REGENT THEATRE.

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 85, 11 April 1933, Page 4

REGENT THEATRE.

"Tlio Kiel from apain," at tlic Ilcscnt ■ TIK-alrc, is an uproarious t'arcu pruduocd with ail (lie American reuourecfulnuss of comedy tculiniQLiu'. Spectacular ballets ami a Mexican backurjiind supply tlio foundatious upou wliich Cunior exercises Ills capacity as a lauglicicator. His whirlwind ability to llud trouble and ■ vanquish it, and the cafe with which he hatllcs ngainst long odds, make ""Xlic Kid Croni Spain" his most successful Him to date. In company with his 'Mexican friend, ho is first thrown out of college, and proceeds to hecome Involved in v tank robbery. Then, after-'n few tense moments at' the wrdus end ot a nmimiin's revolver, .he Is obllsed to move hurriedly into Mexico. Here he takes cover from au avcngliig dotectlvo under the- pseudonym of a famous toreador. 110 is linally landed lv the bull-ring to battlo osalnst a bull with homicidal tendencies. Then, after some furious maladorlng which largely consists in sprint episodes the animal Is vanquished and tho hero la acclaimed. Cantor sings and dances with laujhablu abandon, and it all culminates In Ills flnclini; the- right woman. "Sign of tho Cross." Spectacle upon apectacle. magnificence outdoing' Itself—Cecil B. do Mine's 'The bl K u ot the Cross" opens Its local eaganenieiit at the HeKCllt Theatre on Saturday. It Is a vivid picture of pagan Home !u all its glory. Many believed, and steadfastly contended, that; the day of the film spectacle jiasscd with the advent of talking pictures. It remained l»r tho master o£ the spcetaclo In thu silent days to prove that sound had only served to increase the scope and effectiveness of this type of entertainment. Hero is unfolded the whole pa"oant of Rome in tho timo of Xaro—at onco tho most dissolute and the most colourful period in Roman history. Hero is the dramatic contrast between the palaces of tho patrician llomaua and tho humble, hidden abodes of tho early Christiana —on tho ona hand tho / wicked Empress I'oppaea in her luxurious bath of asses' milk; on the other, the Christian girl, Mercla, ministering to the tortured and hunted among tho pooplo of her faith. And here, as a climax to the whole spectacle, is tho Circus Mnxlinus with its. gladiatorial combats, its wrestling matches between blacl; men and bears or crocodiles, its battles between Amazons and dwarfs, its chariot ■ races, and Its featured event—tho fending of the Christians to the lions. Here, lv short.-lit an unforgettable panorama of an age of blood and licentiousness and passion and majesty. Onco more, as in tho days of "The Ten Commandments" and "King of Kings," enormous crowds mill before the camera, and once nioro do Alllle. proves himself the undisputed master of crowd eflects. Tha street scones and tho scenes laid In tlio Circus MuSlmiis aro masterpieces of mob excitement. BOY, plans aro at tho Urislol anil at the theatre.