CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 3, 4 January 1941, Page 12

CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

REGENT THEATRE.

One of the best topical' dramas ever produced by English studios, "Convoy," is being shown for a further season at the Regent Theatre. Authentic scenes of life on board a British battle-cruiser, actually filmed at sea under war time conditions, vividly portray the magnificent work of the Navy at the present time, while scenes among typical British sailors provide light relief. It is a splendid illustration of the undaunted spirit that is the outstanding feature of the British naval officer and his men, and the scenes of actual warfare contain many dramatic moments. Interwoven in the theme of the film is a domestic story, the principals being Clive Brook as the commander of the battle-cruiser. John Clements as his subordinate officer, and Judy Campbell provides the romantic side. The supporting programme includes interesting new^eels of events overseas.

MAJESTIC THEATRE

■ The well-remembered music of the light opera "New Moon" is a delightful feature of the first-rate talking picture version now continuing a successful season at the Majestic Theatre. Jeanette Mac Donald and Nelson Eddy, together again in this picture, repeat their remarkable success of "Naughty Marietta." Miss Mac Donald's voice retains all of its lovely quality and her considerable personal charm makes a magnetic figure of the French countess who figures in the story. The settings of the first half of the picture create with considerable artistry the splendour of eighteenth-century French society during the glittering stage of pre-revolutionary days. The shipboard scenes and the wreck of the ship containing the escaped bondsmen and their fair captives are impressively real. Of strong topical interest in the supporting programme is an Australian newsreel devoted to Christmas in Palestine with the A.I.F. They have not forgotten to include a glimpse of the New Zealanders and of the Army nurses. Another excellent featurette is a picture made by the Government Film Studios showing the production of malt barley in New Zealand. This picture is notable for its splendid photography.

OPERA HO^SE

The classic frontier drama of "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" at the Opera House, is one that will appeal to every soldier and make others realise the tenuous grip that England maintains on the fighting tribes beyond the Khyber Pass only by the courage and diplomacy in its officers. It teems with thrills in th work of cavalry in country that is more suited to mountain goats, in ambush and sniping, and brings home to the civilian something of the stamp of men required to measure up to the standards asked in the British Army under the frowning ramparts that separate law-abiding India from the reiving tribal hordes that maintain, after centuries, their unlicensed robberies and feuds. Pig-sticking as a sport, barrack humours, and the plotting of rival clans to overthrow the British Raj, form the canvas on which is painted qne of the most stirring human problems screened, that of the colonel with a son straight from a military college flung into the severe test of frontier warfare. Gary Cooper, Franchot Tone, Richard Cromwell. Sir Guy Standing, and Kathleen Burke form a perfectly balanced cast, each presenting clear-cut individual types, while harmonising in forcing home the lesson that duty often means sacrifice. A pretty spy leads the youngster into a position where he is disowned by his father. Then the two senior subalterns take matters into their own hands. Never has Cooper made a greater impression, and the final scenes have a rare emotional tension. Varied supports fill a short first half. .

PARAMOUNT THEATRE,

Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon play splendidly in the leading roles of the London Film Productions presentation of "The Scarlet Pimpernel." Mr. Howard has perfectly grasped the psychology of Sir Percy Blakeney. Also being screened at the Paramount is Warner Bros. 1 "Granny Get Your Gun," starring May Robson in a comedy role in which she is well cast with Harry Davenport, Margot Stevenson, and others.

PRINCESS THEATRE

With John Garfleld and Priscilla Lane in the co-starring roles, "Dust Be My Destiny," a poignant romantic drama, is being screened at the Princess Theatre. The story is based on a novel by Jerome Odium, and the film deals realistically with the married life of two young "nobodies" trying to find their place in a hostile world. In conjunction is "Talking Feet," a delightful film in which the pianist Mark Hambourg and the Scottish bass William Heughan are featured.

REX THEATRE

The rise of Adolf Hitler is presented with full dramatic effect in "Mem Kampf—My Crimes," now showing at the Rex Theatre. The accompanying feature is "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife," the Claudette Colbert-Gary Cooper comedy. The latest newsreels and episode 4 in the "Jungle Menace" are also being screened.

ASCOT THEATRE,

Another of the popular series, "Dr. Kildare's Strange Case," with Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore, is showing at the Ascot Theatre, bringing further adventures and romance in the lives of men in white. The associate attraction is "5 Little Peppers in Trouble," starring Edith Fellows and Ronald Sinclair in a delightful comedy of mischief and laughable fun. The supporting items of the programme are excellent.

STATE THEATRE, PETONE

Now showing at the State Theatre, Petone, is the story of Edison, a presentation not of the old man familiar to all, but of Edison in his early manhood when he fought his way through to success. Spencer Tracy has the role aria is finely supported in a magnificent depiction.

GRAND THEATRE, PETONE,

Starring Gary Cooper, and with Andrea Leeds and David Niven heading an unusually important cast. Samuel Goldwyn's new adventure drama "The Real Glory," now showing at the Grand, unfolds a thrilling and exciting tale of the Philippine Scouts and their heroic bravery at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War. The successor to "Scatterbrain," "Sing, Dance, and Plenty Hot," is the second feature.

PALACE THEATRE, PETONE

Buck Jones is the star of "Stone of Silver Creek" at the Palace. Though Western in locale, this story is a model of dramatic construction, and might as well have been laid in New York City as in the surroundings of a frontier town. The famous Jones Family in "Young As You Feel" is the second feature.

CITY AND SUBURBAN THEATRES

KING'S THEATRE.

PLAZA THEATRE.

STATE THEATRE

DE LUXE THEATRE

TUDOR THEATRE

ROXY THEATRE

KILBIRNIE KINEMA.

CAPITOL, MIRAMAR,

VOGUE THEATRE,

A comedy-x-omance which appeals largely through the whimsical performances of the two principal characters !is "Lucky Partners," which is now I showing at the King's Theatre. In this film Ronald Colman and Ginger Rogers make their first joint apeparance, and the new combination is successful, Colman's somewhat mature and dry sense of humour contrasting well with the light-hearted vivaciousness of Ginger Rogers. The plot is simple, but contains plenty of scope for humour. Colman, a Greenwich Village artist, enters into a bargain to take a sweepstake ticket in company with Ginger, who has a lucky hunch. One of the conditions is, however, that should they win she should go with him on a strictly platonic honeymoon before she marries a rather dull, plodding engineer Naturally enough, for a film, they collect some thousands of dollars, and go away on the honeymoon. Colman, however, gets cold feet and leaves the girl stranded when he sees that the honeymoon is not going to be as impersonal as he thought. By that time, however, the girl's fiance has come on the scene, and the situation needs a bit of explaining. The film is an attractive one, with good continuity of action. Supports include a newsreel.

Now in its second week at the Plaza Theatre, the Twentieth Century-Fox film "The Blue Bird" is the latest in the modern series of fantasy films. Based on Maurice Maeterlinck's masterpiece, "The Blue Bird" tells the story of a discontented little girl who is sent by the fairy Berylune to find the blue bird of happiness. She ; and her little brother, helped by the family bulldog and hindered by the family cat, both changed to human form, seek the elusive bird in the land of the past, the land of the future, the land of luxury, and in the dark forest, only to find it in their own home. Shirley Temple plays the part of the girl, Myttyl. and Johnny Russell is Tyltyl, her small brother. The nature of the story gives full scope for the use of magnificent and awe-inspiring settings, the effect of which is heightened by technicolour. The storm and the fire in the forest provide a memorable scene. "The Blue Bird" should appeal to all tastes. In the supporting programme are newsreels. an animated cartoon in colour, and travelogues showing Alaska and Australia.

Magnificent outdoor settings provide the backgrounds for the two feature films on the current programme at the State Theatre, and each is packed with action and excitement. "Riders of the Dawn" is a musical Western starring Jack Randall, whose fine voice is heard to good effect in several songs. The world's wildest horses are brought to the screen in the other film, "King of the Sierras." in which two extraordinarily intelligent horses, Rex and Shiek, are the principals.

The Andrews Sisters, Patty, Maxene, and La Verne, have long been well known and liked through the medium of the radio, but only in "Argentine Nights," the current attraction at the De Luxe Theatre, are they revealed as a trio with exceptional comic ability, female counterparts of the Ritz Bros., with • whom they share the leading roles in this film. Both the Ritz Brothers and Andrews Sisters are thoroughly at home in a story without a single heavy moment, and there are numerous song and dance routines incorporating the unbounding hilarity for which the Ritz Brothers are famous, as well as three of the other trio's invariably well-arranged vocal items. The supporting cast includes Constance Moore, Peggy Moran, and George Reeves. A thrilling story of spies and Federal investigators in "Enemy Agent" is the supporting feature. Richard Cromwell, Helen Vinson, Robert Armstrong, and Marjorie Reynolds are included in the cast. An instalment of the serial "Drums of Fu Manchu" and a newsreel complete the programme.

"Tom Brown's School Days" is being shown at the Tudor Theatre. This is a really fine filming of the great school story, well cast and adequately set. Sir Cedric Hardwicke, as Dr. Arnold, the headmaster, and Jimmy Lydon, as Tom Brown, receive most of the laurels of the acting department, with Freddie Bartholomew and Billy Halop also giving sound performances. Gene Raymond and Wendy Barrie are the stars in the associate attraction, the hilarious film, "Cross Country Romance."

"Ninotchka," the Greta Garbo feature, in which Melvyn Douglas and Ina Claire also star, is being screened at the Roxy Theatre. The second feature is "I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now."

Virginia City, Nevada, through whose brawling streets forty thousand goldmad adventurers once stormed, is the scene of "Virginia City," which stars Errol Flynn and Miriam Hopkins, and is being shown at Kilbirnie, with "Adventure in Diamonds" (George Brent and Isa Miranda), as a second feature.

Spencer Tracy, Nancy Kelly, and Richard Greene are co-starred in Darryl F. Zanuck's production of "Stanley and Livingstone," which will be screened finally at the Capitol tonight. The associate feature is "King of the Lumberjacks," with John Payne and Gloria Dickson starred.

EMPIRE, ISLAND BAY.

"Squadron 922," with its fine exposition of war by sea and air, is being screened at the Empire, Island Bay. The associate feature is "Too Many Husbands," and there is also "Fugitive at Large" (Jack Holt and Patricia Ellis).

SEASIDE PICTURES, LYALL BAY,

Laurel and Hardy return in a fulllength production, "The Flying Deuces," which will be featured at Lhe Seaside Pictures, Lyall Bay, with the support of "Lucky to Me," a Stanley Lupino comedy in which there is a dash of music and snappy dancing.

Hal Roach's "Turnabout" opens at the Vogue Theatre, Brooklyn, tonight. It is one of the gayest and most hilarious screen comedies of recent days. Directed by Roach himself, it is beautifully staged and expertly acted. It co-stars Carol Landis and John Hubbard, with Adolphe Menjou, Mary Astor, and other strong support.

KHANDALLAH PICTURES

"A Star is Born," being screened at Khandallah tonight, is one of the truly great pictures that has graced the screen. Photographed in technicolour and starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, it is a powerful, poignant tale of Hollywood love and marriage, heartbreak and happiness, that dramatises the secret yearnings of millions of girls. The second feature is "Opened by Mistake," with Charles Ruggles in the lead.

NGAIO CITIZENS* PICTURES

"Wings of the Navy" stars George Brent and Olivia de Havilland in a timely story dedicated to the fearless men who fly America's great ships of the air. Aside from the thrilling and exciting naval scenes, there is a human and moving story of the brotherly affection and charming romantic motif. The picture will be shown at Ngaio tonight, with also "British Intelligence," a spy story that has one gripping his chair from start to finish. Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay are the stars.

TIVOLI THEATRE.

Adventure in the South Pacific comes to au American society girl in "Isle of Destiny," showing at the Tivoli Theatre. It is a Warner Bros.' production full of exciting action, in which gunrunning, marines, and an island hurricane combine with vivid tropic scenes to make romantic enjoyment of the best kind. There is also "Private Affairs," a comedy starring Nancy Kelly, Robert Gumming, Hugh Herbert, and Roland Young.

RIVOLI THEATRE

George Sanders as the debonair Simon Templar saves his old scapegoat Inspector Fernack (Jonathan Hale with the aid of Wendy Barrie, who is Ruth, in the vivid "The Saint Takes Over," now being screened at the Rivoli. There is also "Convicted Woman," the dramatic story of an innocent girl who is gaoled.

REGAL THEATRE, KARORI

"Squadron 922," a film that must create pride in every British heart in its splendid revelation of our naval men, is being shown at the Regal Theatre, Karori. Zorina in "I Was An Adventuress" and Barbara Stanwyck in "Remember the Night" are associate .features.

PRINCE EDWAED, WOBURN. In Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Florian" Robert Young and Helen Gilbert head a cast that includes Irina Baronova, famous ballerina; Charles Coburn, Lee Bowman, Reginald Owen, and Lucile Watson. Hundreds appear in lavish spectacles, such as the Emperor's grand ball and the review of the Lippiz'an horses at the Imperial Riding School in Vienna. Also at the Prince Edward is "The Shop Around the Corner," featuring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut, Felix Bressart, Sara Haden, and William Tracy.