CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 76, 31 March 1939, Page 6

CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

REGENT THEATRE. "Housemaster" last night entered the second week of its Wellington season at the Regent Theatre, and it will be surprising if many people do not take another opportunity of seeing this very successful translation from the'stage to the screen of lan Hay's well-known plays of the same name. • Although the beautiful building ahd grounds of an English public school provide the setting for "Housemaster," the story is concerned primarily with the intensely interesting character study of a man, Charles Donkin, who happens to he a schoolmaster and the head of the school's principal house. ~ Donkin s_fine qualities as a man and as a.schoolmaster are thrown into relief by contrast with the newly-appointed head, the Rev. Edmund Ovington, but as Donkin tells him in one of the few moments when his feelings get the better of him Ovington lacks the one essential quality, humanity. Although its principal theme is serious there is plenty of first-rate comedy and an interesting series of subsidiaryymterests S^Hwsemaster." A fine performance as Charles Donkin is given by Otto Krucer. Phillips Holmes, is well cast as .Tshy schoolmaster, who needs the interest of a pretty woman to bring out his better qualities, and Diana Churchill as that pretty woman is as charming as she is talented. MAJESTIC THEATRE. "Dead Men Tell No Tales," which Is the main attraction at the Majestic Theatre, is considered by most London and New York critics to be the most powerful murder mystery film ever conceived. It is particularly interesting for several reasons~-first, jt is the adaptation of Francis Beeding s wcwia famous novel "The Norwich Victims"; secondly, because it introduces ite young actor-author genius of the London stage, Emlyn Williams. He it twas who created the role of Danny, Sthe uncanny murderer of "Night Must iFall" in the stage version. 'Dead slen Tell No Tales" is even more eerie and pathological than "Night Must Fall." It is a crime play that more than lives up to its ominous title—-it is a study with terrific punch and tension. Emlyn Williams plays the key role, and his portrait of sly, diabolical villainy bears marks of genius. It is "Grande Guignol" stuff with a vengeance, and, as one London Pressman puts it, "Night Must Fall" is a bedtime story in comparison. The high mortality rate (there are three murders and a full expiation of crime) is not, however, responsible for lack of logic in story design. ST. JAMES THEATRE. A wila, roistering Cossack from the bleak plains of Russia who tries to transplant his mode of life to rural America and rule his son's life by gangster methods forms the exciting central figui£ of Paramount's "Escape From Yesterday," which is showing at the St James Theatre, with Akim Tamiroff heading a large cast of popular players. Hard-riding, hardliving, and hard-loving, Tamiroff is about to find happiness with his longlost son, when the United States gaols him at Leavenworth as punishment for his bold theft of cattle from Government farms. His titanic efforts to effect escape, aided by his son, who becomes an army man, for the purpose, form some of the most exciting sequences filmed in many a season. The picture.winds up in a smashing climax, with the bewildered son forced to choose between his duty to hia father and his honour as an officer of the army. Leif Erikson has the role of the soa, and others in the cast include Frances Farmer, Lynne Overman, and Vladimir Sokoloff. REX THEATRE. Combining the poignancy of a "Stella Dallas" with the dramatic sweep of a "Great Mouthpiece," Columbia's "Counsel for Crime" is screening at the Rex Theatre. The strong cast is headed by Otto Kruger and Douglass Montgomery, with lovely young Jacqueline Wells as leading lady. Introducing a new co-starring comedy team, Dorothea Kent and Frank Jenks, Universal's "Strange Faces" is the associate feature. ROXY THEATRE. A thrill-packed story written around an amazing racket—the transportation of fugitives from justice across State and national borders for exorbitant sums —is told in Paramount's "Illegal Traffic," which is showing at the Roxy Theatre. Paramount's first "Hopalong -Cassidy" story to continue the action of a former "Cassidy" picture is "In Old Mexico," the associate film. The popular outdoor hero, William Boyd, rides again with his two traditional companions, George Hayes and Russell Hayden. OUR THEATRE, NEWTOWN. Mickey Rooney is the screen's new "great -lover" in "Love Finds Andy Hardy," which heads the doublefeature programme at Our Theatre. Featured in the cast are Lewis Stone, Judy Garland, and Fay Holden. The story, a simple one of domestic entanglements, tells of the young man of the family who not only braves his father's wrath by buying a second-hand car witout permission, but also becomes entangled with three girls at the same time. The thrilling drama, "The Lady Objects," starring Lanny Ross and Gloria Stuart, is the second attraction. EMPIRE THEATRE, ISLAND BAY. Adapted from the successful stage play of the same name by Philip Barry, Columbia's '"Holiday," which is showing at the Empire Theatre, presents Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant in a glowingly human story with a modern setting. Grant is perfect as the young man who values the simple things of life more than wealth and position, while IviUss'Hepburn is seen as the young heireas "pfiio shares his sentiments. The R9s Brothers are starred in "Kentucky Moonshine," the associate attraction, with Tony Martin and Marjorie Weaver featured. The cast includes Slim Summerville, John Carradine, Wally Vernon, Berton Churchill, and Eddie Collins. REGAL THEATRE. KARORI. Endowed with many thrilling action scenes and providing absorbing entertainment, "Mademoiselle Docteur" is showing at the Regal Theatre. Two favourites are starred in this wartime spy drama. They are the blonde beauty, Dita Parlo, and that popular Hollywood figure, Erich yon Stroheim. Bing Crosby, Fred Mac Murray, and Donald O'Connor are the leading trio in "Sing You Sinners," Paramount's new comedy, which is the associate feature. KING GEORGE THEATRE, LOWER HUTT. When a girl is in love with a millionaire and her family is imbued with an overbearing consciousness of the importance of the great middle class, there is bound to be comedy galore, and that is what there is at the King George Theatre, where the new laugh hit, "Rich Man, Poor Girl," is showing. Robert Young, Lew Ayres, Ruth Lindsay, Guy Kibbee are starred. DE LUXE THEATRE, LOWER HUTT. With Beverley Roberts once again enacting the part of the business woman, "The Daredevil Drivers," dealing with the warfare between her outfit and a rival concern, is showing at the De Luxe Theatre. The amateur and professional sleuths will be well entertained with "Personal Secretary," the associate Aha.

CITY AND SUBURBAN THEATRES

KING'S THEATRE. "Trade Winds," thrilling and romantic tale of a detective's chase through j the Orient for a murderess, which is! in its:second week at the King's The-! atre, stars Fredric March and Joan) Bennett. Kay Kerrigan, (Joan Bennett), whose sister commits suicide, , shoots the man responsible for her sister's tragic step. She leaves America for Japan, theft China, and on and on, avoiding detectives. When she first meets Sam Wye (March) she does not realise who he is, but she eventually finds out. She thinks he is only trying to win the rewards for her capture, but he convinces her that he loves her, and they leave for -i bunch of islands off the coast oi Ceylon. But the law extends even to this unknown spot, and. she is finally arrested and taken back to New York, where, in a sensational climax, she is found not guilty. PLAZA THEATRE. Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" is now in its third week at the Plaza The-* atre. The story of "Pygmalion" is the story of a modern Cinderella, Eliza Doolittle, daughter of a none-too-rei putable dustman, an uneducated girl of the slums with the world against her, who sells flowers in Covent Garden Market Eliza Doolittle's chance comes through her accidental meeting with Professor Higgins, a teacher of phonetics, and his admirer, Colonel Pickering. Higgins bqaats that he could by tuition remove all trace of her Cockney accent, teach her manners and deportment, dress her properly, and pass her off as an' out-and-out lady at a high social function without the deception being detected. Colonel Pickering dares him to take Eliza in hand and make good his boast. He accepts the challenge and starts in on his great experiment, with an amazing result. Leslie Howard is credited with presenting the finest work of his career, while Wendy Hiller, as the flower-girl, is excellent. STATE THEATRE. With the theatre and race tracks as its colourful backgrounds, Edith Fellows^ newest Columbia vehicle, "The Little Adventuress," is showing at the State Theatre. Cliff Edwards, banjostrumming comedian, is, the child' star funmate in the new film, which is packed with entertainment, thrills ,and excitement. "The Little Adventuress" describes .the efforts of a young orphan who, upon inheriting a'trick horse, attempts to make an asset of it. She finally., turns, him. into a racing horse, and thus initiates a series of scenes unexcelled for their thrill-thundering effects. These sequences were filmed at the world-famous Santa Anita race track, with many famous. horses and jockeys taking part. Intimate and hurhSn back-stage episodes were also filmed in the historic Philharmonic Theatre in Los Angeles, where a sensational "slide-for-life," by two acrobatic stars, furnishes a tense and dramatic scene. Richard Fiske plays the leading male role and Jacqueline Wells is charming as the leading lady. "Flight to Fame," the associate film, also stars Jacqueline Wells, with Charles Farrell playing opposite her '• NEW PRINCESS THEATRE. Edward G. Robinson, who played the first gangster in motion pictures, now plays the- last *~ He comes' to; the -Princess- Theatre in. "The Laist' Gaiigster," a dramatic story of a man's?term in a penitentiary, with James Stewart, Rose Stradner, glamorous new actress, from Vienna, and a notable cast. "The Last Gangster" tells of the - imprisonment of a, "public enemy" and the struggle of his wife, who did not know his calling, to lose her. identity, and save their child from the disgrace attached to his name. The associate feature is Warner Bros.' comedy-romance, "Love Is On the Air," starring Ronald Reagan and June Travis. TUDOR THEATRE. Returning to Wellington to show at the Tudor Theatre is "Kidnapped," a film made from Robert Louis Stevenson's book. of the same name. Those in the cast .of this adventurous story are Warner Baxter, Freddie Bartholomew, Arleen Whelan, and John Carradine. The supporting attraction is "Tarzan's Revenge," starring Glen Morris and Eleanor Holm-Jarrett. CENTENNIAL CARNIVAL. For some time past a number of committees have been working enthusiastically for the carnival which opens at the Hutt Recreation Ground tomorrow afternoon. The opening ceremony will be performed by the Hon. W. Nash at 2.45. Festivities will _be preceded by a monster gala procession which is timed to leave Buick Street, Petone, at 1.30 p.m., for the Hutt Recreation Ground. This will be the most impressive and spectacular procession ever seen in the district, and will demonstrate the remarkable industrial progress of the Hutt Valley. Leading manufacturers, business firms, Chinese, and various organisations will be represented in the procession with decorated floats, many .of them modelled in the style of those used hi the recent Sydney sesquicentennial procession. The various carnival queens and their attendants, will also participate in the procession. The main attraction at the Hutt Recreation Ground tomorrow afternoon will be an athletic sports meeting conducted by the Lower Hutt A.A.C., and the principal event will be a ten-mile cycling Derby, In the evening the ground will be illuminated with variegated lighting. The programme for Saturday evening includes a marching exhibition by the Lower Hutt Municipal Band, exhibitions of New Zealand championship events by the Petone and Upper Hutt Fire Brigades, second and third respectively at the recent national demonstrations; exhibitions of Highland dancing by the Misses Ford, public dancing of the "Lambeth Walk" on the green, and a freat -variety of sideshow novelties, he carnival Will be in full swing with nightly changes of programme from tomorrow until Monday, Apfil 10. It has been organised for the purpose of raising the Hutt Valley's quota towards the cost of the Wellington provincial centennial memorial. STATE THEATRE, PETONE. "The Toy Wife," starring ' Luise Rainer, is showing at the State Theatre. As "Frou-frou" Brigard. Miss Rainer gives a remarkable performance. By turn the frivolous, light-hearted girl, the equally irresponsible wife, and the broken, tragic figure which her own folly makes her, she draws a masterful and truly moving picture which any other actress of the year will be hard pressed to match. Melvyn Douglas and Robert Youn^ have the male leads. GRAND THEATRE, PETONE. An outstanding double-feature programme is showing at the Grand Theatre. The main attraction is "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town," starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. Peter. B. Kyne's smashing drama of the old West, "Dodge City Trail," featuring Charles Starrett, is the second feature. PALACE THEATRE, PETONE. Beverly Roberts plays an actress whose star is in the descendant, so she goes after publicity in a big way in "Expensive Husbands," which is showing at the Palace Theatre. The capable and good-looking Patric Knowles is the leading man. "The Live Wire," starring Jean Gillie, is the associate feature.

TIVOLI THEATRE. The age-old triangle of a man and two women still finds novel and up-to-the-minute treatment in "Woman Against Woman," screening at the Tivoli Theatre. In this instance the -man, Herbert Marshall, is a husband, and the women, Virginia Bruce and Mary Astor, are his second and first wives, respectively, with the first determined that his marriage to the second shall not be a success. In the hands of this trio the story takes on telling conviction, with Marshall turning in a performance that rivals that of his father role in. "Mad About Music." Miss Bruce is more charmii^g than ever and continues the steady dramatic advance she evidenced in "The First Hundred Years," and Miss Astor gives a skilful interpretation of a most unsympathetic role. "Sabotage," the second feature, stars Sylvia Sidney, with Oscar Homolka, John Loder. and Desmond Tester. This is an excellent thriller, dealing with modern sabotage and the human drama behind it. It has fine suspense, first-class acting, and distinctive touches. RIVOLI THEATRE. An intensely dramatic, all-but-for-gotten piece of maritime history that was an international sensation nearly one hundred years ago is brought to the screen by ;Pai-amount as further evidence that truth, in the hands of a good re-write man, is better boxoffice than fiction. The picture is "Souls at Sea," and it is showing at the Rivoli Theatre, with Gary Cooper and George Raft in the leading roles. Behind the srceen play is the tale of an actual shipwreck and of a man who "played God" with human lives on the brink of disaster and got away with it. "The Dark Angel," the second feature, stars Fredric March, Merle Oberoni and Herbert Marshall. This powerful and beautiful love story, set in a lovely, quiet corier of rural England, reflects the hearts of a woman and two men—one of whom she loves, while the other loves her. A great emotional climax is reached when the man she loves comes to a realisation of his love for her. Their happiness is short-lived, however, as the relentless forces of life tear them apart. Years after, when the girl has resigned herself to a betrothal to the other man, a kindlier fate intervenes and the lovers are reunited. RADIO PROGRAMMES Today's radio programmes will be found on page 17. CAPITOL THEATRE, MIRAMAR. Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell, Hollywood's magnificent baritone and the world's greatest feminine tap dancer, are together in the spectacular musical, "Rosalie," which is showing at the Capitol Theatre. If Dad Jones had not taken his duties as a citizen so seriously, the Jones Family would never have found themselves in "Hot Water," which they do in the film of that name, which is the associate attraction. *_ERRY'S CIRCUS. Acts from all parts of the world, acts which are sensations, novelties, fun. and excitement are presented in Perry Brothers' Circus, which' is at the Winter Show Building, Wellington. Acrobatics, tumbling, ladder and perch pole balancers, trapeze artists, head balancers, jugglers, rope spinners, wirewalkers, springboard and risley artists, women and men riders, contortionists, performing dogs, sheep, horses, lions, tigers, and elephants, are shown. This entertainment the public can see again and again, so" full is it .of that joyous modernistic merriment and originality. Eighteen cages of wild jungle animals and a herd of elephants are on view between 4 and 5 p.m. every day. YOUNG AUSTRALIANS REVUE. Only two more nights Wnaiif before the closing of the Young Australians Revue and Stage Band season at the Grand Opera House. The season will definitely close tomorrow. The opinion of those who have seen the show' is that it is ;One of the most novel and entertaining revues seen m Wellington for many years. It is astonishing that lads so young can present such a polished and artistic programme with all the assurance of high-class professional performers. Lovers of bright entertainment should take this opportunity to see the Young Australians, as it is a performance well worth whiie. There will be a matinee tomorrow, at 2.15 p.m. REPERTORY THEATRE. "Housemaster," lan Hay's brilliant comedy, which is being presented by the Wellington Repertory Theatre Society, continues to attract large audiences to the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall. The story centres round the troubles of Charles Donkin, an easy-going housemaster, who becomes host to three girls and their aunt. The presence of the party in the school leads to all sorts of complications, which keep the fun moving at a fast rate, but, as is fitting in such a pleasant play, all ends happily. Directing the production is Mr. Leo dv Chateau, and he has assembled a cast which interprets the spirit of the play in convincing manner. The cast includes Messrs. Vivian Rhind, A. G. C. Deuber, Dr. P. B. Benham, Eric Lawson, John Roberts, Lindsay Arlow, C. A. Burgess, A. H. Macandrew, Masters Murray Todd, Richard Climie, Lawrence Gardiner, Mrs. W. A. Martin, and the Misses Heather Horrax, Marjorie Hutton, Elspeth Mc Arthur, Eileen Teward. and Ngaire Thomson.