PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 21006, 21 January 1932, Page 7

PICTURE THEATRES

RESENT Eddie Cantor and Charlotte GreenWood make a strong comedy team in •'Palmy Days,' which will receive its final screening at the Regent Theatre to-day. Cantor has a humour all of his own. He can keep up a running fire of wisecracks and jests the while he performs acrobatic feats of the most amazing kind. Then, of course, there is the romantic side of the tale, which is entrusted to very capable performers, at the head of whom are Chariottp Greenwood and charming little Barbara .Weeks. ST. JAMES To the discerning picture-goer the cunning of the director of ' Transatlantic,' at the St. James Theatre, is everywhere apparent—in the exceedingly clever' camera shots from unusual angles; in the suspenseful weaving together of the threads of intrigue and romance in the various byplots; in the clear and skilful delineation of the characters; in the subtle touches of comedy; and in the rapidly rising tempo of action and interest. This. film is an example of the efforts being made to hold audiences by proriding exceptionaly fine entertainments. EMPIRE ' Norma Shearer, in a gripping drama of San Francisco's gambling life, is the attraction at the Empire Theatre, where 'A Free Soul,' Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's sensational filmisation of the Adela Rogers St. Johns novel is to be seen. Miss Shearer plays another such glamorous role as she gave to the screen in ' The Divorcee' and ' Let Us Be Gay,' but this, time in a setting of stark drama. She play the role of the daughter of a famous lawyer immersed in his sophisticated teachings of freedom in life, and torn between two loves —one for a wealthy: society man, the other for. a gambler. Lionel Barrymore returns to stating to portray the lawyer father, one of the most dramatic roles in modern literature. Leslie Howard and Clark Gable share leading man . honours. 06TAMN , ; Four delightful child actors and a distinguished cast of adults bring enjoyable entertainment to the Octagon Theatre, where Paramount's ' Huckleberry Finn,' the second of the Mark Twain classics to come to # the screen, is now being shown. Jackie Cooganis again cast m the role of Tom Sawyer, and Junior Durkin continues his portrayal of Huck Finn. Mitzie Green and Jackie Searl are just as'enjoyable in ' Huckleberry Finn as they were in ' Tom Sawyer.' Fat and jolly Eugene Palletfce heads the cast of adults. Clara Blandick is again seen in the role of the worried Aunt Polly, and Jane Darwell portrays the role of Widow Douglas. STRAND It is adult humour that permeates 1 The Matrimonial Problem, French farce, now at the Strand Theatre. Spicy and pointed, it proves irresistible to those who like smart irresist■ophisticated comedy. ;It is built about the amazing experiences of a Frenchman who meets with an accident and loses his memory, eventually awaking with more than his share of wives, families, and affairs. ' Sinners' Holiday ' is also shown. KINI EDWARD A graphic and absorbingly interesting film is 'The Spy,' at the King Edward Theatre. "The Spy' relates the struggles of an aristocratic . Russian family to hold together in the face of terrifying economic conditions brought on by the Red Revolution, and the fight of a wife and mother against the advances of an agent of the Tcheka. The cast is a prominent one, headed by Kay Johnson, who scored heavily in ' Dynamite' and ' The Spoilers'; Neil Hamilton, remembered for his performances in ' Beau Geste' and ' The Dawn Patrol,' enacts the male lead, p with John Halliday. who was starred in the Broadway production of 'The Spider,' in the title role. Dorothy Seacombe is featured in .the second picture, ' Leave It To Me.'