ENTERTAINING FILMS

Evening Star, Issue 22526, 19 December 1936, Page 13

ENTERTAINING FILMS

LATEST STRAND RELEASES Each of the two new pictures at the Strand Theatre appeals to the audience for a different reason and each is a complete entertainment .in itself. The first, ‘ Barred Windows,’ is a grim drama of prison life, and the other, ‘.Song of the Saddle,’ is the first of a new series of new style outdoor adventure films. “Barred Windows’ is based on a story by Jonathari Finn and is a thrilling story of American prisons. Its action is rapid, including a gun battle between criminals and police, a penitentiary riot scene, and two murders ■within the prison walls. Underlying the .melodramatic episodes is a romance ’between a newspaper reporter and the beautiful secretary of - a reformed racketeer. The picture reveals the pent-up wrath of men who do not hesitate at murder for revenge or for gain. There is an unusually strong and capable cast, headed by Craig Reynolds as the reporter, and June Travis, as the secretary with whom he is in love. Barton Mac Lane gives a dynamic performance as the captain of detectives, and Richard Purcell is convincing as a ruthless criminal. Comedy is introduced by Eddie Acuff, who is a somewhat stupid police reporter, and Mary Treen, who writes sentimental stories for the papers. Others are also responsible for fine work. Lovers of the Zane Grey type of adventurous and humorous Western film will find ‘ Song of the Saddle ’ very much to their liking. It is a film with an instantaneous appeal for those fond of rousing tunes of the range and splendid outdoor settings. The fine players m the cast provide a feast of fun and plenty of variety, which ranges from lusty comedy to colourul and romantic adventure. Presented in the picture is a parade of popular screen favourites, headed by the “ Singing Cowboy,” Dick Foran. Other personalities are the attractive Alma Lloyd, Charles Middleton, Addison Richards, and Eddie Shubert. Thousands have read and enjoyed Western stories by Zane Grey, Charles Alden Seltzer, and Clarence Mulford ; and to those people this picture brings entertainment of a kind very much to their liking. It is, however, a film that has an appeal far beyond readers of such fiction, for it is very much removed from the old-type Western. The story of romance behind the adventures of the “ Singing Cowboy ’’ and his consorts is absorbing, and the situations are to say the least thrilling. The songs and music provide an

element of entertainment only recently introduced into outdoor action films, which is actually quite a natural development, as music always had a definite place in the hearts of the pioneers of the Old West. Such popular “ hits ” that have caught on with public taste in recent times as ‘ Wagon Wheels ’ and ‘Home on the Range,’ immediately return to the memories of those who hear Foran sing ‘ Underneath a Western Sky.’ This production with a story of the ’fifties ot last century shows a calculated murder and the revenge taken by the youthful son of a dead trader, revenge which takes the novel form of forcing the guilty men to destroy one another. The swift action of the film marches on to a dramatic climax'when the principal in the plot which orphaned the “ Singing Kid ” is pursued along a dangerous road in a stage coach in a chase which has a startling end. The atmosphere of the time is well recaptured in this talc of frontier adventure, and the whole cast is extremely competent. ANIMAL FRIENDSHIP THEME CLEVER AND ENTERTAINING There is a charm,, that children and animals share, a beautiful simplicity, and when unspoilt specimens of both species appear on the screen they are sure of appreciation. ‘ Two in Revolt,’ showing at the Grand, has a dog and a horse. These are the chief actors — the humans are thrown in for weight —and they do their work admirably. The dog is Lightning, known already as “ White Fang ” to Dunedin audiences, but the horse is a newcomer, a beautiful animal. Both are very convincing actors, and one ' is_ forced to marvel at the patient training that must have gone to achieve such an apparently effortless result. Horse and dog grow up together—the dog - a mongrel, half-wolf, half sheep dog, and the horse destined from birth to be a great racehorse. The pup incurs the anger of the ranch owner, and is driven into the wilds, where his strength makes him a famed and dreaded leader of the wolfpack.' Warrior, the colt, shows amazing speed as he develops, and though offered great sums his owner refuses to sell. A party of gamblers steal him, but he escapes from his captors and joins a herd of wild horses. Dog and horse meet again and perform notable feats in each other’s aid. John Ariedge, the horse’s trainer, sets out to find him, is overpowered by the thieves, but manages to get away. Lightning finds his old master, the trainer,’ and leads him to Warrior, again caught by the criminals. An ingenious story enables John’s sweetheart, separated from him by her father’s snobbishness, to arrive on the scene also, so that four friends are reunited. The final scene shows Warrior, aided again by Lightning, at the right moment, winning a great track race. ‘ His Family Tree ’ is also screening. DYNAMIC DRAMA 'TWO AGAINST THE WORLD' AT ST. JAMES _ * Two Against the World,’ First National’s dynamic drama of the radio world that lifts the curtain on the secrets behind the scenes in a great broadcasting network, is the chief attraction in the programme which’had its first screening at the St. James theatre yesterday. It depicts the crucifixion of a woman on the cross of vicious publicity by a heartless syndicate which rakes up her buried past to regale the world with a sensation in order to reap a rich profit. Not content with bringing this woman’s rebuilt world crashing down on her in ruin, this same syndicate attempts to brand with shame an innocent daughter, wrecking her happiness and her very life. Humphrey Bogart, stage and screen star, who made such a bit recently as “ the killer ” in ‘ The Petrified Forest,’ has the leading role, that of the manager of a great radio company, who tries to_ introduce programmes of artistic, merit, bnt ( is forced by commercial interests to dip into the slime of the gutter to satiate depraved tastes. Beverley Roberts, who made her film debut pDDosite A 1 Jolson in ‘ The Singing Kid,’ has the leading femine role opposite Bogart. Helen MacKellar has the role of the woman who 20 years before had killed the man who betrayed her, had lived a decent life with a man who loved her enough to marry her, a part played by Henry O’Neill, only to have her past raked up just at the time she is looking forward to a happy marriage on the part of her daughter. Others in the cast include Carlyle Moore, jun., Linda Perry. Robert Middlomas, Douglas Wood, Virginia Brissac, Paula Stone. Bobby Gordon, Frank Orth, Howard Hickman, and Ferdinand Schnmmn-Heink. The supports are of a diversified nature. including a most interesting gazette, a novelty ‘ Medium! Well Done,’ a Joe Pnlooka comedy, 1 Here’s How,’ a musical comedy ‘ Vodka Boatman,’ and the ‘ Vitaphone Entertainers.’ The programme will be shown tonight and during the week. INDICTMENT OF LYNCH LAW ' FURY ' CREATES DEEP IMPRESSION When it was screened in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, the critics bestowed unusually high praise on ‘ Fury,’ and their remarks were not in the least too eulogistic. This powerful drama created a profound impression last night, when it opened its Dunedin season at the Empire. Though mob hysteria and its appalling results are unknown to Now Zealand, several ugly situations have occurred in America at periods in its history, and have brought in their train misery and tragedy. This is the theme of the picture, which is admirably acted, ingeniously told, and superbly directed. The film will undoubtedly be classed as one of the best to_ be shown in Dunedin this year. The picture is primarily an indictment of the horrors of lynch law, but its brilliant study of the effect these horrors have on the mind and character of ono man gives it a universal appeal. The story convincingly explains why more than 6,000 lynchings have been recorded in the United States in 49 years. { J Am a Fugitive,’ one of the outstanding films made several years ago, was an exposure of the harsh penal code which existed in Certain American States. ‘ Fury ’ provides an equally memorable discussion of a brutality abhorred by all civilised peoples. The story opens quietly. Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy), a young engineer, sets out to meet the girl ho is going to marry (Sylvia Sidney). On the way, by a freak of chance, ho is mistaken for a kidnapper, and held*in custody in a small-towa gaol. Feeling grows in

the town until the mob, moving with a senseless but irresistible determination, sweeps towards the gaol with the intention of lynching the prisoner. Unable to reach his cell, they set fire to the building. Tracy, miraculously escaping from the gaol, returns in secret to his own home. He has only one thought—to revenge himself on the ringleaders of the mob which tried to kill him. In one of the finest and most powerful -pieces of acting he has ever achieved. Tracy engineers, step by step, the trial and ultimate conviction of 22 men on a charge of his own murder. The atmosphere is so perfectly created that Tracy’s final appearance in court to save his would-be lynchers from hanging comes not as anti-climax, but as an additional touch of realism. The drama is completely convincing. In the words of a London critic, “It has a power and fidelity to nature that lift melodrama into the realm of art.” The picture, excellently pleyod by a large cast, is especially a triumph for Spencer Tracy and Fritz Lang, the director. Lang’s handling of the mob scones is, perhaps, its outstanding feature; his crowd at the gaol lives as few film crowds have lived before. The associate fare is excellent. It is of a varied nature, and includes an amusing oddity. ‘ How to Train a Dog,’ a cartoon in colour, and a splendid selection of newsreels. LAUREL AND HARDY GDMIC ‘THE BOHEMIAN GIRL’ RETURNS ‘ The Bohemian Girl.’ which is to be shown to-day at the Mayfair, features the inimitable pair, Laurel and Hardy, and is an unusual production, for the reason that the inevitable comedy of the famous pair is superimposed on the story and music of Balfe’s delightful opera. Antonio Moreno. Jacqueline Wells, Mae Busch. James Finlayson. and William P. Carleton interpret their respective roles in a convincing and entertaining manner. Stan and “ Ollie ” are happy-go-lucky members of a gipsy band. The latter’s wife, Mae Busch, is enamoured of Antonio Moreno, a dashing and romantic nomad. But so is the gipsy queen, and right here is wherethe complications start. To prove her love for “ Devilshoof,” Mae, as Mrs Hardy, kidnaps the baby daughter; of Count Amheim when he flogs Moreno for skulking about the grounds of his palace. Leaving the baby with her henpecked husband, she induces “ Devilshoof.” to elope with her. ‘The Brido Comes Home,’ featuring Claudette Colbert and Fred Mac Murray, will also be shown. DRAMA AND MUSICAL > ‘MUSIC GOES ROUND* AT LAURIEB ‘ The Mine with tlje Iron Door,’ now:, at the Laurier, is a picture from another of Harold Bell Wright’s wellknown books, and for those who have a liking for his quick-moving tales there will be no disappointment. There is something clean and healthy, although perhaps not always comfortable, in the wide open spaces of sunburnt Arizona. This picture is not a Wild West tale of cowboys, good and bad. between whom the eternal feud is still raging, but it has the cleaner and more satisfying thrill of fortune-hunting. The two principals are not confronted with anv hard acting in the piece, but both Richard Arlen and Cecilia Parker are adequate in their parts. Speaking comedy, captivating singing, inspiring dancing, fine acting, lovely songs—put them all together and add a story that is as_ fresh as to-morrow’s news, and there is the new musical film, ‘ The Music Goes Round,’ which is the supporting feature, with Harry Richman, Rochelle Hudson, Michael Bartlett, Walter Connolly, Edward Farley, .and Michael Riley prominently featured. A BRILLIANT CHARACTERISATION WARNER BAXTER PLAYS GREAT LOVER In * Under the Pampas Moon,’ which opens to-night at the Municipal, Green Island, the popular Warner Baxter portrays an Argentine Pampas gaucho who can ride, throw the bolea<dora, sing, dance, and woo the ladies more proficiently than any of his comrades —a rqle far more colourful and ■romantic than the original ’Cisco Kid. Co-starring with Warner Baxter in this colourful production is Ketti Gallian. who sprang into instant popularity in her first American picture, ‘ Marie Galante.’ Miss Gallian portrays the role of a beautiful cabaret entertainer from Paris who, bound for an engagement in Buenos Aires, Argentina, meets Baxter when her plane becomes disabled and lands in the vast expanse of the pampas. Baxter falls madly in love with the beautiful “ angel,” but Ketti departs for Buenos Aires, where later their romance flowers amid exciting adventures and conflicting emotions.