PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22343, 20 May 1936, Page 13

PICTURE THEATRES

EMPIRE * A Tale of Two Cities,’ now showing at the Empire, is one of the most noteworthy pictures to come to Dunedin. With his wealth of characters, and his art of catching the atmosphere of the time, Dickens appears to give a producer every facility for transferring his novels in spirit to the screen. As Sydney Carton, Ronald Column undoubtedly has one of the most congenial roles of his career, and distinguishes himself by fine acting. As Lucie Manette, Elizabeth Allan is also splendidly cast. The part of Charles Darncy, "the young French nobleman who marries her before he is caught up in the toils of the Revolution, is played well by Donald Woods. Others of note in the cast are Edna May Oliver, as Miss Pross; Basil Rathbonc, as the sinister Marquis d’Evremont; Reginald Owen, Blanche Yurka, Henry B. Walthall, Walter Catlett, Fritz Leiber, H. B. Warner, and Claude Gillingwater. REGENT Western melodrama true to the established tradition of the cinema is provided ill Eagle’s Brood, which is now being shown at the Recent, The acting is really good, and William Boyd is well suited as Hopalong Cassidy, the fearless rider of the ranges who always has a ruse in reserve. Jimmy Ellison also gives a sound portrayal as Hopalong’s impulsive companion who has to be restrained continually at the point of the pistol. The theme concerns the grandson of El Toro, one, of the best-known and feared bandits of the W r est. The very opening of the film shows the murder of the small boy’s parents and his providential escape. El Toro, who has been prohibited from crossing the border, sets out to rescue his grandson and comes across Cassidy, the local peace officer, who has been thrown from his horse in treacherous quicksands. Ho rescues Cassidy, whose duty it is to put him under arrest, hi gratitude the officer agrees to return his grandson. The tale gradually Works to an exciting climax, in which the hero and the villain arc engaged in a deadly duel. ST. JAMES All the romance and adventure of eighteenth century seafaring life and the beauty of unspoiled tropic islands arc crowded into ‘ Mutiny on the Bounty,’ the film now at the St. James. Captain Bligh left England for Tahiti, about 150 years ago, in the warship Bounty, the purpose of the voyage being to load breadfruit trees for the West Indies. The role of the cruel and tyrannical captain is played with groat ability by Charles Laughton. The Bounty herself js a splendid reproduction of a period vessel. A beautiful ship—with hell aboard her. The allure of Tahiti, added to the brutality of the captain and his system of dis-. cipline, provoke the mutiny. The great sen saga of the mutineers’ retreat to Ritcairn and Bligh’s open-boat journey is magnificently portrayed, and the cast, which includes Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian, leader of the mutineers, and Franchot Tone as Midshipman Byam, is beyond praise. STATE Lily Pons, the famous Metropolitan Opera star, has been loudly praised for her work in her first film, ‘ 1 Dream Too Much.’ Praise, especially of the lavish sort, is likely to make the average theatre-goer wary, but all doubts as to Miss Pons’s abilities both

as a singer and an actress were dispelled in the minds of those who have already seen tire him, which is now at the State. Miss Pons possesses a wonderful coloratura soprano voice, and she also possesses talent which enables her to score a distinct success in a difficult, and at times, trying role. Whether she is singing excerpts from grand opera or lighter songs, Miss Pons is equally at home, while in the dramatic and comedy sequences she is ever in command. Henry Fonda gives a good portraval opposite the star, but it is definitely Miss Pons’s film. STRAND There are few actresses on the screen to-day to equal May Robson, the veteran star of so many great pictures, who is featured in ‘ Three Kids and a Queen,’ the principal attraction at the Strand. In her latest film Miss Robson is cast as Mary Jane Baxter, the richest woman in tne world, who is pestered by numerous relatives waiting to got 'her money. It is finally decided among the relations that the old woman be placed in a nursing home. But their objective is not attained, as she has an accident on the way to the hospital and is taken care of by three youths, of whom she becomes very fond. There is great consternation among the relatives, who fear that the old woman has been kidnapped. The action of the film speeds up considerably, and many entertaining incidents occur before the film is brought to a happy conclusion. The supporting film. ‘ Revenge Rider,’ features the popular Western actor Tim M'Coy in an excellent story full of exciting adventures, brilliant horsemanship, and gay romance. GRAND Rich in the colour and glamour of South America, packed with romance, action, and thrills, Universal’s ‘ Storm Over the Andes’ opened at the Grand to-day. The screen-play deals with the adventures and loves of Jack Holt, rugged he-man of the movies, as an American aviator of fortune who got himself a job as a combat pilot with a warring South American nation. Holt, making his first production. under his Universal contract, seems to unbend and to be much “ easier ” in his part than in the past. Holt’s performance is splendid, but he is given close competition by Antonio Moreno, the handsome Spanish player, ,who is returning to tho screen in this production after an absence of five years. Mona Barrie, as the brunette charmer of Holt, is excellent, possessing restraint in her touching scenes. Gene Lockhart turns in a laughable performance as Holt’s inebriated mechanic. Other fine performances are given by Grant Withers, Juanita Garfias, Barry Norton, and George Lewis. W. Christy Cahanne has done a splendid job of direction. The backgrounds are excellent, and include cafes, during a gay fiesta, lavish homes, and both fighting armies and airport. OGJAGOH The exceptionally attractive programme which is being screened at the Octagon, is headed by ‘ The Merry Widow,’ which previously enjoyed a highly successful season in Dunedin, and which has been brought back for the benefit of the many who must have regretted that they did not see it at the earlier showing. The principal players are that excellent “ team,” Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette Macdonald, whose vocal and comedy work have delighted so many audiences. The picture is outstanding for the beauty of many of the settings, and altogether it is first-rate entertainment. The supporting film is a comedy, ‘ Baby Face Harrington,’ in which Charles Butterworth is cast as a husband with an inferiority complex who becomes involved with criminals, the situations caused by his timid manner keeping the audience in the happiest of moods. Una Merkel is cast as his gay and ambitious wife. MAYFAIR Two actors well known in New Zealand for their excellent performances will be seen in the film version of ‘The Healer,’ Robert Herrick’s bestselling novel, which,is now at the Mayfair. The story is a deeply human one, gripping in its intensity and inspiring in its theme. It centres on a hardworking young physician who maintains a modest health resort in the Adrioudack Mountains, where he performs almost miraculous cures. He is aided in his work by a charming girl (Karen Morley). The story has an exciting and spectacular climax in a great forest fire, which wipes out the sanatorium. Ralph Bellamy gives a meritorious performance, portraying cleverly the altruistic nature of the doctor and the romantic conflict caused by tho two women in his life, while outstanding acting is also done by Karen Morley and Judith Allen as rivals for the doctor’s affections. ‘ Behold My Wife,’ which is the second picture, features Sylvia Sydney in a cast that includes Gene Raymond, Laura Hope Crews, Juliette Compton, and Monroe Owsley. The picture concerns a white man who married an Indian girl for revenge. What hapepns to transform his feeling to true love forms the basis of the story, LAURIER, PORT CHALMERS A fine acting combination, a thrilling fast-paced, and imaginatively directed story, and a human and appealing theme, are the elements that go into the making of ‘ Now and Forever,’ now at the Laurier, Port Chalmers, and make the picture one of the most thoroughly delightful and entertaining hours of film fare that have been offered in a long time. Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, and lovable ’Shirley Temple are the three who play out this tale of a reckless young .international crook, and the child who changes the whole course of their gay lives. It manages to make the brighteyed Shirley even more irresistible than she was in ‘ Bright Fyes,’ the picture that made her tho greatest child sensation.