in a triumphal return of the local-dad-makee-good variety. Some ingenious transplanting of the old homestead adds the finishing touch to Dad’s happiness and an enjoyable picture. Claude Rains does a good job as Adam and proves his versatility by conducting Beethoven In a manner which, even If a little energetic, would have done credit to Stokowski. The husbands are as amusingly human us their wives. And if the audience wonders a little where the fourth mother comes in, be it known that everything turns out nicely In the end. “WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME” 'To the Wellington authorities In charge of the reception for the recently-returned men of the 2nd N.Z.E.F. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is warmly recommended. It is at the De Luxe. While there was more than a sneaking suspicion in the minds of the public that far too little honour was done our desert victors, American soldier Johnny, home on furlough, is almost embarrassed by the warmth of the welcome from the town dignitaries. , tny number of musicals which cost twice as much haven’t come off as successfully as this pleasant little time-killer. The’ story concerning a soldier-hero (Allan Jones) bn furlough, who hides from nis admirers in a boarding-house where live Phil Spitaluy and his Ail-Girl Orchestra, is more than adequate. Gloria Jean and Jane Frazee help Jones out with the singing and Donald O’Connor and Peggy Ryan as a juvenile song-and-dunce team add considerably to the film’s general audience appeal. > ■ , Far less amusitig, and also on the programme, is “The Menace of the Rising Sun,” a long “short” dealing with Japans diplomatic double-crossing from the Naval Conference of IU2I-22 to Ihe Washington parley of ItMl and the treacherous attack on Pearl Harbour. The film has been carefully compiled, the photography is good and the dramatic effect, intended to stir any sluggards in the United Nations ranks, has unquestionable value. Screening, too, is “Police Bullets." “REUNION”IN 7 FRANCE” (Second Week).—After one night on the Limited from Auckland I look as if I had just come through Dunkirk. After uaj’S and nights fighting her way back to Paris after the fall of France, Joan Crawford in “Reunion in France," still at the Majestic, looks as well-groomed as the Duchess of Windsor. I had thought that, after three years, script-writers liad Worn holes in the story of the R.A.F. flier who crashes In France and is hidden by a French girl who falls in love with him. But “Reunion in France,” by deft handling, makes an interesting success of a now well-known theme. This time the flier is John Wayne, the woman Joan Crawford, a well-to-do. playgirl who is engaged to a French industrialist (Philip Dorn). When France fails Dorn hobnobs with the Nazis. Disillusioned. Miss Crawford turns to Wayne, almost falls in love on the rebound. Only when she helps Wayne and other British officers to escape does she learn that Dorn was only pretending to the Nazis, is really a patriotic saboteur. Despite her Molyneux wardrobe it needs imagination to visualize Joan Crawford as a mademoiselle. It is interesting to find that the Ulin was called "Mademoiselle France” when it was released in England. “HITLER’S* CHILDREN” (Third week). —Dear, dear, how times change. It is not loug since Hitler was screaming his success story to a startled world, since German youth was strutting, arrogant as a gamecock, across the face of Europe, since Goering was pouring fire and death from a plane-darkened sky. But today the Allies know the sweet taste of Tunisia, the successes in Russia, the blasting of German cities, the invasion of ’Sicily, tlie fall of Mussolini. Today Hitler,( in Wagnerian gloom, talks strangely of the democracies of which lie was once Sq contemptuous: “AU that which apparently is strong is nothing more than the product of tlie bestial urge to destroy the higher cultures of better races. . . Four years ago few people would have believed I hat Hitler would ever utter those words. lie was worshipper-In-chief at the shrine of “all that which Is strong.” But his “master race” seems to have misfired. Hie Hitler youth, which was laying the foundation of the Mighty Third Keich for the next thousand years, is dying a dreadful death for its omniscient Fuehrer. Jlist how near tlie world camo to utter tragedy Is grimly portrayed in "Hitler’s Children,” tlie excellent Him at the King’s Here is the story of n whole generation reared in worldliness and luet and death. No songfl nd dance act, ‘’Hitler’s Children" is a “must” for illm-goers who like to think as well as sec.

“HOLIDAY INN” (Second week).—Smart, civilized comedy that makes capital out ot no ones misfortunes, buris no susceptibilities au(i J vldes a slightly neurotic wartime 'v™ with plenty of danceable, singable -ui ue», that, is "Holiday Inn wliieli is tloinj, t» best to break any records stacked up at St. James in'the past—and there arc Pl BiLg Crosby, Fred Astaire and Virginia Hale are a Broadway act that has ever thing u. manager ever dreamed of. . But -the private lives ot this certain trio jave . design-for-ilving quality. Ling loves '«- ginia and imagines himselt on the me or marriage. Virginia loves I 1 red. but sm. marries neither of them, but elopes o Texas with the "most wonderful mIJ o alre in the world.” Bing grows despondent, retires to a farm in Connecticut to commune with cows and sunrises. . these admirable phenomena have a boring sameness and he decides to turn the tann house into an out-of-town night club to be open only on holidays. . Into his Ute conies pert, talented. Marjorie Reynolds. Into her life comes Fred Astaire. And it might have gone on ad infinitum If Bmg hadn’t acted quickly and married the girl. That is ull there is to it—-plotwlse. out the characters are co h tln “ ously _ £l “l“L’rnck' tinually singing or dancing or wisei laclin" And the songs they have to sing. Some of the best numbers Irving Berlin has written for years, among them, of course, "White Christmas. “FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN” "Parents are warned to keep their chiH dren away from this show, , rea( | the vertisements for '•Frankenstein Wolf Mau,” at the Paramount incaue tU H'in ee i k 'wonder! It 1 know anything about'the youngsters of l f ? day c W °“ie orobablv «lt nonchalantly licking me creams during the most ghoulish and then trek happily home through, an unlighted cemetery, lime was vvhtn Uni dren shuddered at the screen and were frightened of most tilings irom thunder to the negro bottle-dealer. Today they would likely as not demand grandstand seats for a thousand-bomber raid The latest Frankenstein him has ““ amazing cast-llona Massey, 11 the way from "Balalaika” to a thriller, Patrie Knowles, Lon Chaney (the on y Ameri-cau-born among the players), Bela LUgosh Lionel Atwill and Maria Ouspenskaya. Good old Lugosi, again the monster 1B frozen in lee, chopped out and revived. Lon Chaney, as the Wolf Man, s believed lo have been dead for some D™ . ■ ’ when two body-snatchers pry open u« eoffln he is very much alive. Into this cheerful set-up come the rest of the players, and the shudders (among the gr ups, anyway) are sufficient to PYitfaelorUy audience that, it has hud • a satisfactorily b °Bu't >l that'K ll not' all. The Urst half is almost as chllling-Dick lurcell. Joan Wood. BUry, Mantan Moreland, and Marron Hy mer In "Phantom Killer, the story of a man who was a deaf mute by day and an unpleasant piece of work by night. “THIS ABOVE ALL” (Fourth week).—l have been interested in a letter I came across in an American paper, specially in its relation to a film Fike "Tins Above All” (Plaza). It titled “If Only We Could Exchange Populations/’ and it was written by a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force:— The Americans seem generally overinclined to blow their own horn to boast always that anything American is automatically best, biggest, sniirtest fastest, or what have you. The British, on the other baud, seem to Americans to be , smug, ano-bb sb, superior, abrupt, old-fashioned, and so forth. If we knew more about each other, we would realize MHI these differences exist, which would enable us to make allowances for each other s “peculiarities,” and no: to take offence where no offence is meant. ’ - „. “If we knew more about each other . that seems to be the very core of our relationship, a relationship which tho cinema is helping in no small degree. I am. of course, referring to the pictures one might label "great"—‘Mrs. Miniver, In Which We Serve, “This Above All, “Waite Island.” , ... „ „ . By all means see "This Above All, not only for the acting of Joan kontalne and Tyrone Power, but for its fine story and its atmosphere of sincerity. “LITTLE TOKYO, U.S.A.” Until December 7. IMI, Mr. and Mrs. America accepted their Japanese cooks and houseboys as part of the democratic scheme of things. Then these good servants because sinister figures—in some eases, rightly. “Little Tokyo, U.S.A., at the Tudor, is the story of a city within a city which housed a colony of fanatical Japanese bent only on the destruction of America. Preston Foster and Brenda Jovce are the stars. Lynn Bari, Alan Ciirtis and Sheila Ryan are the stars of “We Go Fast,” the other film on the programme.