CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 30, 3 August 1940, Page 14

CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

ST. JAMES THEATRE. Against a background of Javanese native life Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour present a mixture of comedy, love-making, and singing in "Road to Singapore," showing at St. James Theatre. Best scenes in the picture are those of the Eastern port where the hero (Bing Crosby), runaway son of a shipping, magnate, and his engaging mate (Bob Hope) elect to live as an alternative to directing big business from an office chair It is here that they meet a beautiful dancer (Dorothy Lamour). After one of the general fights which the two men start whenever existence is becoming dull for them they find the dancer added to the residents of their native bungalow. Feeling that they are in danger of losing their liberty they decide to throw the dancer out, but she is soon back again after another little fracas in which her jealous former dancing partner is thrown into a convenient bog. There are other amusing scenes when the runaway son's millionaire father and his fiancee arrive in a luxury yacht, and after many adventures the course of true love is at last smoothed out. There are several catchy new songs in the picture, and the scenes of native customs, especially the annual feast and marriage dance, are excellently done. A newsreel covering recent war and other "shorts" are on the programme. MAJESTIC THEATRE. Unusual in its theme, gay and romantic, "The Shop Around the Corner," the current attraction at the Majestic Theatre, allows full scope for the splendid talent of its cast. The film centres around the shop of Martuschek, Ltd., in Budapest, conducted by the great Martuschek himself, a role admirably played by the inimitable Frank Morgan. His chief salesman is Mr. Kralik (James Stewart) and one of his sales ladies is Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan). No love is lost between Mr. Kralik and Miss Novak. Both, in fact, imitate and exaggerate the other's rumoured physical deformities for the delectation of the other members- of the staff. Curiously enough, both conduct a pen-friend romance with persons unknown to them. They place their pen-friends on pedestals, occasionally discuss them with each other, taking trouble to point out the attributes of their unknown friends as a contrast to the shortcomings of the people present. It doesn't take Kralik long to find out that he is corresponding • with Miss Novak. After his initial shudder of disgust bordering on horror, he begins to think it might be a thoroughly sound idea. He really falls in love with her, but, when making half hearted advances he , invariably gets I the pen-friend thrown up in his face as illustrative of what the perfect man should be. The picture races along to a superb climax; never dull, arid for the most part exceptionally funny. Joseph Schildkraut is another of the fine cast. Supports include the latest newsreels, an interesting miniature, and a cartoon. PARAMOUNT THEATRE. The strenuous life in big cities of the U.S.A. is so thoroughly made fun of in "Wedding Present" at the Paramount Theatre that the author is to be congratulated. Cary Grant and Joan Bennett excel themselves. Such national . institutions as gangsters, sensational Press, and families dating back to the Mayflower are cleverly ridiculed. There is no plot, which is just as well. The way in which high life and editorial functions are debunked is much better than in preyious films of this nature. "Black Friday," the second feature, is a macabre story tinged with striking realism by the success of Stanley Ridges; in a dual personality role. Half of a professor's brain, damaged in an accident, is replaced by part of that of a gang leader who is killed from the neck down in the same crash. Boris Karloff is the surgeon, whose probity is wrenched when he sights the gangsters' hidden loot. Benevolence, erudition, murder, and coarseness possess the erstwhile professor in a powerfully-presented story in which Ridges is facially, vocally, and mentally two people. "Atlantic Patrol" is a munitions convoy story, and "Rocking Through the Rockies" a comedy. ASCOT THEATRE. "For Freedom," showing at the Ascot Theatre, with Will Fyffe and the officers and men of H.M.S. Exeter and Ajax and the destroyer Cossack, is a stirring sea drama. Also showing is "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk," starring Lloyd Nolan and Jean Rogers. It is a mystery drama of a man who remained silent though charged with murder. The serial and supports are excellent. REX THEATRE. Victor McLaglen, whose portrayals of virile, two-fisted roles are widely known, gives one of his most powerful characterisations in R.K.O. Radio's "Gunga Din," in which he is teamed with Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks, jun. This epic picturisation of the famous Rudyard Kipling ballad is showing at the Rex Theatre. Paramount's "The Texas Rangers," King Vidor's epic of the men who moulded a state from the territory of Texas, is the second feature. The picture features an all-star cast headed by Fred Mac Murray and Jack Oakie. EMPIRE THEATRE, ISLAND BAY. Its original story written almost 50 years ago in a time when glory was synonymous with gory, Universal's "Tower of London" is snowing at the Empire Theatre. The story centres around the life of Richard, whose ambitions and treachery lead him to destroy five who stand between him and the throne. Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Barbara O'Neil, lan Hunter, Nan Grey, and Vincent Price head the cast. "Beware, Spooks!" which has been hailed as one of the funniest Joe E. Brown vehicles in years, is the associate film. VOGUE THEATRE, BROOKLYN. Bringing together again the cast and director which made "Four Daughters" such a memorable event, "Daughters Courageous" is showing at the Vogue Theatre. 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 Robson, and Dick Foran. Stanley Lupino's stage and screen successes are so numerous that one has come to expect great things as normal from this gifted comedian. "Hold My Hand," the associate attraction, is a worthy newcomer to the entertainment world. qPERA HOUSE. "Ninotchka" occupies premier place on the programme at the Opera House In this entertaining film Greta Garbo appears in her first comedy part, and makes a triumphant success of it With Melvyn Douglas and a Russian version of the three Marx brothers to' assist her, she puts over a most amusing story while playing the part of a Russian envoy sent to Paris to find out what the three previous envoys are doing with the Russian Crown jewels. What they are doing is selling them, and having a fine time on the proceeds. She meets a Count who transforms her mode of life, and i sombre garb and solemn mien are exchanged for startling frocks and gay smiles. After many complications and much humour, the story ends in Constantinople, where the three previous envoys, after passing through many vicissitudes of fortune, have opened a restaurant, and there it is that Ninotchka meets her Count again. Included in the supporting programme is an interesting film showing how the war came to. London and the calm reception by the populace of air-raid warnings.

CITY AND SUBURBAN THEATRES

KING'S THEATRE,

Heading a first-rate programme at the King's Theatre this week is one of the brightest and most entertaining comedy-romances that have come this way for a long time. It is "The Amazing Mr. Williams/ and it stars Melvyn Douglas and Joan Blondell. There is not a dull moment in it. Where it isn't scintillating with witty" dialogue it abounds alternatively with tense and humorous situations, and goes with a swing from start to finish. Douglas is Kenny Williams, a lieutenant attached to the homicide squad, and Joan Blondell acts as his fiancee. The trouble starts over the fight of the chief of the squad to make Kenny a good detective and his fiancee's determination to make him a good husband. Her attempts to force him to resign or to get the sack form the background of the plot, but Kenny's detective instincts are a distinct handicap to her plans. The occasion when Kenny took the crook he was escorting to a dance and the scene where he dresses up in female clothes to act as a decoy are two of the most laughable [Sequences in the film. The Supporting programme is varied and full of interest. PLAZA THEATRE. . a +"£ wa2i ee RJZ er \ featufe attraction at the Plaza Theatre, is written round the life of. the celebrated American folk song composer Stephen Foster and the revival on the screen of these famous tunes is certain to attract great public interest. As his songs were the main part of his life, so Stephen Foster's melodies comprise the most important part of the film. They form the background to the whole picture and many of his haunting tunes! •"Jeanie 01 the Light Brown Hair," "Oh Susanna," "Poor Old Joe," and "Swanee River," are splendidly sung by that popular comedian Al Jolson. The picture is filmed in technicolour, and its old-fashioned settings, both out-of-doors and interior, are excellent. The actors, led by Don Ameche, Andrea Leeds, and Al Jolson, enter into the spirit of the period, and Don Ameche's characterisation of the headstrong, emotionally unstable but inspiring Stephen Foster, is remarkable. Al Jolson plays the role of Christy, the black-faced minstrel, with humour and vigour. The supporting programme includes pictures of the evacuation of English children to Canada. DE LUXE THEATRE. " "Buck Benny Rides Again," the main feature at the De Luxe Theatre, is a highly-entertaining musical comedy on somewhat unusual lines. Its action, mostly hilarious, ranges from New York to the "'wild and woolly" West, and its success, with Jack Benny. Ellen. Drew. Rochester, Andy Devine. Phil Harris, and a host of others equally popular with Wellington audiences, is assured from the opening scenes. Benny plays his real-life role, that of a radio star, but with the difference that he is supposed to hate anything in the nature of outdoor life. Purely to impress the girl of his dreams. Joan Cameron (Ellen Drew), he takes up the challenge of his radio rival, Fred Allen, to "rough it" in the West, and his adventures as the pseudo-owner of a ranch are funny almost beyond description. "Golden Gloves," the asassociate feature, deals with the boxing racket in New York and the exploitation of young fighters by unscrupulous promoters. J. Carroll Naish, Robert Paige, Jean Cagney, and Richard Denning are the principal players in this exciting picture. At the night performances Johnny Hutchinson, the American negro, who ranks high among the lightweight boxers of the world, and who is to meet Young Gildo in Wellington next Saturday night, makes a personal appearance and gives a brilliant display of shadow sparring and bag punching. Also on the programme is a further episode of "The Green Hornet." STATE THEATRE. All the ingredients of a first-class murder drama are contained in The Spider," which heads the double-fea-t«re programme at the State Theatre. With a theatrical background—a very distant background—to a double murder, Scotland Yard puts its bright young inspector on the 30b, masking his inquiries under a cloak of perpetual inebriation. Through the help of his young wife he has ar. assortment of clues to a gang of four jewel thieves, but it is the ringleader. "The Spider," who is the difficult man to catch. The second fulHengtn feature is "Viva Cisco Kid,' a fast-moving drama of the West headed by Cesar Romero. NEW PRINCESS THEATRE. George Formby's elastic features wreathed in mirth literally reach out amongst the audience and pluck the gloom away in "Keep Fit," which heads the bill at the New Princess Theatre, while the twinkle in his eye forecasts the strangest situations in a first-olass comedy. The second feature, "Rhythm of the Saddle," presents Gene Autry and Peggy Moran in.a rodeo story, which is as hectically active as it is melodious. ROXY THEATRE. "The Invisible Man Returns" is showing at the Roxy Theatre. Condemned to die for the murder of his brother, the man who knows the secret of invisibility is enabled through his eerie power to escape death and final ly to bring the real criminals to justice. "Torchy Plays with Dynamite," the second attraction, is another of the "Torchy Blanc" series with Jane Wyman in the role of the crime-solving girl reporter made famous by Glenda Farrell. KILBIRNIE KINEMA. Headed by the incomparable Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, who are starred, more than two hundred of Hollywood's most talented youngsters combine in "Babes in Arms," showing at the Kilbirnie Kinema, to present one of the most exciting and entertaining films of the year. The associate feature, "Captain Fury," starring Brian Aherne and Victor McLaglen, is an exciting adventure drama. TUDOR THEATRE. . Howard Spring's absorbing noyel. "O, Absalom," rich in emotional, believable drama, has been made into an outstanding film, and this is "My Son, My Son!" which is the main attraction at the Tudor Theatre. "My Son, My Son!" is woven about a father and son, and high hopes that fail to materialise. An intriguing comedy-drama, "Curtain Call," is the associate feature-length attraction. "Curtain Call" has a paradoxical theme—the shattering of a girl's career as an author when her amateurish play becomes an amazing Broadway success. REGAL THEATRE, KARORI. Story value and acting performances are counted on in "Everything Happens at Night," which is showing at the Regal Theatre, more than in any of Sonja Henie's previous five productions. It is a completely different type of story for the famous skating star and queen of the ice. The associate film is "The Missing People," starring popular Will Fyffe as "Mr. Reeder." CAPITOL THEATRE, MIRAMAR. An insight into the tragedy and sorrow behind the administration of social service is provided in "Prison Without Bars," showng at the Capitol Theatre and starring Edna Best and Barry K. Barnes. The associate attraction is "Elephants Never Forget," with Oliver Hardy and Harry Langdon. It is a v rollicking comedy-romanc«, i

TIVOLI THEATRE. A new Marlene Dietrich, vastly improved and bearing little resemblance to her previous appearances except in glamorous beauty, returns to the screen in "Destry Rides Again," which is showing at the Tivoli Theatre. Miss Dietrich's almost startling transformation features a picture notable in many other respects, chief among these being the presence of James Stewart, one of the screen's foremost male stars, who plays the title role opposite Marlene. Together they head what is probably the greatest supporting cast ever assembled for a Western epic type of picture. Robert Taylor and Hedy Lamarr, the most talked-about woman in motion pictures today, are starred in "Lady of the Tropics," the associate film. RIVOLI THEATRE. Teaming James Cagney and George Raft, "Each Dawn I. Die," which is showing at the Rivoli Theatre, is a . smashing indictment of political corruption and prison abuses. Adopted from the novel by Jerome Odium, the powerful Warner Bros, drama was directed by William Keighley. who made "G-Men" and "Bullets or Ballots." The exploits of a castaway family on a South Sea island more than a century ago are vividly presented in "Swiss Family Robinson," the associate film. Edna Best, Freddie Bartholomew, Terry Kilburn, and Tim Hole are in the film version of this famous classic. • REGENT THEATRE. "The Earl of Chicago," showing at the Regent Theatre, is a fine dramatic film in which humour and tragedy are blended.' It depicts the clash of two worlds, the underworld of a Chicago liquor baron and the dignified sphere of English country life. Born and brought up in an atmosphere of lawlessness, greed, and savagery, a young man fights his way to the top of gangsterdom. In doing so, he "frames" an attorney, who is thrown into prison on false testimony. When the attorney has served his seven years, the gangster takes him into partnership, as he appreciates the value of an "honest" man. But then, suddenly, the gangster is found to be heir to an English title, an estate valued at two million pounds, and a seat in the House of Lords! Robert Montgomery heads a large cast.. NGAIO CITIZENS' PICTURES. "Dodge City," showing at the Ngaio Citizens' Pictures, has a cast of hundreds, topped by Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. It is a Warner Bros, production in technicolor, and it is an epic of the old American West. The associate feature is "Five Came Back," with Chester Morris and C. Aubrey Smith. KHANDALLAH PICTURES. At the Khandallah pictures tonight "First Love" and "Cafe Society" will be screened. In "First Love" Deanna Durbin is seen as an orphan forced to live with unpleasant relations. The story and the songs make fine entertainment. "Cafe Society," starring Madeleine Carroll and Fred Mac Murray, tells a story of a. beautiful but bored society girrs whirlwind romance with a reporter. PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE, WOBURN. Hal Roaches hilarious screen comedy, "Topper Takes a Trip," which is showing at the Prince Eflward Thea- j tre. concerns the mad, merry antics of Constance Bennett, as Marion Kerby, and Roland Young as Cosmo Topper, on the sunny sands of the French Riviera. "British Intelligence," featuring Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay, is the second feature. KING GEORGE THEATRE, LOWER HUTT. George Formby's new comedy, "Come On, George," is showing at the King George Theatre. Press reviewers are unanimous in their declaration that this is the funniest film George has made. GRAND THEATRE, PETONE. Offering a double-barrel barrage of hilarious comedy, Mac West and W. C. Fields's new starring picture, Universal's "My Little Chickadee," is showing at the Grand Theatre. Something new in the line of comedies about the prize-ring is "Kid Nightingale," Warner Bros.' motion picture featuring John Payne and Jane Wyman, the second feature. PALACE THEATRE, PETONE. Faith Baldwin's story, "Comet Over Broadway," which was adapted for the screen by Mark Hellinger and Robert Buckner .is showing at the Palace Theatre. The picture stars Kay Francis and lan Hunter, Sybil Jason, Donald Crisp, lan Keith, and many others are featured with her in the story of the meteoric career of a star. The second feature, "Branded," is a thrilling prison drama, starring John Warwick and Kathleen Kelly. STATE THEATRE, PETONE. The world's foremost exponent of popular song, Bing Crosby, returns to the screen in a new comedy drama with music, a picture that is a glorious singing cavalcade of show business. It is Paramount's "The Star Maker," and it is showing at the State Theatre.