CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 40, 17 February 1939, Page 6

CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

REGENT THEATRE.

The understanding manner in which waifs, orphans, and homeless boys are fitted to take their place in life, is feelingly portrayed in "The Boy From Barnardo's," which is showing at the Regent Theatre. Freddy Bartholomew is cast as a priggish little snob who finally emerges as a likeable fellow after having his faults knocked out of him. Used as a dupe by a gang of jewel thieves, he is brought before a Magistrate who sends him to the home rather than to a reform school. The boys are a decent crowd, but Freddy tries his sneaking tricks, dnd gets thoroughly disliked. Many adventures befall him before lie is a sailor aboard the finest ship afloat Mickey Rooney is cast as the ; good-hearted Irish friend of Bartholomew, and Herbert Mundin is excellent in the role of Mr. Jelks, one of the instructors. Junior Farrell, boy pianist, plays artistically and skilfully from the stage, his numbers including one of his own compositions.

MAJESTIC' THEATRE.

A delightfully crazy and irresponisible film which treats with great I speed and dispatch the lives of several equally crazy and irresponsible people is "Too Hot to Handle." now showing at the Majestic Theatre. It is all about the adventures of two newsreel cameramen and a noted aviatrix, which combination .discovers several interesting new .angles to the eternal triangle. It seems that in America newsreel cameramen act very much like reporters, with the exception that, as they use aeroplanes instead of taxis, and do not have to stay in one place long enough to write anything, they flit from assignment to assignment and from country to country, with a suddenness which at times must be embarrassing even to themselves. The leading characters are Clark Gable and Myrna Loy

ST. JAMES THEATRE. • With George Brent and Olivia de Havilland as its stars, "Gold Is Where You Find It," a thrilling melodrama of California in the 1870's, is showing at the St. James Theatre. It is a Warner Bros.-Cosmopolitan production in- technicolour and is one of the really best pictures of the season. "Gold Is Where You Find It" deals with a phase of gold-seeking that has hitherto been untouched by the movies !—the hydraulic mining whereby tremendously powerful streams of water ripped away hillsides, from the debris of which the miners sifted their metal. But Hhis debris overflowed upon the lands of the wheat growers and orchardists, and warfare resulted —a conflict that was prolonged and deadly. The fight extended over a number of years, nearly split the State of- California in two, and was not settled until a court decisions declared in favour of the agriculturists and made the hydraulic interests quit. Supporting Brent and Miss.de Havilland are Claude Rains, -Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Marcia Ralston, Barton MacLane, Tim Holt (young 'son of the, famous Jack), Sidney Toler, Henry O'Neill, Willie Best, Robert McWade, Harry Davenport, a score of others, plus thousands of extras.

PARAMOUNT THEATRE.

There is an exceptionally strong double-feature programme at the Paramount Theatre. The first film, "Pigskin Parade," i features Judy Garland, Stuart Erwin, Jack Haley, Betty Grable, Tony Martin, Patsy Kelly, Jed Prouty, Johnny Downs, Dixie Dunbar, The Yacht Club Boys, Arline Judge, and many other talented people. The picture is a comedy riot filled with situations and sparkling dialogue in addition to six song "hits." The film tells the hilarious story of a small backwoods college, invited by mistake to play Boola-Boola in a big intersectional game. Through an error, Yipee University received the invitation meant for another school in the State. Pop-eyed with amazement, the coach, Jack Haley, and his -wife, Patsy Kelly, hastily accept before the bid can be recalled. The associate feature, "She Asked For / It,"' is a new mystery-comedy-romance of the type of "The Thin "Man?" and "Fast Company."* The light-hearted, laugh-packed mystery is played superbly by a . new romantic team—William Gargan and Orien Hayward. Swiftly paced from start to finish, "She, Asked For It" will surely hold the interest of any audience, for its blend of humour and action-filled mystery is deeply satisfying, and the. story itself is unique.

NEW PRINCESS THEATRE,

In "Dad and Dave Come To Town," new Cinesound production, , which is showing at the New; Princess Theatre. Bert Bailey again skilfully creates the "Dad" we all know and love: His old felt hat has changed in the city sequences for a glossy topper, and a flower in the buttonhole of his morning coat replaces the straws in his whiskers. For Dad has inherited an ultra-modern ladies' lingerie salon, and one can imagine the fun as the old man applies his farm methods to his city business. The associate feature is Universal's "Personal Secretary," starring Joy Hodges and William Gargan.

TUDOR THEATRE,

Transferred to the Tudor Theatre, "The Lady Vanishes" is now in its fifth week ,in Wellington. The setting is a Continental train, and the characters are of contrasting types —a dear, dithering old soul of an English governess (Dame May Whittey), two friendly Englishmen (JNTaunton Wayne and Basil Radford), a charming young girl (Margaret Lockwood). a cheery young composer (Michael Redgrave), a shifty lawyer, and his dubious woman companion, and a handful of sinister foreigners. "Gateway," with Don Arleen Whelan, Gregory Ratoff, and Binnie Barnes, is the associate feature.

PALACE THEATRE, PETONE

"That Man's Here Again" and "Flyaway Baby" conclude tonight at. the Palace Theatre.

Paramount's "The Big Broadcast of 1938" opens tomorrow. With W. C. Fields making trouble, , and Dorothy Lamour, Shirley Ross, Ben Blue, Bob Hope, Lynne Overman, Rufe Davis, Leif Erikson, and Grace Bradley all making fun aboard a Transatlantic liner; it is the year's greatest musical laugh riot. Zane Grey has fashioned a thrill-crammed story of quick-shooting cattle thieves, masked riders of justice, and young lovers of the plains for "The Mysterious Rider," the associate attraction, with Douglas Dumbrille and Russell Hayden in the leading roles.

STATE THEATRE, PETONE. "Mother Carey's Chickens" concludes tonight at the State Theatre. The Judge/Hardy Family is loose again. In "Love Finds Andy Hardy" they create another alternately humorous and dramatic episode from the life of a typical American family. Opening tomorrow at the State Theatre, the picture will impress audiences with its youthful charm, its exuberance and scintillating moments of high comedy. The fourth episode in the life of the Hardy Family is by far the most amusing and entertaining to date. ,

GRAND THEATRE, PETONE,

"Owd Bob" and "Step Lively Jeeves" conclude tonight at the Grand Theatre, Petpne. Catchy songs, magnificent settings, two famous band organisations, a swiftly-paced' inside story of Hollywood life, a star-studded cast headed by Dick Powell and Louella O. Parsons, are some of the elements which make up "Hollywood Hotel," which opens tomorrow. Columbia's crime thriller, "Main Event," starring Robert Paige and Jacqueline Wells, is the second [feature.

CITY AND SUBURBAN THEATRES

KING'S THEATRE,

1 DE JLUXE THEATRE

STATE THEATRE,

REX THEATRE,

ROXY THEATRE.

KILBIRNIE KINEMA,

Taking the Life of Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal, Twentieth Century-Fox has woven a romantic story about the great doings of the nineteenth century, filled it with famous characters, and included some of the existing events of the times to make a spectacular film. "Suez," which is showing at the King's Theatre, has Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, and Annabella in the leading roles, and it romanticises the digging of the "ditch," which revolutionised the position of the Near East and gave Europe a quicker route to India. To build the Suez Canal, it seems, it took the ambitions of a dreamer, a thoughtless jest overheard by the President of the French Republic, a coup d'etat, a General Election in Britain, a course of boxing and fencing lessons, for an Egyptian prince, and the devotion of the granddaughter of a French sergeant Which, is to . say, big things come from little, and the Suez Canal, no less than ■ other things, was once merely an idea in the mind of a man. The film verlion of the carrying out of this mighty'work is shot with plentiful- incident and full of vim.

''Campus Confessions," the new Paramount? film at the De Luxe Theatre, is the first picture ever to be made with a basketball background, and incidentally, is the first collegiate film in which the hero is not a football star who rushes in the game at the last moment to win for the good old school and the beautiful girl waiting in the stands. Hank Luisetti, star American basketball ace, is seen in a featured part along with such other young stars as Betty Grable, William Henry, and Eleanore Whitney. "Campus Confessions" tells of the struggles of a rich man's son when he enters a college that his father supports, only to find himself heartily disliked by the student body because his father refuses to give any money for the various athletic teams. Playing "Bulldog Drummond," the suave British „ detective, for the fifth time, John Howard is seen as the chief character in Paramount's "Arrest Bulldog Drummond," which is the associate film. The picture revolves about a battle to the death between a gang of international spies, who are out to capture a military invention of outstanding importance, and. "Drummond," who is constantly beset by the opposition of Scotland Yard and his beautiful fiancee, both of whom think he should give up his sleuthing for marriage.

Romance, drama, comedy, and excitement are contained in "Gangs of New York," the new Republic picture, starring Charles Bickford, which is showing at the State Theatre. This picture brings Bickford back to the screen for the first . time since his successful Broadway play, "Casey Jones." With . him aye such stellar players are Alan Baxter, Ann Dvorak, and Wynne Gibson. The basis of the story is a dual role of Bickford's. He plays a New York police officer who has an exact likeness to a notorious gangster: Jack Randall, singing western star, introduces five new song in his latest picture, "Where the West Begins," which is the supporting feature. These are "Born to the Range," "Down the Trail of Dreams," "Sleep, Little Cowboy, Sleep," "I'm in Prairie Heaven," and "That's My Idea 'of Fun." These are more musical numbers than usually appear in westerns. "Where the West Begins" is the story of a cowboy who plays Robin Hood to a stricken community to save them from a band of ruthless racketeers.

"Making the Headlines," Columbia's exciting murder-mysrtery drama, is showing at the Rex Theatre. Jack Holt stars in the production as the intrepid police officer who unravels a baffling mystery. Edmund Lowe plays opposite Mac West in Paramount's latest musical comedy. The story deals with a giant political campaign in. New York.

The crack-up of a big transport plane in an Alaskan wilderness while mapping a new air route to Europe, and the efforts of its crew to reach civilisation and saiety, offer much, of the drama of "Sky Giant," starring Richard Dix, Joan Fontaine, and Chester Morris, which is the main feature at the Roxy Theatre. Romance and revenge are the twin themes of "The Renegade Ranger," RKO-Radio's newest starring vehicle for George O'Brien, which is the supporting feature.

Jacques Deval, the playwright, wrote "Tovarieh," which is showing at the Kilbirnie Kinema, in four weeks as a stage play. It ran two years in London, and a year in New York. Robert Sherwood did the English translation of the French play. Casey Robinson, who wrote the film scenario, used both the French and English versions and combined the best features of each. Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer are starred. "Back in Circulation," the second feature, is an engrossing newspaper comedy drama, made from the Cosmopolitan magazine story, "Angle Shooter." Pat O'Brien and Joan Blondell are starred in this highly dramatic and exciting story of the power of the Press.

CAPITOL THEATRE, MIRAMAR,

Replete with action, laughs, and fine characterisations, "A Yank at Oxford," now at the Capitol Theatre, offers Robert Taylor his most convincing role to date. "Owd Bob," Alfred Ollivant's world-renowned story of sheepdogs and their masters, has been brought to the screen with Will Fyffe in the leading role of Adam McAdam. The film is the associate attraction.

REGAL THEATRE, KARORI,

"It's Love I'm After," starring Leslie Howard and Bette Davis, is showing at the Regal Theatre. Howard is a stage actor of the type that used to be called "matinee idol." Miss Davis is shown as his leading woman. They really love each other, but that doesn't prevent them from stealing every possible scene they can, and wrangling with each other in undertones while they are hypnotising their audiences with their art. A refreshing fiovel production adapted from the Annual Scouts "Gang Show." starring Ralph Reader and Gina Malo, is the second feature.

OUR THEATRE, NEWTOWN.

"Alf's Button Afloat," featuring The Crazy Gang of "O.K. for Sound" fame, is showing- at Our Theatre as the main attraction of a bright double-feature programme. Adventurous Alf in search of nothing in particular finds plenty when he rubs his magic button.' "A Romance in Flanders," also showing, is a powerful drama with a startling climax. Paul Cavanagh is starred. The supports are splendid.

EMPIRE THEATRE, ISLAND BAY.

Constance Bennett and Vincent Price are starred in Universal's "Service De Luxe," which is showing at the Empire Theatre. "Service De Luxe" deals with an exclusive personal service bureau which undertakes almost any assignment from its clients. When Price comes to New York to sell his patent tractor. Miss Bennett undertakes his management, with extremely laughable and complicated situations as the result. Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur are the stars in "History is Made at Night," the second feature. This smart, . fast-paced romance casts Boyer as Paul Rumond, dashing man-about-town and the most popular head waiter on' the Continent, while Jean Arthur is seen as a lovely- New York mannequin. .

The last compositions of the late George Gershwin received the most effective staging that talent and money could combine to produce in Samuel Goldwyn's technicolour musical extravaganza, "The Gpldwyn Follies," which brings.Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.. Adolphe Menjou, the Ritz Brothers, Zorina, Kenny Baker, Helen Jepson, Andrea Leeds, Phil Baker, Ella Logan, Bobby Clark, Jerome Cowan, the American Ballet, and the Gorgeous Goldwyn Girls to the Tiyoli Theatre. It was Goldwyn's ambition to present these last Qershwin melodies in a manner that would make them a fitting film monument to the deceased composer's musical genius. The music of "High Above Cayuga Waters," Cornell University's alma mater song, is employed in early scenes of "I Am the Law," starring Edward G, Robinson, which is the second feature. Robinson portrays the role of a college professor who becomes a fighting prosecutor. The song is sung on the eve of his departure from law class to spend a year abroad. Instead of a vacation, however, Robinson becomes deeply interested and concerned with ridding a big city of racketeers.

RIVOLI THEATRE,

"Okay for Sound" and "Keep Your Seats, Please" conclude tonight at the Riovli Theatre. A new London film of exceptional interest is "The Challenge," which opens tomorrow. Taken from a real life incident of more than seventy years ago, it retells the story, part fact, part fiction, of the first ascent of the Matterhorn. The main character, in the drama was a noted English mountaineer, Edward Whymper, who with three fellow countrymen and three Swiss- guides, set out from Zermatt, and raced a party of Italians starting from the Italian side to the summit. Descending, the Englishmen met with disaster. Four were killed, Whymper returning with two guides. Scandal arose from a persistent rumour that one of the guides had cut the rope. Heading the cast of the film is Luis Trenker. A great-great-grandson of Lord Tennyson designed the college .crest that Robert Taylor wears on his blazer as an Oxford undergraduate in his latest film, "A Yank at Oxford," the associate film. For the new picture, filmed in England against authentic backgrounds and showing the intimate life of the great university for the first time, a new college was evolved, and it is as a student of "Cardinal College" that filmgoers see Taylor romancing with Maureen O'Sullivan. flirting with Vivien Leigh and fighting with Griffith Jones.

COVENT GARDEN RUSSIAN BALLET.

I At 8 o'clock tomorrow night the directors of J. C. Williamson Theatres will present the celebrated Covent Garden Russian Ballet in the Grand Opera House. The programme which will be given for the first four nights as well as at the matinees on Monday and Wednesday* will be the ballets "Carnaval/' "The Swan Lake," and "Cinderella." The secbnd programme of ballets which will be presented from Thursday to Saturday next, as well as at a matinee on Saturday, will be "The Gods Go A-Begging," "Scheherazade," and "Aurora's Wedding," for which bookings may now be made. At later dates, "Les Sylphides," "Les Presages," and "Union Pacific," will be presented in one programme; and "Papillons," "Scoula Di Ballo," and a ballet chosen by popular request, will comprise the final programme.

The Covent Garden Russian Ballet is composed of women and men dancers of world fame;, and the ballets in the programmes created by Fokine will be presented under his personal supervision. .