CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 136, 10 June 1940, Page 12

CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

ST. JAMES THEATRE. Deanna Durbin scores another hit as the star of the musical comedy, "It's i a Date," how in its second week at ' the St. James Theatre. This young 1 star has all the charm and appeal of youth, and the story affords ; her ample scope to display her attributes as a very fine actress. Her part is that erf a young stage singer who becomes a rival of her mother (Kay 1 Francis) for the lead in a musical play, ■ and also rival for the love of a man, and the many amusing situations that arise in her quest for fame, make "It's a Date" a thoroughly entertaining film. . Deanna's brilliant singing plays no : small part in the success of the film. Among the songs she sings are "Loch Lomond," "La Boheme," "Love is All," and "Aye Maria." Walter Pidgeon plays,' the leading male role. MAJESTIC THEATRE. ; "Balalaika" is now in its second j , week at the Majestic Theatre. Based on the successful London musical comedy of Imperial Russia of the war years and the early revolution, "Balalaika" is the story of a prince and Cos- . sack officer, played by Nelson Eddy, who falls in love with a cafe singer, Ilona Massey, the daughter of a revolutionist. War, prison, and death span a period between first love and a reunion when the prince, the girjj, and her father flee from Russia to meet in Paris. The music is particularly fine in both vocal and orchestral . items. There is a laughable "Our Gang" comedy and two gazettes, one giving Australian news and the other soenes from the Scandinavian turmoil and camera shots in Josen Fiord, with the German prison ship Altmark trapped in the ice. PARAMOUNT THEATRE. The spectacle from behind the scenes of the German nation being forged into a war machine on the Hitler anvil, brutally, soullessly, and without regard to God or man, is one that brings a belated lesson to many nations. The picture at the Paramount Theatre, "Hitler—Befast of Berlin," deals chiefly with the concentration camps where thdse who desperately tried to maintain democratic ideals in Germany suffered the greatest cruelties to bring them into line, and through it all runs the shining thread of the love of a young husband and : wife who are. active anti-Hitler plotters-! The vision of the dread in every German home is well brought out, and the corruption and graft in the Nazi ranks contrast strangely with the sympathy that wells up occasionally in unwilling officers who are driven to torture relatives and former friends. "Mr. Wong in Chinatown," starring Boris Kar-, loff, is a thriller with novel features. NEW PRINCESS THEATRE. The efforts of a group of aeroplanecrash victims to escape from a foreboding jungle near the headwaters of the Amazon River' in South America form the basis of one of the season's most dramatic ' film offerings, "Five Came Back," which is showing at the New Princess Theatre. Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, Wendyl Barrie, and eight other prominent players are in the cast. The associate feature is "Sons of the Sea," an epic of courage and dare-devil adventure. Leslie Banks is featured in this film, which was produced with the full co-opera-tion of the British Admiralty. EMPIRE THEATRE/ISLAND BAY. Turning the spotlight on the wretched soul of a disabled bellringer whose dog-like love for a beautiful gipsy girl saves her from the hangman's- noose at the sacrifice of his own life, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" comes to the Empire Theatre as a compelling character study painted against an awe-inspiring background. Charles Laughton is in the title role. "Off the Record," a new Warner Bros, picture with a newspaper background, is the associate film. OPERA HOUSE. Healthy humour arid plenty of" Crosby singing are the main features at the Opera House this week, where a double Bing Crosby bill is showing, "Sing You Sinners" and "Double or Nothing." As the two elder Beebe brothers in "Sing, You Sinners," one happy and irresponsible -and the other hard-working, serious, and conscientious^ Bing Crosby and Fred Mac Murray give outstanding performances. Written by Claude Binyon, "Sing, You Sinners" tells the story of the.ups and downs of a small-town California family, whose principal assets are three sons who can sing, plus an infallible luck at the race tracks. "Double or Nothing" is equally breezy, with Bing Crosby giving some of his popular numbers and starring with Andy Devine. PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE, WOBURN. "Out West With the Hardys," showing at the Prince Edward Theatre, brings new laurels to the favourites of motion picture fans have come to know and to love. "Mutiny in the Big House," the associate film,1 is a prison drama suggested by the notorious prison riot in 1929 at Canon City, Colorado, when Father Patrick O'Neil effectively averted a "break." Charles Bickford and Barton Mac Lane have the chief roles. DE LUXE THEATRE, LOWER HUTT. 1 Drama, romance, thrills, and the gorgeous music of Victor Herbert's greatest operetta are blended in "Naughty Marietta," which is showing at the De Luxe Theatre with Jeanette Mac Donald and Nelson Eddy. Marking the return to the screen of Sigrid Gurie, who has the starring role, Universal's drama, "The Forgotten Woman," is the associate film. KING GEORGE THEATRE, LOWER HUTT. Laughs, action, and romance are the order at the King George Theatre, where "Destry Rides Again" is showing. Starring versatile James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich, in an entirely new role, with an excellent supporting cast, "Destry Rides Again" is firstclass entertainment. PALACE THEATRE, PETONE. Sandy Powell heads the cast in one of the most entertaining musical comedies screened for some time, "Song in Soho," showing at the Palace Theatre. "Nancy Drew and Jhe Hidden Staircase," the second feature, is the fourth in the Warner Bros, series presenting Bonita Granville as the juvenile heroine of Carolyn Keene's stories of a girl- detective. GRAND THEATRE, PETONE. A deadly killer with a slow smile and the soul of a poet, camouflaging his avenging instinct, "The Saint," famous fictional creation of Leslie Charteris, is showing at the Grand Theatre. Car racing, one of the most thrilling and dangerous of sports, affords the'story basis for Richard Arlen and Andy Devine's newest co-starring picture, "Danger on Wheels." the second attraction. STATE THEATRE, PETONE. A picture which stirs cinema-goers with its powerful reality is "Angels With Dirty Faces," the Warner Bros, melodrama starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, which is showing at the State Theatre. No ordinary filmfare is this story of two boys from the slums, who, through a strange quirk of fate, grow up at opposite ends of the social order to a conclusion as thrilling and human as ever produced for the screen. ... <

' CITY AND SUBURBAN THEATRES

| KING'S THEATRE. With Laurence Olivier and Joan Fonj tame heading a cast of outstanding [players and with a story filled with j drama, suspense, and mystery, David 'O. Selznick's latest production, "Rebecca," is showing at the King's Theatre. "Rebecca" is the film version of the best-selling novel of the same name by Daphne dv* Maurier. Laurence Olivier, who last year made a tremendous hit as the hero of "Wuthering Heights," plays the role of Maxim de Winter, the socially prominent owner of Manderley, the vast Tudor estate where most of the action unwinds. Joan Fontaine is cast as the second Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca's successor, who is subjected to the tyrannical and sadistic cruelty of Mrs. Danvers, played by Judith Anderson. Other important roles are excellently performed by Gladys Copper, George Sanders, Reginald Denny, and C. Aubrey Smith. , PLAZA THEATRE. j - Sorija Henie's latest 20th CenturyFox picture, "Everything Happens at; Night," which is showing at the Plaza Theatre, is thrillingly different from anything this famous star has yet done on the screen and makes splendid entertainment for anyone. With the aid of Ray Milland and Robert Cummings, who as a pair of enthusiastic young reporters after a big scoop fall m love with Sonja simultaneously, there is an excellent .comedy note injected. The j timely story centres on an exiled] statesman startling the world with his j revelations and pleas for peace from his alpine hideaway. Darryl F. Zanuck selected Irving Cummings to direct, and this screen veteran is responsible for an enjoyable picture. STATE THEATRE. Possessing an original plot, the Columbia picture "'Fugitive at Large, now showing at the State Theatre, is better and more entertaining than the majority of films which feature America's most successful specialty— crime. Jack Holt is first seen as an engineer who is noticed by some petty crooks to be the double of a wellknown city gangster. A plan is made and executed, and eventually the engineer finds himself "framed" in court and ends up as a member of a prison road gang doing a term of 20 years for the crime committed by the gangster. A daring gaol-break and a long and persistent man hunt contribute to the interest of the film Holt is supported by Patricia Ellis. Stanley Fields, „ and Guinn Williams. The second feature is "Call of the Rockies," a Western romance with plenty of gun-play and cowboy melodies. Charles Starrett and Iris Meredith take the leading roles. DE LUXE THEATRE. Thrills and excitement, leavened with humour, are provided in plenty in the tripla bill at -the De Luxe Theatre. The master detective, "Nick Carter," played by Walter Pidgeon, is concerned in the leakage to foreign countries of information about a new revolutionary -aeroplane. Suspicion falls on several people, including a stewardess (Rita Johnson) on his private transport plane. There are many complications •in this highly-exciting story. "Kid Nightingale," starring John Payne, is something novel in comedies. The hero is a singing waiter who, by a chapter of accidents, finds himself in the ring as a champion fighter. Voice in the end triumphs over muscle, and grand opera gains a valuable recruit while promoters of fistic combats mourn their loss. The third feature of the programme is the opening chapter of "The Green Hornet" serial. RIVOLI THEATRE. "Mutiny on the- Blackhawk" and "Having a Wonderful Time" conclude tonight at the Rivoli Theatre. Bringing together again the cast and director which made i "Four Daughters" such a memorable event on last season's screen programme, Warner Bros.' "Daughters Courageous" opens tomorrow. Heading the cast are John Garfield and Priscilla Lane, with a notable supporting . group of players, including the two other Lane girls, Rosemary and Lola, Gale Page, Fay Bainter, Jeffrey Lynn, Claude Rains, Frank McHugh, May Robspn, and Dick Foran. Startling motion picture fare, concerned with the international and romantic problems which will arise with the development of long-range television, uilfolds on the screen in "Television Spy," the second feature. REX THEATRE. ■ Shall the land belong to the wheat growers, who bring food crops from the soil each year, or to the hydraulic miners, whose terrific streams of water tear away the hillsides and ruin the adjacent farming lands? This situation forms the basis of "Gold is Where You Find It," a magnificent Warner Bros.Cosmopolitan production, made with the newest Technicolor process, which heads the bill at the Rex Theatre George Brent and Olivia de Havilland are starred. Co-starring Victor MeLaglen and Jackie Cooper. "The Big Guy" is the associate film. The serial, "The Green Hornet," is also showing. ROXY THEATRE. An espionage story which moves swiftly, "Traitor Spy" is showing at the Roxy Theatre. Bruce Cabot as Healey, a crafty tool of German agents, goes the way of all spies who know too much for their employers. A huge English naval fac tory is seen, in full swing, and amongst the workmen, the young man of German parents with an American accent manages to get away with the plans of a device for destroying submarines; though he has to kill his landlord to close his mouth. The associate film is "Colorado Sunset," in which Gene j Autry and June Storey lead in a gal-1 loping ranch racketeer break-up. REGENT THEATRE. "Juarez" (pronounced / "War-ezz"), Warner Bros.' brilliant new production starring1 Paul Muni and Bette Davis. is in its second week at the Regent Theatre. Supporting Muni and Miss Davis are such stellar names as Brian Aherne, John Garfield, Claude Rains, Joseph Calleia, and Gale Sondergaard. From a historical standpoint, "Juarez" is extremely important, for it depicts the only widespread efforts on the part of a European Government to infringe upon an independent nation's liberty Napoleon 111 of France sets up a puppet empire in Mexico, with Maximilian and Carlota as innocent and hapless pawns. "in order to collect the debts owed to France, but cancelled by Juarez, president of the Mexican republic. TUDOR THEATRE. For all its militaristic theme, there is a particularly pleasing leavening of dry humour in the patriotic film, "For Freedom," which has been transferred to the Tudor Theatre. Though based on factual material, some of the characters are fictional, with Will Fyffe playing the main part. The story of the war, right up to the Battle of the River Plate, is shown in newsreel form, with commentary by sight and sound welding the scattered fragments of military, naval, and civil effort into a convincing unity. With Alice Faye and Warner Baxter together for the first time as a romantic team, "Barricade" is the associate film. VOGUE THEATRE, BROOKLYN. Errol Flynn, hero of some of the screen's most thrilling adventures, is seen for the first time as a" Western hero in "Dodge City," the huge Technicolor production which is showing at the Vogue Theatre. "My Bill," with Kay Francis, Bonita Granville, Anita Louise, Bobby Jordan, and Dickie Moore heading the cast, is the associate film.

TIVOLI THEATRE. "Hollywood Cavalcade" and "Naughty But Nice" conclude tonight at the Tivoli Theatre. . "The Great Waltz," glamorous musical drama based on the life of Johann Strauss, opens tomorrow at the Tivoli Theatre, with Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravet, and Miliza Korjus, new opera star discovery, heading an elaborate cast. The story deals with the life and loves of Strauss, played by Gravet, his wife, Poldi, played by Miss Rainer, and the opera singer with whom he was infatuated, enacted by Mme.' Korjus, who sings "Tales of the Vienna Woods" and other haunting Strauss songs in spectacular presentations. "Lightning Conductor," costarring Gordon Harker and John Lodge, which will be the associate film, has an .enthralling central theme which revolves around the unscrupu-lous-efforts of a foreign spy ring to obtain the key plans for the balloonJ barrage over London. ASCOT THEATRE. Twentieth-Century Fox present "Hotel for Women" at the Ascot Theatre. The stars are Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell, and James Ellison. It is a bright comedy of glamorous girls and their various escapades in seeing life. ,The supporting feature is "Submarine Patrol," with Richard. Greene and Preston Foster. It is a mighty epic of the sea and of the heroic deeds of the. men who fight the U-boat menace. The programme is complete with entertaining featurettes. REGAL THEATRE, KARORI. Gay comedy and romantic revelry are the keynotes of "Day-time Wife," 20th Century-Fox picture showing at the Regal Theatre with Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell co-starred. The film presents Tyrone in the light, carefree roles in which he excels and the selection of dark-eyed -and lovely Linda to play opposite him is a happy one. The bravery of men who give their lives that others may live is brought to the screen in Columbia's "Coast Guard," associate film.