THE PICTURES—NEW PROGRAMMES

Evening Star, Issue 20428, 8 March 1930, Page 13

THE PICTURES—NEW PROGRAMMES

EHTERTAHJMEHT MM MW ’ LEAM ItL TALKIES do not cto 4 Rio Rita’ Sbreen entertainment. Its splendour, gorgeous mountings, wonderful sing'Sfa and a pretty story told in and colour make ‘Rio Rita;’ Mj/k awriii oS entertainment. Unlike any qllter picture, it had no particular ijjandard to meet, ( bub the packed Maims ab the Regent Theatre last night 1« staggered by the beauty and granmuc of tha production. tne only picture by which jfcfaa merits of ‘Rio ;Jl:ita ’ could be judged is ‘The Desert Song,’ which .usajß the screen’s first operetta. The marvelled at the bewildering immensity and beauty of ‘ The Desert Song,’ hut it was hut a second-rate jTtoduction compared with ‘Rio Rita.’ ■A thing of beauty is a joy for ever, no matter how magnificent the ’talkies become ‘ Rio Rita ’ will always jbte remembered, as ‘ Way Down East,’ ;‘-Cabiria,’ ‘lntolerance,’ and : ‘Ben Shir* are pleasantly recalled from the days of the silent pictures. As a gem pT production and -for musical entertainment ‘Rio Rita’ is, without any (qualification, the finest picture yet ?£een in New Zealand. *So‘lhfeautiful ,&id rich in colour and settings, ‘ Rio •Rita’ stagger?; it as one of those natures which have ,to be seen twice, or • , three times, to enable every "jpoint in its bountiful list of commendable features to be properly judw' l and jgiven the place they deserve. Gorjgpphs scenes frame the lilting melodies fin rapid sequence, and consequently ,[Hh* assessment of the thousand and ■'one marvellous touches of the producers’ art esca„ j .all judgment. If any person should happen to come away Worn the Regent during the season disappointed with ‘Rio Rita,’ then ho be well advised never to again jpatronise a theatre. His judgment Vayould be nothing short of ridiculous. >To fault ‘Rio Rita’ is impossible. iDnly the limitations imposed by the .•Screen’s inability to yet give the third perspective have prevented v-Rio Rita’ from being positively the word. in entertainment. After viewing this wonderful picture one is - compelled to paint images of what the ■talkies will be,able to give the world ..in a few years’ time. ‘ Rio Rita ’is a .‘delight to the eye and the ear'. As a stage production ,‘Rio Rita’ Oivas extremely popular, but the stage - s can never allow of the range of grand . settings open to the films. The mount--ings in ‘ Rio Rita ’ almost take the ' breath away with their; ornate splenidour. The opening scenes in the Fret inont Oafo are'but a prelude to the ;> p£oon of praise which must-bo sung of 'the following stagings. The cafe is a .palace with the magnificence, of fur- , wishing and design of a caliph’s harenv ‘ Rita’s rancho across the Rio Grande •is a beautiful retting, replete with the [ .jpharm of the old 'Spanish estancios; hnd in the Mesa Francisca the detail : .pi the brilliant settings is staggering. - The patio of the villain Ravanoff positively leaves the audience gasping in >.admiration of beauty and the skill of .{the modern picture producers. Then' Como the scenes on the pirate barge. /.They are incomparable. Amazingly all,.the .scenes, ate aphotoin; graphed in natural colour, "What dazpageantry I' . ' ' ' , The music of ‘Rio Rita’ is well Known, and it is given a new charm in the picture. The solo singing ■ Teaches a mark nnattained before in pictures, and the choruses are sung .-..by' full-throated vocalists- with cheer -'.and Tomme'.i Th© lihi’ettb of the stage play hds been followed to the smallest detail. The comedy 'is great. The dancing is stupendous. In every way ’Rio Rita’.is consummate joy. Bebe Daniels, not so vivacious as she . was in the frivolous pictures of the silent era, is superb as Rita. Her acting is flawless, and she makes the . parfeaU the -more convincing by her adoption; of , a charming Mexican acAnd Bebe is a singer. Who would have thought it? The talented : stare of. the silent pictures ar- returnBehe Daniels is undoubtedly theanost surprising. Her voice is rich andy powerful, and in her duets with . - dramatic . j heights. - That wonderful singer of ; ‘ Tpe; Desert Song,’ - Boles, makes an eveh greater success; of > the role of Captain Stewart. His tenor voice is of range and beauty, and he is no V mean . actor. Boles makes an ideal ' hero. George Renevant is outstand■t ing as Ravanoff, and one is forced to 1 like the comedians, Robert Woolsey > (Lovett) and Bert Wheeler (Chick Bean). They are smart, clean come- ; dians, with 'most captivating styles. Dorothy Lee is a dainty Dolby. recording of ‘ Rio Rita ’ on the R.C.A. system is richly deserving of- ■ praise. The songs and the dialogue are remarkably finely recorded, there being an entire absence of dullness. ‘ No matter what is written of ‘ Rio Rita,’ this picture cannot be too highly ! commended. Its season at the Regent Theatre is certain to be a recordi breaker.

FUTURISTIC DEVELOPMENTS

OCTAMH'S FILM PICTURES 1940 LIFE

■' Never exceeding the bounds of posvisibility - and, therefore, not becoming -too fantastic, ‘High Treason’ presents >. of the marvels and , suruprises to ,bo expected in 1940. As it is generally accepted that the people of ; 'the future will ho more intellectual •wthah present day humans, it is only fright that the story of ‘ High Treason ’ , r should bo deep, and. in order to grasp ‘-J fully. the meaning of the plot one has * to give his undivided attention to the picture. This- was discovered at the V Octagon Theatre yesterday when the ' film* was released' for the , first time, hut, although the audience found it necessary to concentrate, no one found it difficult •to follow the action, so . clearly is the whole theme set out. ; The person who conceived the many in--11 ventiohs used in the picture certainly , let hia imagination have full piny, but at no time did ho go too far. ' Ho thought of aeroplanes rising straight off the roofs of sky scrapers, he pictured television in a perfect state, he conjured up visions of a train tunnel running under the English .Channel, and he designed an absolutely new style of dress. The producers managed very successfully to knit many spectacular effects together—effects that cannot be realised unless seen—to giro the story the right background. A short account of the story should 1 pot go amiss. It is the year 1940, and the political forces of the world are grouped. War is threatened between the Federated Atlantic States and- the

United States of Europe. There is a Peace League formed to -prevent an--1 ..ether war that would surely be more

disastrous than the conflict of 1914, and its leader is Dr Seymour, who gives up his life in the end to save the world from • temporary ruination through war. His daughter, Evelyn, acts as his secretary, and is as conscientious in her work as her father. But all this time the Atlantic States’ agents are at work exciting the European States to cross swords. The time is reached when the European Council is forced to meet and decide whether to go to war or not, and oven as the members are deliberating, the headquarters of the Peace League in London are bombed' by aeroplanes and destroyed. Straightway the order to mobilise is given, and while Evelyn is trying to turn the dancers at a cabaret against war she is extricated from a serious situation by Major Deane, of the European Air Force. At midnight the president of the European Council broadcasts the news that war has been declared. Dr Seymour goes to him to make one last appeal, while Evelyn appeals to the women to prevent the aeroplanes of the force from being taken into the air. In the end the war is averted, but only at the cost of a life, _ and, as the murderer explains, it is better to lose one life to stop war than to have war and lose millions of lives.

' Throughout, the acting is superb, while the voices of every person are very agreeable, and are perfectly reproduced. ■ Sound effects are also introduced, and aeroplane raids, a Channel funnel explosion, and th'e women’s triumphal ’singing of the peace song are given _ a realism that cannot readily he imagined. There is yet another big feature’that commends - it to the public taste. _ This is the fact that It is entirely British. The sound and voices were recorded by -a British system, and all those who take part in it are English. The Americans have given us a number of truly wonderful photo plays, but fe,w can bear- comparison with ‘High Treason.’ £h array of shorts completes the new programme. There is an exceedingly fascinating scenic film of Austrian life, which is followed by a comedy, ! Car Shy.’ The title is perhaps a little misleading, as the picture deals with motor thieves who drive away in anything’ that bears the slightest resemblance to a motor car. In \fnct,the head of the gang of thieves ihanages successfully to “pinch” the police patrol wagon. The usual ‘Fox Movietone News’ presents another collection of world events, while in an ‘ Australian News’ the Prime Minister invites everyone to visit the Commonwealth.

At two sessions daily this programme will be presented up to and including Thursday next.

MARRIED IN HOLLYWOOD

SCREEN OPERETTA AT EMPIRE Refinance in glittering uniform, amid the gaiety and colour of Vienna and the glaring lights of Hollywood, forms the basis of ‘Married in Hollywood/ the speaking screen’s first original operetta, now being presented at the Empire Theatre. With sparkling operatic music by Oscar Straus and Dave Stamper woven into the fabric of its charming love story and scores of unique pictorial and audible novelties introduced into the narrative, ‘Married in Hollywood/ a Fox Movietone song romance, is rated by screen critics as the finest production of its typo. Noma Terris, of American * Showboat ’ fame, and J. Harold Murray, of ‘Rio Rita’ note, act and sing the leading roles, and_ reveal voices of calibre unrivalled in picture history. Walter Catlett, Yom Patricola, Irene Palasty, John Garrick, Leila Karnelly, and Lennox Pawle arc in the cast, and a large chorus of trained singers, a symphony orchestra under the direction of Arthur Kay, and a large dancer group, forms a colourful background for the delightful operatic sequences. Excellent supporting talkie items arc also being presented.

‘THE LETTER’

GRIPPING DRAMA OF THE EAST It may be said that local audiences have had too much of murder mystery pictures, but the unusual nature of 1 The Letter,’ now at the Strand Theatre, compels interest, and no little admiration. Jt describes the trial in Singapore,, of a beautiful woman charged with murder, and in addition to th spoken evidence, the whole story is thrown on tho screen. It tolls how Losfrcf Crosbio and her husband, Robert, Jive in a bungalow on a rubber plantation. Robert decides to visit Singapore, and his wife at onco sends a letter to a dissipated bachelor named Hammond. The arrival of tho letter interrupts a love sccno between Hammond and his Chinese mistress. Ho goes to the Crosbio bungalow,, and tells Leslie that ho will have nothing to do with her. “ Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” and Leslie shoots Hammond, her former lover.. The letter plays a very important part in the evidence, but it would spoil the enjoyment of tho picture for those intending to see ‘ The Letter’ if 'a disclosure wore made here. Jeanne Eagols lias tho role of Leslie Crosbio, and plays it to perfection. • ReginalxL-Owcn lias the part

of her husband, and gives a characterisation which, though not very prominent, is always convincing. The part of the dissolute Hammond is well played by Herbert Marshall, and all the supporting actors are perfectly at home in their roles. A striking feature of ‘ The Letter ’ is the t appearance of Chinese men and women, and natives of many different nationalities in a scene of gaiety in a Singapore dive. Special supports of many varieties are shown.

KING EDWARD THEATRE

In ‘ Paid to Love,’ which commenced screening at the King Edward Theatre last evening, George O’Brien has the principal part. , The film is an exceptionally thrilling drama. The supporting picture is a western production entitled ‘ The Pioneer Scout,’ in which Fred Thompson has the leading role.