PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 21499, 25 August 1933, Page 1

PICTURE THEATRES

GRAND A well-varied, all-British programme is offered at the Grand Theatre to-day. The maj .• attraction is ‘ Our Farmer Prince,’ a film introducing the personal interests and activities of the Prince of Wales. An excellent drama of the turf, ‘ Kissing Cup’s Race,’ starring Stewart Rome and Madeleine Carroll, is also on th© programme. ‘ Our Farmer Prince ’ is a film of great interest. It is a diary of a day in the life of the Prince of Wales, or the Duke of Cornwall, as he is referred to daring the major part of the picture. The day commences at the Prince’s London home, and includes an interview with Canadian farmers, the opening of the Haig homes for ex-ser-vice men, the changing of the guard at St. James’s Palace, the presentation of new colours to a battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, a human interest glimpse of liis Kenuington tenants, and ends with a journey to the Prince’s own county, the Duchy of Cornwall. Once the most popular item of the elocutionist’s repertoire, Campbell Rae Brown’s dramatic poem, ‘Kissing Cup’s Race,’ is reported to have taken on a new lease of life as a talking picture. Interpreted by a cast of talented British stars, including Madeleine Carroll as Lady Molly, John Stuart as young Lord Hillhoxton, Moore Marriott, impersonating Doon, the faithful ox-jockey, Stewart Rome as the rival owner, and Fisher White as the old Marquess, ‘ Kissing Cup’s Race ’ is said to make entertaining and exciting screen fare. The picture has a wealth of brilliant character studies. EMPIRE ‘ The Big Cage.’ an enthralling drama of circus life, commenced a season at the Empire Theatre to-day. All the glamour of the circus has been captured in the production. It is gripping entertainment, and thrill follows thrill as the drama is unfolded. The realism is heightened by graphic photography. ‘ The Big Cage ’ is perhaps the first talking film to deal adequately with circus life. All the preparations and rehearsals which are carried out before the performers appear before the public aro revealed. It is a story of life “ behind the scenes.” Anita Page, the beautiful young actress of ‘ Prosperity,’ supplies the romantic interest as a trapeze artist. This remarkable picture presents in its leading role the dare-devil Clyde Beatty, youngest and greatest of the world’s animal trainers, who is seen in hair-raising performances with fortythree jungle-bred lions and tigers. Beatty is the only man who ever combined lions and tigers in a circus “"net.,” In this story written by himself and Edward Anthony, based on his ho is seen developing the performance, which has made him the greatest attraction of the circus world. It was just such an act as this that he made such a sensational success at Madison Square Garden last year that he actually crowded the huge garden to its capacity in the worst show year in history. The major part of ‘ The Big Cage ’ is told against the little-known background of a circus winder quarters, and its action finds. as the centre of a series of spine-tingling incidents in which he actually takes his life in his hands. The climax of the picture takes place in a mammoth circus tent during a performance, with several lions and tigers escaping from the arena and creating pandemonium in the milling crowds. REGENT Metro-Goldwyu-Mayer’s research department was required to answer hundreds of questions during the filming of ‘ Grand Hotel,’ the talkie version of the sensational Vicki Baum novel, which opened to-day at the Regent Theatre. What kind of music would be played by a dance orchestra in a Berlin hotel? What kind of a wagon delivers the bread in the morning? How do Berlin flappers dress? Do most men wear derbies or soft hats in Germany to-day? These were some of the less complicated of the 800 questions which the , Culver City research department estimates it was required to answer during the screening of * Grand _ Hotel.’ Each answer, when information _ had been checked, was written in detail on memorandum slips sent to various production officials. One of the problems was to verify details of house rules in a large German hotel. German switchboard workers, it was learned, invariably wear their hair in braids wound in coronet fashion about the head, affording them free hearing and allowing earphones to fit in snugly. The research department also assured Director Edmund Doubling and his staff that only hotel doormen or porters are permitted to wear “handle-bar” moustaches in Berlin hostelries. “ Grand Hotel ” waiters are therefore all clean-shaven. For a time studio officials were puzzled about reference in the script of the play to a drink known as ‘ Louisiana Flip.’ This concoction, it appears, plays a prominent part in a bar scene. It had to be made expertly in front of the camera. The research department looked it up in various Berlin “ bar guides,” and finally discovered that it was composed of white of egg, Kirsch Wasser, orange flowers, lemon juice, and sugar. The studio art department, during arrangement of sets for ‘ Grand Hotel,’ and to obtain detailed information about service appointments in a Berlin hotel—such things as the travel bureau, florist shop, the public stenographer’s office, the porter’s desk, elevators, telephone booths, German polysyllabic signs and posters, newspapers, magazines, and labels.

OCTAGON

Distinctly different from the general run of motion pictures is ‘ The Viking,’ a dramatic all-talking picture, which has for its background the forbidding but beautiful ice-fields off the Labrador coast. The producers have taken this unusual setting and coupled it with a thrilling story of two rugged sealers who battle for the woman they both love. ‘ The Viking ’ is the picture which cost the lives of the youthful producer, Varick Frissel, and twentyfive other?, when the sealing ship after which the picture was named was destroyed off Horse Island, Newfoundland. • The Viking.’ which is released by Celebrity Pictures, is now showing at the Octagon Theatre in conjunction with

Tom Mix’s latest Western picture, entitled ‘ Flaming Guns,’ which was adapted from the great Peter B. Kyne story * Oh, Promise Me.’ Mix has now. entered his twenty-fourth season in pictures, having made to date 107 feature films and more than 250 short subjects. In this, his latest, film he brings with him Tony, Junior, successor to Tony, who has been retired permanently from the screen. Next, he shows how to capture two gangs of outlaws singlehanded, how to elope to Mexico with every law officer in California after him, how to vanquish an irate father-in-law. and how to use a cattle stampede to his own advantage. _ Right at the start of the picture he introduces Ruth Hall, nineteen-year-old Tampa, Florida, brunette, his seventy-first leading lady and certainly one of the most beautiful he has ever won on the silver screen. She was only recently elected a 1933 baby star. To top this he brings back to the screen in ‘ Flaming Guns ’ two internationally known veterans of tha screen making gallant come-backs— William Farnum and George Hackathorne. Farnum was once Hollywood’s greatest leading man, and Hackathorna its finest juvenile character actor. ST. JAMES Sydney Howard, the Popular English comedian, has one of the best roles of his career in ‘ It’s a King,’ the highly-amusing British and Dominions comedy which had its first screening at the St. James to-day. He is first seen as a humble insurance canvasser on the eve of leaving for a fortnight’s holiday on the Continent. Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Helgia, a small European country, a temperamental king is insisting on going on a holiday during a crisis in his country’s history. By a surprising turn of events the canvasser is compelled to impersonate the king. From being a very unimportant person he finds himself clad in resplendent uniforms and robes, tendered magnificent receptions, and surrounded by escorts. His amateur efforts as a sovereign are very diverting, while he brings his unofficial tenure of the throne to a triumphant conclusion when he thwarts a plot to assassinate the real king. 1 It’s a King ’ is not a photographed stage play,. The action moves simply through a succession of spectacular settings.Jack Raymond, by excellent resourceful direction, has made the best film comedy we have yet had from a British studio, in that 1 It’s a King ’ is really a film and really a comedy. The photography and the recording are alike brilliant. Among others in the cast are Cecil Humphries, Franklyn Bellamy,• and Joan Maude. STRAND When one of the dare-devil stunt men in the dramatic, actionful ‘ Lucky Devils,’ which commenced at the Strand Theatre to-day, stood amid roaring, seething flapes atop a.huilding until his ■*;yebrdjYS"f§»d hair were sc&ched and his clothing; actually aflame, producers of the film/ reacted as emotionally as anyone will who views the picture. The man aflame was Bob Rose, probably the most daring of the veteran thrillmakers of Hollywood. Like other members of his craft, Rose _ lias risked his life scores of times without credit or glory. The star for whom he doubled was always accepted as the hero by the the-atre-goers. In ‘ Lucky Devils ’ Rose heads the group of death-defying daredevils who perform hazardous feats for this R.K.O. Radio melodrama. Tha other stunt men include Duke Green, Dick Dickenson, Harvey Perry, and Buddy Mason. In support of Bill Boyd, in addition to the stunt men, are William Gargan, Dorothy Wilson, Rosco Ates, William Bakewell, Julie Haydon, Phyllis Fraser, and Creighton Chaney. KING EDWARD ‘ Trouble in Paradise,’ at the King Edward, concerns the campaign of Gaston and Lily (Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins), international crooks, to relieve Marianne (Kay Francis), wealthy young widow, of as much of her worldly goods in the briefest space of time. Gaston wins her confidence and becomes her secretary. _ Despite his love for Lily he finds Marianne irresistible. Their relationship becomes sentimental, but is kept within bounds by Gaston’s common sense. Nevertheless, the situation begins to become dangerous, especially as exposure is threatened, until Lily intervene and cures the two of their infatuation in a well-acted and powerful scene, in which the three share the honours. Added humour is provided by Charlie Ruggles and Edward Horton, as ardent admirers of Marianne, who find themselves ousted by her infatuation for .Gaston. It is a good, clean show, exceptionally well directed and well acted.