PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 21811, 29 August 1934, Page 2

PICTURE THEATRES

REFRESHING ROMANCE AT GRAND An iuspiringly capable co-starring team, Irene Dunne and . Clive Brook, are seen in ‘ If I Were Free,’ which opened a season at the Grand Theatre to-day. ‘lf I AVere Free is extraordinarily refreshing in that it presents Brook in a role which allows a complete display of his artistry in handling subtly witty lines. His performance is perfect throughout. Aliss Dunne excels in her portrayal which co-ordinates beautifully with her personality, and she gave the whole picture an emotional depth which never fails to hold the rapt attention of the audience. ‘lf I Were Free ’ describes a very modern love affair. Miss Dunne as Sarah and Brook as Gordon are married unhappily to their respective mates. Suddenly they discover a new hope in life when they meet each other. Then come the complications to their happiness. Brook’s life is threatened by the ravages of a war wound. Sarah’s husband, divorced in order that she may go to Brook, attempts to blackmail her, and Brook’s wife refuses a divorce, as she wishes to profit by his renewed climb to wealth and position. And that is how things are meshed when comes a surprising, yet very logical, ending to the picture. l lf I Wore Free ’ is entertainment of an excellent variety. In its featured roles are prominent players such as Nils Asther, who is a very, very elegant villain, an exponent of suave screen blackguardism with his portrayal of Miss Dunne’s husband; Lorraine MacLcan, who makes a splendid menace as Brook’s wife-; Henry Stephenson, Vivian Tobin, and Laura Hope Crews. Direction by Elliott Nugent is smooth and moving. John Van Druten wrote the story in the London stage hit, ‘ Hehold, AVe Live.’ OCTAGON ‘ The Night Club Queen,’ which is the current attraction at the Octagon Theatre, lias a claim to interest if only by reason of the fact that it is said to have been modelled in a measure on the life of a well-known personality in tlie night world of London. The picture is also interesting owing to the fact that one of the leading roles is taken by Lewis Casson, who will be remembered by Dunedin audiences for his splendid performances at His Majesty’s Theatre less than two years ago. Casson is cast in. a part that affords him considerable opportunity, for he is seen as a crippled barrister who with his wife gives his whole energy to enabling his son to have the career that was denied himself. The fact that the son would rather be a mechanic than a lawyer does not make his life any easier, and when his wife is found to have been living a double life misfortune piles thickly upon him. Casson rises to real heights in the concluding scenes of the picture, when he takes upon himself his wife’s defence, and the story reaches a dramatic conclusion. Playing opposite him is Mary Clare, who is seen as the night , club queen, forced to become an unwilling partner in an undertaking of which she does not approve. Jane Carr and Lewis Shaw are also prominently cast in roles, in which they’ give competent portrayals. The supporting programme includes a well-varied selection of short subjects EMPIRE At the Empire Theatre this week the programme includes five of the most, famous of Walt Disney’s creations, two of them starring Mickey’ and Minnie, and the. others silly symphonies in technicolour —all this as well as 1 Palooka,’ a comedy-drama of the boxing ring, in which Jimmy’ Durante and Stuart Erwin excel themselves. The silly symphonies and the Mickey the Mouse cartoons make the first half cf the programme delightful fun, and they are just as satisfying to the older admirers of Mickey and Minnie as they are to y’bunger ones. ‘ Palooka ’ is a comedy-drama about prize-fighters, their trainers, and the girls who entertain them. It is screamingly funny, mainly through the efforts of Jimmy Durante, who does not stop jumping about and poking his famous nose into trouble from beginning to end. The story’ is a sad yet funny one of a dairy lad who becomes a champion boxer, but only b.v a chance. He finds his new profession too strenuous for him, and goes back to his mother’s farm, but not before a great many exciting fights in and out of the ring and a long succession of awkward situations have troubled him., Jimmy Durante is the champion’s trainer, and the champion himself (Joe Palooka) is Stuart Erwin. Lupe Velez is the girl who causes complications by introducing the champion to the night life of the city. Robert Armstrong is Palooka’s father. RESENT ‘ Fugitive Lovers,’ ii most entertaining film featuring Madge Evans and Robert Montgomery, heads the current programme at the Regent. It is so well-acted and produced that it holds the audience in suspense from start to finish. ‘ Fugitive Lovers ’ is unique in one respect—most of the action takes place oh a transcontinental bus. The plot centres around a chorus girl who is fleeing from the unwelcome attentions of the gangster backer of her show, the gangster and a young man who breaks prison and holds up the bus in which the" girl is travelling to Hollywood. From then on the unexpected happens at odd intervals, until the girl and the escaped prisoner find themselves in charge of the bus. They run into a blizzard, rescue some almost frozen children, and then the arm of the law reaches out. To divulge what happens next would scarcely he fair, for the end of the story is different from the usual type and Helps to make the picture such good entertainment. Madge Evans and Robert Montgomery have, seldom given better performances than in ‘ Fugitive Lovers.’ Excellent support is given by Ted Healy, Nat Pendleton, and Ruth Selwyn. A feature of the show are the blizzard scenes, which are as realistic as any ever shown on the screen.

ST. JAMES . Feu - actors permit their own names to he attached to the characters they portray on the screen. Notable exceptions from this general rule are Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who are costarred in the Hal lloach M.G.M. championship production 1 Sons of the Desert,’ now showing at the St. James Theatre. “ It makes our performance more natural and also lends a certain intimacy to the roles we portray,” explains Laurel, who suggested the departure. “ Further, this procedure ensures confusion of the characters.” Stan Laurel himself was largely responsible for the various gags in ‘ Sons of the Desert.’ The Sons of the Desert are not Arabs, but just members of a secret society sworn to attend a convention in Chicago. And attend it Laurel and Hardy do, leaving their

wives under the firm conviction that thev aro holidaying at Honolulu. Unfortunately' the "boat by which they are supposed to be travelling is wrecked, and things get a bit mixed. Still, it is all part of the fun, and the comedians extract the last ounce of fun out. of every situation. The programme of supporting featurettes includes a colourtone musical revue, ‘ Hello, Pop ’; a Pete Smith sporting series, ‘ Block and Tackle ’; a Fitzpatrick travel talk. ‘Papua and Kalabahai ’; and, two of the latest Metrotone newsreels.

STATE The average musical picture is usually a little anaemic in regard to plot values, relying for its appeal mainly on bevies of pretty girls and a handful of songs. However, ‘Evergreen,’ at the State Theatre, has the cardinal virtue of a really novel story. It introduces Harriet Green, a popular music hall star of thirty years ago, who is giving her final performance at the old Tivoli Theatre in London, since sho is shortly to be married. In the midst of all the excitement, however, she disappears, and it is announced for some unknown reason that sho has returned to her former .home in South Africa. Then, about twenty years later, a young woman applies for work in the chorus of a musical comedy. She is recognised immediately as the daughter of Harriet Green, and, indeed, bears the same name as her mother, and a bright publicity man thinks of a scheme whereby she is foisted off on to an unsuspecting public as her mother, “returning to the stage at sixty.” Direction strikes just the right _ compromise between musical comedy license and reality, imparting much conviction to the plot. The stage dancing scenes are appealing to the eye, numbers of chorines cavorting with graceful ease in original movements. The crowd players have been well handled, and from every angle of direction tho picture is another great tribute to the remarkable ability of Victor Saville. The leading role is occupied by the charming Jessie Matthews, one of the most talented young ladies on the screen to-day, but, apart altogether from the merit of her acting, and that of every other member of the cast, there is plenty of material in 1 Evergreen ’ to delight the eye and ear.

STRAND The story of ‘ No More Women,’ at the Strand, gives Edmund Lowe and Victor M'Laglen plenty of opportunities to display their qualities as actors, and has allowed the producer to introduce many exciting underwater scenes. Lowe and M'Laglen are divers for two salvage tugs, and the keenest rivalry exists between the crews. Low© is known as “ Three Time,” because, he explains, if he is not successful on his third descent he does not come up. M'Laglen’s nickname is ‘Forty Fathom,” the depth at which he can work. Their lives are normal enough until the owner of one boat dies, leaving his property to a by no means illfavoured' girl. As might be supposed, her decision to make her home on the boat causes consternation. Both divers are attracted by her, and the position is still further complicated when “ Three Time ” leaves his boat and decides to serve under the woman owner. The girl and both divers are then on one boat, and full use has been made of the possibilities of the situation. There is an exciting under-water fight in which the four clivers concerned cut air supply' pipes and attack one another with oxy-aoetono torches.

KING EDWARD Janet Gaynor and Warner Baxter will he seen in their latest film, ‘ Paddy, the Next Best Thing,’ which will be shown at the King Edward Theatre to-night. The stars were last seen together in ‘ Daddy Long Legs,’ and their success was so great that they were again assigned to complement each other. The cast that has been gathered around the stars is one of the most notable ever seen on the screen. It has Walter Connolly, star of the Broadway stage, Harvey' Stephens, Margaret Lindsay', Mary M'Cormic, Joseph M. Kerrigan, Fiske O’Hara, Claire M‘Dowell, Merle. Tottenham, Roger Imbof, and Trevor Bland. The locale of the film, directed by Harry' Laohman, is the rugged coast of Ireland. Tlie screen play from Gertrude Page’s novel, was written by Edwin Burke, who is also responsible for the dialogue direction.