RUSSIAN BALLET NEXT MONTH.

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 41, 18 February 1937, Page 21

RUSSIAN BALLET NEXT MONTH.

JUNE KNIGHT IN LONDON.

KARLOFF'S NEW ROLE.

SINGERS.

PRAISE INDEED,

"CAREER WOMAN."

Packed with powerful dramatic situations'.'.and crammed with fast-moving action and suspense, "Career Woman," Twentieth Century-Fox's story of a lonely backwoods girl's fight for freedom and justice, will shortly be released in New Zealand. With the good acting ■of Claire Trevor and Michael Whalen,-.. Jsabel Jewell, Eric Linden, Virginia.Field, and Gene Lockhart, the picture tells a story of murder, mystery, love, and laughter. Set in the wild backwoods country, the story sketches the Struggle of a gentle, sensitive girl, Isabel Jewell, to free herself from the domination of her tyrannical father, who forbids her to see the boy she loves, 'Eric Linden. Into this dramaladen situation ■ comes Claire Trevor, an idealistic young girl attorney just embarked on "her career. The father is accidentally killed. The town is up .in arms arid demands that Isabel be.tried, for: murder.» Claire, her only friend, undertakes the defence. Isabel and Eric finally^, are reunited. .-'

A NEW RECORD,

The longest single motion picture "shot,"' in ■/both time and distance, so far as film veterans' can•»remember, was filmed at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was one. of the initial scenes of "Libelled Lady," which stars Jean.Harlow. William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy. Winding through the maze of the lobby of a large metropolitan hotel, the scene covered more than a city block in space and runs four minutes on the screen. For that "take" 360 feet of film- were exposed from the time Powell and Tracy meet, until four minutes later, they were seated in the hotel dining-room. With film running through a camera at the rate of 24 frames. per second, 5760 separate pictures of the two stars were made in the "take." Four hundred and thirty-seven lamps lighted the enormous set, which was peopled with 300 extras. Jack Conway, to whom moving shots are important parts of an individual technique, was the direc-

GEORGE ARLISS,

George Arliss breaks new ground in the latest Gaumont-British Dominions production "His Lordship." In this whimsical political comedy-drama, a much travelled Englishman saves his country from war ift the East by impersonating his twin brother, Lord Duricaster, British Foreign Secretary. The picture is an adaptation of the stage play, "The Nelson Touch," and in it .Arliss gets fullest rein for his versatile art as he impersonates the two brothers. Lord Duncaster is a ■ pompous* and ' precise politician, while ' the. other is a jolly, happy-go-lucky spul ; despiseiliby the august lord. Romilly • Lunge and:Renee Ray are in the cast.

June Knight, Hollywood-born actress, has been delighting Savoy audiences in London with her performance in "Going Places," a musical comedy by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, to lyrics and music by Vivian Ellis. Miss Knight began her career on the stage, graduating through the chorus to musical comedies. Her screen success came later, so that it was not altogether surprising to Savoy audiences: to have a Hollywood importation so delightfully effective behind footlights. Her good looks, vivid sense of fun, her singing and dancing won for her many admirers. Arthur Biscoe was cast as the irresponsible young American in Paris who employs a double to compose songs for him. Olga Baclanova was a tempestuous radio singer. The best'number sung by Miss Knight was "How Do You Like Your Music?" in which she cleverly dashes from one style to another, showing herself a first-rate little impressionist.

Abandoning; his artificial makeup Boris Karloff; will appear in an absolutely new type vehicle in the forthcoming Warner Bros.-First National production, "The Black Widow." The picture, based on an original story by Crane Wilbur, will present Karloff in an original character role as a scientist who, seeking a remedy for incurable diseases, stumbles upon a combination of drugs which renders a person invisible to the eye after the drugs are injected. Wilbur wrote, among oiher screen'stories, "The Monster," in which Lon Chancy starred in the days of silent films.

Gary Cooper and George Raft both are studying voice production for an impromptu song they do in Paramount's "Souls at Sea." i

London recently has been enjoying a full round of good plays, some of them new, some old. High praise is given to T. S. Eliot's drama "Murder in the Cathedral," in which Robert Speaight appears as Becket, at the Duchess Theatre. The "Times" referred to the work as "the one great play by a contemporary dramatist: now to be seen in England," and the critic of the "Daily Mirror" wrote: —"I should like to see this play performed all over the country, and special performances given for school children. It is as beautiful as that." The play, written by a poet, is said to have simplicity of form, loveliness of style, and nobility of design.

Mr. Claude Kingston, concert director for Messrs. J. C. Williamson and J. and N. Tait, has arrived in Auckland to prepare for the great gala opening on.March 3 of Colonel Wassily de Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet. The Ballet is to play a season of 13 nights in the northern city, and the same in Wellington, with provincial visits between. The Auckland season finishes on March 17, and the Wellington visit is from Easter Saturday, March 27, to April 10. During the visits ■to the cities no fewer than fifteen ballets will be performed, exactly as danced in other parts of the world where the famous combination is notable. Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Hastings, Masterton, Christchurch, Timaru, Oam- ■ aru, and Dunedin will have seasons of the Ballet, which is headed by Leon Woizikowsky, the famous maitre de. ballet, whose dancing is a revelation. The company includes several Russian dancers trom the most famous schools, English and American ballerinas and male dancers. The New Zealand season , will last nine weeks. The Ballet has.' just concluded amazingly successful seasons in Adelaide and Melbourne, and is at present in Sydney, where there is unprecedented enthusiasm, audiences standing in crowded theatres and cheering the performers. JUDITH BARRETT. One of the considerations which entered into the selection of Judith Barrett for the feminine lead in Universal's "Flying Hostess" was her diminutiveness. The attractive little actress weighs 107 pounds, well within the 1181b limit set by the airlines for the Hostesses who ride the big transcontinental transport aeroplanes. Miss Barrett was born in Arlington, Texas, on February 2, 1914. Coming to Hollywood in 1927, she appeared in Pacific Coast stage productions of "Sonny" and "Connecticut Yankee." This got her off to a good start in a career of . acting and led to roles in pictures. However, she was at an age in which she was too old to play the part of'a ; small girl and not sufficiently mature ; to play adult roles. She decided to ' desert Hollywood for a while and re- , turn to the stage. A Universal talent ■ scout saw her and signed her to a con- ; tract while she was in the Broadway . stage production of "The Night of ' January 16th." j