PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 20572, 26 August 1930, Page 7

PICTURE THEATRES

RESENT ■ Not since he appeared in ‘Alias Jimmy Valentine 5 has "there been such a good picture, as .‘The Girl Said No’ from William Haines. It is now at tlie Regent Theatre. Leila Hyams, the girl who played opposite'him in ■the former him, is the girl who says “ No” very emphatically until the end, when her love makes her yield, amd Marie Dressier and Polly. Moran, two favourite laugh-producers, help Haines to keep • the mirth bubbling over. . ■ In this human story Haines is seen as a young man making his way in the business world, starting out as a very fresh young man, but becoming subdued when his father dies and the responsibility of running a home ior the family devolves bn Ins shoulders. The apparent hopelessness of his love affair, fives the theme a highly' romantic avour./ This is one of the: most enjoyable talkies in months. •Severn Keys t to Baldpate,’ the ab- - sorbing Radio picture starring Richard Dix, is the supporting film. Seldom Ws a motion picture caused so much discussion among local audiences as this all-talking, farcical melodrama of mystery and adventure. There aro surprise elements in. the plot which even the most imaginative will not guess, and once the denouement has been revealed the spectator is, “let in on a secret that has thrilled, theatre,audiences during the last decade. Dix, in the role of a novelist who journevs to Baldpate Inn in the dead of winter to write a novel, is supported by a cast which includes Miriam Seegar, Margaret Livingston, Lucie'nLittlefield, and other favourites. ICTA6W A Biff Williams knew all about girls, and how, they loved- that big, bold fellow was nobody’s business! Biff had ; loved many of them; he had flirted and forgotten them all, but —well, Lynn Crawford, a lovely blonde,' was the turning point in his life—almost. In fact, this latest all-talking movietone comedy romance, ‘ On the Level.’ with Victor M'Laglen hack afc his delightful love-making pranks, is one of the best comedies orthe season. William Harrigan, Lilyan Ta&hman, and other great troupers, are in the cast. The picture, is now being screened at the Octagon Theatre. PRINCESS The laughter, melody, and colour of * No, No, Nanette,’ is continuing to attract audiences to the Princess Theatre. This screen version, partly in technicolour, of the famous musical comedy is on a vastly larger scale than the stage play. There are lot) girls and men in the chorus, with a large cast of principals headed by Bernico Claire, Alexander Gray, Lucien Littlefield. and Louise Fazenda. ‘I Want To Bo Happy ’ and ‘ Tea for Two,’ the big song hits of the stage production, are sung by Gray, Miss, Claire, and the big beauty chorus : and other songs are ‘ King of the Air,’ ‘ The Dance of the Wooden Shoes,’ and ‘Japanese Ballet.’ The last three soiigs are becoming as widely popular as were the two original hits. ‘No, No, Nanette,’ is the story of:a kindly millionaire who wants to make others happy—especially young girls. The cast includes Lilyan Tashman. Bert Roach, Zasu Pitts, Mildred Harris, Henry Stockbridge. and'Jocelyn Lee. Several entertaining talkie shorts aro also shown. EMPIRE In ‘With Byrd at the South Pole,’ which is the strong attraction at the Empire Theatre at present, there aro glimpses of home life in Little America during the winter, followed by the return of the sun, and the expedition is; seen .making preparations for the flight to the Pole in the giant Fokker monoplane. One is made to realise, too, the hazards encountered hy Dr Gould and his sledge party on their trek to tho relief depot at the foot of the Queen Maude Ranges. A rather touching story of canine faithfulness makes an instant appeal. At length the time arrives for the big flight. With Pilot Balchen at the Controls the, plane rises from the tableland at the base-and swiftly skims towards the desired goal. Thanks to the enterprise , of the cameraman one actually accompanies Byrd on that famous flight over the ranges to the Pole. To bo with , the explorer at such a triumphant moment is an experience which nobody will want to miss. In later scenes the expedition members avo hustling to make their escape from the Barrier before’ the freezing ice locks them in fob another long winter. The film closes with views of Dunedin and Otago" Harbour. - Special talkie featurettes and pleasing music are also presented. PLAZA ‘ Stairs of Sand ’ heads the current programme at the Plaza Theatre. The story by Zano Grey tells how Cuerd Larey (Wallace Beery) holds up a stage coach and steals money belonging to Ruth Hunt (Jean Arthur), the result, being that Ruth has to become a dancer in the hall of Boss Stone (Fred Kohler). Larey and Stone meet and become enemies. Kohler is trying to love, but she hates him, and in order to escape from his attentions she steals Larey’s wallet. Larey pursues and catches her, and she makes a' full confession as to her position. ' Her story makes Larey sympathetic when ho realises that it was her money he stole, and he boards at her cabin and very soon enters the incipient stage of love. The. other picture is ‘The City Gone Wild,’ in which Thomas Meighan has the leading role. tTRANI ■A mystery picture of more than ordinary interest, ‘ln the Next Room,’ heads the current bill at tho Strand Theatre, the locale of the story being an old and abandoned house where a murder has taken place forty years previously. The picture is full of thrills—mystery thrills as tho phantom killer stalks through tho old mansion. Then there are the comedy thrills as an idiotic detective captures a thousand laughs. Jack Mulhall pin vs tho featured .role in this First National and Vitaphone production. He portrays a newspaper reporter. Alice Day appears in the feminine lead, and others in the cast aro Jane Winton, Robert O’Connor, John St. Polis, Claude Allister, and Aggie Herring. An entertaining supporting programme is also shown. ROXY Norma Shearer’s latest picture, ‘Their Own Desire,’ is providing delightful entertainment for Roxy Theatre patrons this week. In choosing the supporting cast, the ■ producing company left no loophole for mediocrity, the group being headed by such pronfinent film players as Lewis Stone, Belle Bennett. Robert Montgomery, and Helene Millard. ‘Their Own Desire’ has as its motivation a modern daughter’s discovery that her Father has tired of her old-fashioned -mother and ' i«;enamoured -of another woman. Seeking peace from domestic strife, she

takes her: mothcT 'pway,' only to 'meet and fall in love with"jtlio sen of the •• other woman.” KINS EDWARD A-change of programme will be presented at the King Edward Theatre this evening, when the entertainment will consist ,of two delightful silent films. The chief attraction will be 1 The Heart Thief,’ starring Joseph Schildkraut and Lya Do Putti. ‘Nobody’s Widow,’ with Beatrice Joy in the leading role, will be the supporting picture.