PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22559, 29 January 1937, Page 15

PICTURE THEATRES

REGENT China’s struggles against tho oppression of . her war lords forms the central them© of ‘ The General Died at Dawn,’ a powerful drama which is now screening at the Regent. The acting, scenery, and photography convey a realistic image of the conditions of the country, and the romance and intrigue which form the plot have the benefit of a convincing background. The two principals, Gary Cooper and Madeleine Carroll, the former as an American soldier of fortune and the latter as an adventuress who lets her heart interfere will her schemes, give excellent performances, but a third member of the cast, Porter Hall, threatens to steal the honours, his portrayal of a drink-sodden waster being, one of the finest pieces or acting seen on tho local screen for some time. Akim Tamiroff is assigned the part of the cruel and unscrupulous Chinese war lord, and he lends to the role an air of ruthlessness that one would expect of such a figure. Tho subsidiary parts are well executed by both Europeans and Chinese. The plot centres around the efforts of the American adventurer to aid the oppressed peasants against the war lord, General Yang. Cooper is assigned to carry money through hostile territory and pay a gun-runner for arms to aid the peasants, but owing to the scheming of Miss Carroll, he is trapped by Yang, and barely escapes with his life. Worse than that, the money is gone, and is in the possession of the waster, Hall. .Both factions strive to get possession of the money, and finally Cooper and Miss Carroll are kidnapped and threatened with torture to make them disclose its whereabouts. The film works up to an unusual and dramatic climax. EMPIRE Clive Brook’s latest picture, ‘ Lonely Road,’ presents him in a characterisation considerably different from bis previous roles. Here he is seen as an exsubmarine commander turned secret service agent. Victoria Hopper, costarred, also is seen in a new role, that of a dance partner in a midland dance hall. In the story, Commander Brook goes out on a none-toq-sober car drive and arrives at a seaside place where gun-running is going on under the guise of a carpet sweeper delivery. Receiving s mysterious crack on the head, he is commended by his doctor to a Scottish holiday, and en route falls in with Molly, a clance hall girl, who naively confesses that her brother is a lorry driver of “carpet sweepers.” Following up the clue, the commander persuades Molly to accompany him to the gun-running scene of operations, and here is staged a battle of wits involving Scotland Yard, Stevenson’s lawyer acting on behalf of the girl, and the apparently guilty brother, the end coming with the commander’s physical tiltings with the crooks and the discovery of the plot to sway the forthcoming General Election. Supporting the costars are, notably, Nora Swinburne, Malcolm Keen, Charles Farrell, Laurence Hanr.ay, Frederick Peisley, Ethel Coleridge, and . Denis Wyndhara. ‘ Lonely Road ’ is now at the Empire. Many of the scenes in ‘ Lonely Road ’ were taken in the West of England, where Clive Brook has exciting experiences in a high-powered sports car, duly bought and duly licensed. In a perilous drive he has to crash the car on to the beach and overturn it. This was actually done, and fortunately Clive Brook lives to tell the tale. STATE St. John Ervine, the eminent English critic, writing of ' The Champagne Waltz,’ said: “I have just viewed a delectable musical comedy which pleases the eye, satiates the senses, and goes to prove that America can certainly produce wonderful shows when the moguls or pundits get their heads together. America sometimes takes a long time to realise international entertainment requirements, but when they do the results are usually very good. ‘ Champagne Waltz ’ is a briliant, sparkling musical comedy, which follows more the English and Continental style. No geometric dancing contortions, no mere wise-cracking, slang-throwing comedians, but a story which intrigues, dancing by a ballet of 350 beautiful girls, and a musical comedy theme which scintillates with real wit and comedy. Gladys Swarthout, a great singing artist, has her finest role, proving that musical comedy is her metier. Bred Mac Murray, who meteored to fame as the good-looking hero of many Hollywood decoctions, acts well and pleases the eye. Probably the most acceptable male in tho comipany of good people is bland, humorous Jack Oakie. His smooth personality is written in largo comic letters on the whole production. The feature is one of the gayest, brightest, and happiest to come from the fabulous stores of Hollywood’s amusement shop. It is true that there are 350 dancers in the ballet, but what is of more importance rests in the fact that they are trained and directed sufficiently. The decor is such that the eye is constantly being afforded glimpses of something brilliantly pleasing.” ‘ Champagne Waltz ’ is now entering its see ond week at the State. MAYFAIR * Frisco Kid ’ and ‘ Boys Will Be Boys ’ comprise the programme concluding; this evening at the Mayfair, providing excellent entertainment. James Cagney and Margaret Lindsay are the featured players in the first film, which is a stirring drama of the Barbary Coast. Will Hay presents wholesome humour as a head master in a position by forged testimonials. DRAMA AND MUSICAL, ‘ Colleen,’ Warner Bros.’ latest musical film, opens at the Mayfair to-mor-row with an all-star cast, including Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Jack Oakie, Joan Blondell, Hugh Herbert, Louise Fazenda, and a score of other principals. Robert Lord has provided a real plot for this musical comedy, which is said to be packed with delightful and hilarious fun, as well as romance and some dramatic moments. As a spectacle the picture presents two unusual specialty numbers staged by Bobby Connolly, famous dance director, in which scores of beautiful girls participate. On© is staged on board an ocean liner, and the other takes place in a modiste shop. ‘ Speed,’ a modem melodrama, will be the second feature. Tho cast presents James Stewart, Wendy Barrie, Una Merkel, Weldon Heyburn, Ted Healy, Ralph Morgan, and Patricia Wilder. James Stewart, as the picturesque test driver absorbed in his invention of a new carburettor, shows qualities as a romantic young lover fired with ambition and afraid only of failure. Wendy Barrie, playing the role of an executive’s daughter working in the plant incognito, gives one of the most charming characterisations of her career. Weldon Heyburn, the distinguished Broadway stage star, portrays the brilliant engineer and rival for the affections of the girl with schooled ability.

ST. JAMES ‘ Sons o’ Guns,’ which opened its Dunedin season at the St. dames today, is the latest comedy starring doc E. Brown, and in this film, which has been adapted from the famous musical comedy success, the “ big-mouthed ” comic is said to add greater lustre to his name as the screen’s foremost comedian. In this feature doe is depicted as a stage performer who has no desire to enlist in the army, but is willing to don the uniform and make eloquent appeals to sell war bonds, and encourage recruits to join up. However, he becomes entangled with a siren (Winnie Shaw), and to save his popularity with his fiancee (Beverly Roberts), Joe is driven to war. His antics whilst in France are said to create the utmost in uproarious comedy, one! he indulges in another romance, this time with Yvonne (Joan Blondell), and gets tied up with numerous scrapes with the military police. Even in the front lines he does not follow the real ethics of soldiering, and yet wins fame by making friends with the enemy and capturing a machine-gun nest singlehanded. There are several good song numbers in ‘ Sons o’ Guns,’ and the three leading ladies mentioned above ably support Joe in this_ feature, which has been credited as being even better than his previous best production, ‘ Bright Lights.’ GREEN ISLAND A boy, a hunted criminal, and a dog figure in one of the strangest adventures the screen has ever brought to theatre audiences in ‘ Tough Guy,’ Mctro-Goldwyn-Mayor’s new romance of the secret service, which comes tomorrow to the Municipal, Green Island, with Jackie Cooper, Joseph CnlJeia, and Bin Tin Tin, iun.. as the

three principals. It is unusual in that it is neither a man and boy picture nor a dog picture, but a combination of three characters in a comradeship that goes through thrilling escapes, highpowered drama, and an amazing series of adventures. Against these is played the drama of the relentless pursuit of the Secret Service, never giving up its man. Jackie Cooper plays a role new to him, in that it is more mature than usual—the part of a boy approaching high school age. Jackie establishes himself as the youngest character actor on the screen in his clever portrayal. Joseph Calleia, of ‘ Small Miracle ’ and 1 Riffraff ’ fame, gives a deft picture of a crook regenerated by friendship and companionship. The clog actor, son of the famous Rin Tin Tin of silent days, bids fair to follow in his father’s footsteps. STRAND Barton Mac Lane is another dyed-in-thc-wood movie bad man who has at last won a thoroughly sympathetic part. He is_ the hero in the Warner Brothers’ picture, ‘ Bengal Tiger,’ which is now at the Strand. Mac Lane, the ruthless killer, in many a gangster film, appears in the new picture as a circus animal trainer. Paul Graetz, the celebrated German actor, makes his second bow in American films as Mac Lane’s assistant in the animal cages. The love story in ‘ Bengal Tiger ’ is between Warren Hull and Juno Travis, although June marries Mac Lane early in the story. The noted film villain turns over a new leaf so completely in this picture that at no time is he given a scene calculated to bring those hisses he used to earn from the juvenile section of audiences. ‘'Bengal Tiger’ is a melodramatic story of circus life, the story and screen play having been written by Roy (

Chanslor and Earl Felton. Tense, breathless drama merges with romantic situations of no little intensity throughout the unfolding of the fast-moving plot of Columbia’s ‘ Behind the Evidence,’ which is screening in support. From the very outset the picture is said to exert a powerful sway over the audience’s emotions. Tony Sheridan, millionaire sportsman, is impoverished by the collapse of a trust company. Convincing a sceptical city editor that he will make a good reporter, he gets a job. What is the meaning of the cryptic phrase “Aztec 10”? Upon the solution of this question and the discovery of its origin and destination rests the highly involved plot. Norman Foster, Donald Cook, and Sheila Mannois head a good cast. OCTAGON An entertaining mixture of comedy, melodrama, and romance is presented in the Paramount film, ‘ Florida Special,’ the main attraction on the programme shown for the first time at the Octagon to-day. Jack Oakie and Sally Ellers have the leading roles in a highly ■diverting and at times exceptionally exciting story of. a jewel robbery on an American excursion train. Jack Oakie takes the part of a cheery newspaper reporter, who, while seeing a wealthy friend off at the station, forgets to leave the train before it starts, and is forced to make the journey with the rest of the passengers. Among the excursionists is an eccentric millionaire who has with him a valuable collection of jewels. The theft of the jewels and the disappearance of the millionaire provide a first-class mystery for the reporter, and make excellent entertainment for the audience, while a romance between a charming train hostess and the reporter’s wealthy friend provides additional interest, 'Randolph Scott,

Tom Keene, Kathleen Burke, Noah Beery, Harry Carey, and Kent Taylor play the leading roles in Zanc Grey’s ‘ Sunset Pass,’ Paramount’s thrilling story of the West, which supports. The picture, packed from beginning to end with excitement, centres around a cattleman’s association deputy who finds that the man he is tracking down is the brother of the girl he loves. Keene plays the role of the deputy; Scott the man he is seeking; and Miss Burke, the latter’s sister. Highlights of the film are a raging prairie fire and the consequent stampede of a tremendous herd of cattle. There is plenty of hard riding and shooting, all the way through. GRAND The evolution of transportation from the day of Adam to that of Lindbergh is traced as Gene Raymond pursues a hectic romance in “ Life on a Bet,’ new romantic comedy now at the Grand. , A transcontinental jaunt from New York to Los Angeles affords the opportunity for the parade of travel modes. Raymond starts from Manhattan as a hitch-hiker and switches to motor a few miles west of New York. After a brush with some men he decides against boarding a fright train. Horse and buggy days are represented by a hayrack on which Wendy Barrie and Helen Broderick ride several long and weary miles. To modernise the cycle, the principal ? (layers board a modern transport airiner for the final stage of the journey. Even water as a means of transportation is shown, Raymond having to . swim a river to save his life. These various forms of locomotion are necessitated by Gene Raymond’s effort to fulfil a wager which provides that he leave New York garbed in underwear and penniless, and arrive on the west coast 10 days later with a fiancee,

clothes, and money. • The glamour of old Western six-gun fighting is combined with the thrills of a modern police man hunt in R.K.0.Radio’s ‘ The Last Outlaw,’ which stars Harry Carey and Hoot" Gibson, and features Henry B. Walthall, Margaret Callaghan, and Tom Tyler. The story traces the adventures of three Westerners —two of them old-time gun fighters, one a daring young cattleman —in pursuing a murderous band of city gangsters into the mountains of Oklahoma.