PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22106, 13 August 1935, Page 6

PICTURE THEATRES

GRAND Ann Harding gives a delightful performance in the principal role of ‘ Enchanted April, ’ the first film on the programme concluding at the Grand to-night. With a fascinating story the picture has been produced along very sound lines, and makes entertainment of a most acceptable type. Jack Holt has the main role in ‘ The Unwelcome Stranger,’ the other picture, which is a racecourse drama. EMPIRE In ‘ The Good Fairy,’ now at the Empire, Margaret Sullavan lias a difficult task to portray the orphan girl who becomes a theatre “ usherette ” and wins the admiration of a skittish old millionaire in a few puzzling days. The infatuated gentleman offers her anything that money can buy, but she becomes frightened, and as a means of escape tells him she is married. A husband seemed indicated, and a struggling lawyer was selected at random from the telephone directory; then she acts as his “ good fairy ” in getting the millionaire to set him up in a prosperous business. His amazement can well be imagined, and the position is further complicated by the assiduous care taken of the girl by a friendly waiter. ‘ The Good Fairy ’ is an impossible but wholly delightful comedyromance, with plenty of action and sparkling dialogue. Herbert Marshall, Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, and Alan Hale take the principal male parts. REGENT ‘ The Wedding Night,’ a dramatic story of a tragic romance, is continuing its popular Dunedin season at the Regent. The central characters of the film are a highly educated and sophisticated New York novelist and a simple country girl who has spent all her life on a New England farm. These two gradually fall in love, and a stirring climax occurs when the girl is called upon to fulfil a “ marriage bargain ” arranged for her by her father. Gary Cooper, as the author, demonstrates his ability to handle tense drama as well as virile military roles, such as that in his recent success ! The Lives of a Bengal Lancer.’ In the leading feminine role is the celebrated actress Anna Stem who gives an outstanding performance in a part bristling with technical difficulties. An excellent background for the film is provided by the atmosphere in tobacco plantations, and the production moves smoothly throughout. The main attraction on the supporting programme is ‘ Mickey’s Man Friday,’, one of Walt Disney’s latest cartoons. STATE Now well launched into the second week of its successful season at the State, ‘ The Little Colonel ’ continues to attract delighted audiences. Young and old succumb to the charm of Shirley Temple, whose best production to date this appears to be. The story is set in Kentucky, where an old family is split up by the feeling engendered by the Civil War. The old colonel (Barrymore) refuses to admit that his beloved South hits been beaten. When his daughter marries a Northerner he orders her from the house, and,. although years pass and he reaches a lonely old age he does not soften. In the meantime the young couple go west, and in the new home their young daughter grows up among an admiring regiment of soldiers. Fate brings about a meeting between the child and her grandfather, and a most delightful duel follows. Eventually the old animosity is overcome and everyone is made happy.

ST. JAMES Even iu the most highly dramatic episodes ‘ Forsaking All Others,’ at the St. James, is never serious for. more than a moment, and not a little of the dialogue is drowned in laughter from the audience. It is something new to see Joan Crawford, who plays the principal feminine part, in lighthearted comedy, but she gives a most capable performance. Robert Montgomery and Clark Gable, who play the leading male roles, are both well cast. Montgomery has the more frivolous part, and his interpretation must further add to his claim to bo regarded as one of the leading players of the day. The supporting cast is unusually good, Charles Butterworth especially, as a jaded man-about-town, giving a performance which is not excelled by any of the principal players. Other capable portrayals are given by Billie Burke and Frances Drake. Based on the successful play by , Frank Cavett and Edward Roberts, which presents the eternal triangle from a fresh and highly diverting viewpoint, ‘ Forsaking All Others ’ was directed by W. S. Van Dyke, whose long string of successes culminated with the recent ‘ Thin Man ’ and ‘ Evelyn Prentice.’ The supporting items are first class, and include a beautiful Colourtone Review, ‘ Grandfather’s Clock.’ OCTAGON The Octagon’s main feature, ‘ Whirlpool,’ is a stirring emotional drama. Jack Holt gives an excellent performance as a “ crooked ” showman, who on the day he decides to go straight is convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in the State penitentiary. Determined that his faithful wife and baby daughter shall find fresh happiness, Holt forges a letter to his wife saying that he was killed in a prison “ break.” .Holt comes out a changed man, and with an old friend bo becomes a “ big shot ” gambler. By this time his daughter has grown up and is a newspaper reporter. When Holt becomes involved in a sensational court trial his daughter, Sandy, is assigned to interview him. .In a gripping climax all troubles are solved. As Holt’s daughter Joan Arthur gives a creditable performance. ‘ Fog,’ a, fine criminal drama featuring Mary Brian, is the other picture. STRAND Roger Prior and Esther Ralston head a particularly strong cast in the fastmoving comedy of disturbed marital relations, 1 Strange Wives,’ the main attration on the programme which is being shown at the Strand. The second attraction is a powerful drama, ‘ I’ve Been Around,’ in which Chester Morris and Rochelle Hudson give a good insight into the lives led by the faster set of moneyed people. The action is fast, the dialogue clever, while a number of catchy songs add brightness to a good all-round story. The film is one of the most entertaining in which Chester Morris has appeared, and with Rochelle Hudson opposite him as a. spoilt daughter of society the action is never allowed to flag.

MAYFAIR 1 What Every Woman Knows,’ Helen Hayes’s latest starring picture, which concludes to-night at the Mayfair with ‘ The Pursuit of Happiness,’ is a triumphal return, for the star after a year’s absence from the screen. After one of the most successful seasons in the history of the New York stage Miss Hayes came back to Hollywood for the immortal role of Maggie in Sir Janies Barrie’s famous romance, and has reached new emotional heights. LAURIER. PORT CHALMERS Suggested , by, rather than adapted from, the famous ‘ Peck’s Bad Boy ’ stories that delighted readers a' generation ago, the screen production of that name, now showing at the Laurier Theatre, Port Chalmers, has Jackie Cooper as its star. ‘ Peck’s Bad Boy ’ is in no sense a “ kids ” story. It is a rich human document. A notable oast includes Thomas Meigban, Dorothy Peterson, 0. P. Heggio, Jackie Searlc. and Henry Hall,