PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 20556, 7 August 1930, Page 9

PICTURE THEATRES

* JOURNEY'S END • AT REGENT Tho most successful stage play of the century is without question E. C. Sherriff’s immortal drama, ‘ Journey’s End.’ This remarkable play has met with outstanding successes in all quarters of the globe, and some fifty-five companies have presented it in no less than twenty-one languages. In Great Britain alone it is calculated that oyer a million people have seen the play and that 3,000,000 have witnessed the play in Canada and the United States, while it ran for over 100 performances in Berlin and several other German towns* Now this celebrated story has been transferred to the talking screen, and its success has been even greater in this form. Millions of pounds have already been collected as a result of the presentations of the film. Its screening at the Kegent Theatre has been anxiously awaited by Dunedin people, and the local theatre should do big business during the coming week. ‘ Journey’s-End.’ the war play that raised an obscure author to fame, defies the biggest dramatic convention by not having a woman in it or a love story—and yet it is crammed with a vital love interest. In the Tiffany alldialogue production of this R. C. Sheriff masterpiece, which will commence at the Regent Theatre to-day, a key of romance is struck when Lieutenant Osborne, grey-haired with three years of war service, tells Lieutenant Raleigh, young and just arrived in the front Hue trench, to “ think of it all as romantic—it helps.” The first love interest shows in the hero worship of the schoolboy, Raleigh, for his idol. Stanhope. He comes into the trenches, and finds bis idol wearing clay feet, but he understands why and how he became a drunkard, and.still sees him as his hero. Second, is the love of Stanhope for Raleigh’s sister. She is never seen —not even her photo is shown to us, but if she were there before one, one could not have a more poignant love story than is told with her absent. Third is the love for home and the things of life to which every man has a right—that all these men and before the hysteria of nations sent them to war—before they were herded in dark, damp, rat-infested, vile-smelling holes underground—and then sent out to be blown to destruction in the name of love of country—patriotism! ‘Journey’s End * should be above reproach. The minute the news broke that this wonderful play was going to be made into a “ movie ” there was a general wail in the Press. Critics and columnists, prophesied all sorts of dire happenings to the original. People who had seen the play and loyed it wrote letters to editors. ‘Journey’s End’ would surely ‘‘go Hollywood it would come out of the camera and the sound room with a theme song and a heroine—a whole chorus of girls, probably. Now the Tiffany-Gamshorough-Pearson production of ‘ Journey’s End ’ has been seen, it is said that not one of those fearsome critics can waggle his restless finger and lament “I told you so!” And the man who stood by to keep the vision clear was George Pearson, who could not love the beautiful story of ‘Journey’s End’ any better if it were his own creation. Mr Pearson’s possessive interest did not come into existence until Gainsborough and Tiffany managed, in the face of bidding by all the leading film producers, to obtain the picture rights. The play had then been , running some six or seven months in London and about four months ; in New York, and Trans? lations were being made for many foreign countries. The Picture wasto be produced in Hollywood at the newlyequipped sound studios of Tiffany Productions, Inc., and George Pearson was to supervise. James Whale was the only choice considered for a director, for Whale was the man who first* had faitii in Sherriff’s play. It was his enthusiasm that kept it alivekept calling it to the attention of this one and that one till that wonderful night of January 21, 1929. when it was given its first public performance under Whale’s direction at the Sovoy Theatre in London; and received ten curtain calls. An amazing thing about ‘ Journey’s End ’ is that it is said to fire everyone who works on it with a steady, undying flame of enthusiasm. The story never grows stale to them—its, lines become richer and deeper in meaning with repetition—the drama becomes finer and keener with familiarity. It grows on them until it becomes a part of their _ personality. It adds something to their soul’s stature. James Whale directed ‘ Journey’s End,’ a story that he knows probably even better than its author, for he has directed many of its stage productions, EMPIRE Patrons of the Empire Theatre will be given a last chance this evening to see ‘ The Three Godfathers.’ the present headliner there. Pathos is the dominating note of the story, but it is real pathos that touches the heart deeply rather than brings superficial tears to the eyes. And at the same time there is ample humour, keenly ironic often. There is scarcely any of the helter-skelter action of the typical Western drama, hut such is the intensity of the emotion which the picture arouses, and so. well the way in which it is acted, that it grips throughout. The supporting programme is bright. ‘PARAMOUNT ON PARADE’ TO-NIGHT. With the cream of filmdom at its disposal, Paramount could be depended upon to serve up something highly original and distinctive in talkie revues, and it has in ‘ Paramount on Parade,’ which, opens at the Empire Theatre with a special midnight matinee, to-night. ‘Paramount on Parade* is the most successful revue that has yet reached the Dunedin screen. 'The scries of scenes has' been put together with surprising skill, so that the interest never flags. Paramount took every headliner in its organisation, made them all do “something good and something different. About the whole picture there is a ’delightful informality, a suggestion that the audience is invited into the frolic of the stars. And there is no Witter word than frolic for the production. Relieved of the necessity of sustaining dramatic or humorous roles, Clive Brook. Clara Bow, Ruth Chatterton, William Powell, Charles Rogers, Richard Aden," Nancy Carroll, and a host of others are seen and heard to advantage. Linked with the efforts of the stars is production quality of high order. Probably there has never been presented anywhere at any time a stage spectacle varied luxurious enough to compete with ‘ Paramount on Parade. There are colour sequences and settings of huge proportion; rhythm melody and dance, and, reverting again to the stars, the director has cunningly presented just enough of each to make his or her next solo appearance in a feature something lo look forward to. Perhaps the most popular item will bo Maurice Chevalier’s colourful scene, ■‘Sweeping the Clouds Away,’- with the

inimitable Maurice and a well-trained chorus at work in the clouds. Then there is ‘ Murder Will Out,’ a clever travesty on detective mysteries, with William Powell as Philo Vance, Clive Brook as Sherlock Holmes, Eugene Pallette as Sergeant Heath, and Warner Ola.id as Dr Fu Manchu. These are but two of the scenes introduced to the audience in this talkie, which is one of the most ambitious and the most entertaining productoins that has yet reached Dunedin. Specially-selected supports and excellent music will also be provided. PRINCESS Laughs and thrills are plentiful at the Princess Theatre, where Warner Brothers and Vitaphone’s all-talking comedy success, ‘The Aviator,’ is now showing. Edward Everest Horton, the noted comedian, is the chief fun-maker in this most thrilling and amusing photoplay, in which he is the pilot of wildly-careering aeroplanes. Horton pays the role of a prosaic author, who, having consented to the use, of his name on a book dealing with aerial exploits during the war, finds himself forced to make good. Never having been in an aeroplane in his life, he is forced to qualify as a reckless flyer to win the hand and heart of the girl he loves. That the fates do at times appear to take the side of the uninitiated cannot be denied. Touching a throttle by mistake, Horton suddenly finds himself madly cavorting, tailspinning, and somersaulting in mid-air. He comes down with as little initiative, on his own part, only to land unhurt in a bay stack, and to find himself a hero indeed, with swarms of young ladies urging him ecstatically for his autograph Inwardly conscious that his indoor course on the intricacies of flying has not proved to be all that was claimed for it, Horton must again go into airy combat with the French ace, who is his rival. The result is a thrilling, uproarious comedy from start to finish. In ‘The Aviator* Horton is surrounded by an exceptional cast of screen favourites, including Patsy Ruth Miller, Johnny Arthur, Lee Moran, Edward Martmdel, Armand Kalig, and Kewpie Morgan.

‘EVIDENCE.’

Variety is the essence of good entertainment, and motion picture programmes, like everything else, are ail the better for frequent changes. Audiences soon tire of the one type of film. It will be agreed that the management of the Princess Theatre is providing its patrons with well-balanced and varied amusement. The new film at the Princess Theatre to-morrow, will present an altogether new type of talkie—at least as far 'as the short career of this theatre is concerned. It is * Evidence,’ a picture of more than usual interest and of considerable merit. The principal roles are in excellent hands. Pauline Frederick is the star, and she is supported by an unusually strong cast. * Evidence ’ is an arresting and intelligent drama, emotional to a degree, but kept within reasonable bounds by a refreshingly novel restraint, which happily the American film studios are now recognising as essential to good work. The story is one of a great misunderstanding between a husband and wife, which is eventually swept away through the agency of the child of the. two principals. The plot involves a strangely interesting medley of emotions, and may bo regarded as a warning against a too hasty judging of others by circumstantial evidence. The picture is essentially English in atmosphere and scene, and for that reason the . excellence of the ’ reproduction of the speaking voices should be one of the main attractions. A London newspaper, referring to ‘Evidence,’ remarks : “It is one of the most hopeful signs of the year, and gives us cause to hope that the near future will bring a bigger percentage of films which may honestly be called English and commended to English people.”

OCTAGON The dainty and charming Marie Saxon of musical comedy fame makes her motion picture debut in ‘ The Broadway Hoofer,’, the all-talking musical romance, which will have its final presentation at the Octagon Theatre to-night. In addition to the smart and sprightly Marie, * The Broadway Hoofer ’ boasts of such names as Jack Egan, Louise Fazenda, Ernest Hilliard, Howard Hipkman, and Gertrude Short. ‘ Painted Faces ’ is a second attraction, and the star Joe E. Brown, the clever comedian who was introduced to Dunedin in the screen version of ‘ Sally.’ His latest release contains an absorbing story of a highly dramatic nature. ‘ ADVENTURES OF SIS.' One of the world’s most kaleidoscopic spots—the Shanghai “ Bund ’’ —forms the colourful background of the opening sequences in ‘ Adventures of Sl3,’ which makes its initial appearance at the Octagon Theatre tomorrow. Hundreds of Chinese cpolies, grunting under the weight of criide wheelbarrows and yokes loaded with mattirg-wrapped bundles; sailors and officers from ships of every nationality on the seven seas; Shanghai’s “daughters of joy,” with their glittering costumes and slippered foot; silk-hatted wasters and remittance men from distant lands, defiantly trying to forget their past; Malay women in sarongs and sandals; ' suave gamblers and “ resort ” _ proprietors ; sightseeing tourist parties in avid search for novelty; Japanese geishas in gaily-pat-terned kimonos and obis: Russian dancers; turbaned and bearded Sikhs; naval patrols, swinging their readynightsticks; grave Chinese merchants in their tiny sidewalk stalls; rickshaws and occasional flivvers weaving through the clattering traffic; the shrill voices of the Orient and the deeper bass of the Occident playing in counterpoint—these are but a few of the features of this introductory sequence. Glittering enough in themselves, these scenes are even more memorable by contrast with the background for the rest of the story, the interior of a submarine in the China Sea. pere. amid the myriad pipes, valves, tanks, and gauges of the modern undersea craft, the unique drama works out. to its inexorable cor elusion—a conclusion that is one of the most dramatic ever filmed. Kenneth MacEenna plays the lead in the picture, with Frank Albertson, Paul Page, Farrell Macdonald, Warren Hynier, Stuart Erwin, and George Le Guere supporting. STRAND ‘Hard to Get,’ at the Strand Theatre, Dorothy Mackaill’s first solo starring picture, is a 100 per cent, entertainment with full dialogue. The story concerns the adventures of a New York "mannequin who each morning on her way from her parents’ little flat to an exclusive modiste shop hunts for a rich man on Fifth avenue. She finally chooses a poor one! A remarkably strong supporting cast distinguishes itself in ‘ Hard to Get.’ The story presents lovably human characters end the comedy is clever. Charles i

Delaney is the leading man. The supporting programme of music and talkie features is also most enjoyable, ‘DARK STREETS’ TO-MORROW. Jack Mulhall and Lila Lee will be seen together to-morrow in ‘ Dark Streets ’ at the Strand. It is said to be a pleasing underworld story in which much clever comedy and drama are introduced. Lucien Littlefield is the chief player in the fine supporting cast. RpJtY In ‘Welcome Danger,’ which will be shown finally' at the Eo;sy Theatre, Harold Lloyd is a young botanist whose chief aim in life is to perfect a new species of the wild cactus, atid be pursues his hopes with a vim. Then, presto! fate takes a band in things and sends him from dear old Boston to San Francisco to clean up a tong war and raid the underground Chinatown. Prior to this entertaining all-talking comedy, fine short sound subjects are presented. ' KING EDWARD Estelle Taylor and Antonio Moreno are the stars in ‘The Whip Woman,' a strange story of a prince and a peasant girl, which will he shown finally to-night at tho King Edward Theatre. Tho other film is entitled ‘Her Dancing Partner,’ which also provides excellent entertainment.