PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22617, 8 April 1937, Page 15

PICTURE THEATRES

GAY ROMANTIC COiEDY BARBARA STANWYCK IN HEW R&LE Sparkling with a highly individual brand of humour, ‘ The Bride Walks Out,’ which heads the new programme at the Grand this week, ' is romantic comedy of the first order, with one riotous situation closely following another. There is a fine leavening of drama also, which adds considerably to the attractions of the feature. Tho charming Barbara Stanwyck plays tho role of a mannequin, in a fashionable dross shop who marries a young civil engineer (Gene Raymond), with a definite matrimonial theory—that wives should not have careers. This headstrong young man is arrested four times during his breath-taking courtship and marriage, and it is in the court that he meets the gentleman rake (Robert Young) who, as a fellowmisdoer, pays Raymond’s fine for him and hereafter shows an embarrassing devotion to the young bride. This fastmoving comedy of love on a budget is played admirably, Ned Sparks and Helen Broderick completing the quintet of mirthmakers. Turbulent domestic tangles, strictly hidden from her husband, who imagines all is well, send Barbara Stanwyck back to her mannequin’s job, but there are ructions when her high-minded husband discovers that Hattie M'Daniels, the coloured maid, is responsible for tho delectable cooking. There is a humorous explosion and the bride walks out. Divorce papers follow, and once more the young millionaire,' Robert Young, comes into the pctyre 1 ... which thereafter develops along still 'more amusing lines. Barbara Stanwyck, heretofore known for dramatic performances, surprises by revealing herself as a comedienne of exceptional ability, and “ swaps ” laughs ,and- crackling repartee on even terms with such i mirth-makers as Gene Raymond and Robert’.Young, her rival leading men, and with' Ned' Sparks and Helen; Broderick;. This' quintet keeps the lauighs dn high gear; arid with the aid; of, sharply-etched characterisations and-a. grand screen ■ play, makes * The Bride ■ Walks ” Out'’. a ; rare entertainment. . ; ' " ' Raymond’s portrayal. tbps his recent performance in ‘ Love on .a Bet,’ both for comedy and-for! colourful character delineation, and Young is ideally cast as his champagne-loving rival, whose attentions to Miss Stanwyck, bring about many of the film’s mope vivid moments. There is an excellent array of supporting features, including ‘ Radio Barred.’ a brilliant comedy; 1 In Maoriland, Port of Call,’ a fine travelogue; ‘ Mentone Musical: Hits of To-day,’ a bright musical film; and a good collection of newsreels. REGENT Dramatic heights which have seldom been attained in similar productions are reached in ‘Sweet Aloes,’ the Warnfer Brothers’ film which will conclude this evening at the Regent. With a well-written story of a sophisticated type, and containing some brilliant repartee, the picture has as the principal players Kay Francis and George Brent. Both .these performers 1 give outstandirig portrayals in exceptionally difficult roles. CLASSIC IN TECHNICOLOUR. Reproduced as it is in natural colour, ‘The Garden of Allah,’ which will start to-morrow at the Regent, must he ranked as an outstanding picture. Not that the colour dominates the film, for both the desert settings, in which the film abounds, and the interiors are chosen with irreproachable taste. The' colours for the most part are quiet, and, it is rarely that bright contrasts are introduced. Against such a notably beautiful background is thrown a story, deeper than the average screen plot. The dominant issue is the love of a beautiful girl who is seeking peace in the desert after the loss of her father and a man unused to the ways of the world, an escapee from a Trappist monastery. A strange courtship, in which the woman does her best to allay the unrest in her lover’s soul, marriage, and a honeymoon in the desert lead up to a protracted climax, in which the man is revealed as one who has broken vows more sacred, than ■ those of marriage—a contract with the church. It is at this stage that Charles Boyer, the leading actor in the film, rises to great heights, as he tells of the unrest he has suffered since he forsook the church, for the world. Marlene Dietrich, too, t plays her slightly less difficult part surely and sincerely. EMPIRE The well-known screen comedians, Stan. Laurel and Oliver Hardy, give one of their best performances to date in ‘ Our Relations,’ which will conclude its current season at the Empire this evening. The picture is remarkable for the appearance of each of these players in a double role. In additio.n, there will be a well-varied programme of entertaining shorter films. HUGE, TALENTED CAST. In ‘ The Great Ziegfeld ’ motion pictures have picked up tho torch where the late Florenz Ziegfeld laid it down, and have succeeded in out-Ziegfelding the great Ziegfeld himself. ‘ The Great Ziegfeld,’ opening at the Empire tomorrow, has everything that a great musical picture should have. It has, in the life of Ziegfeld, a most gripping and perfect dramatic story. In its musical numbers, never before produced on such a scale of grandeur, it has many of the most dazzling scenes ever seen in pictures. In entertainment alont it is unexcelled. First, there are William Powell as Ziegfeld, Myrna Loy as Billie Burke, and Luise Rainer as Anna Held. Then there are Virginia Bruce as Ziegfeld’s greatest glorified modern girl, Frank Morgan as his rival producer, Nat Pendleton as Sandow, Reginald Owen as Ziggy’s manager, Fannie Brice as herself, Ray Bolger and his amazing dancing feet, Harriet Hector, and hordes of the most beautiful girls ever to smile at you from tho screem The story opens in Ziegfeld’s youth in the dazzling Chicago, World’s Fair of 1893. It progresses as Ziegfeld himself progressed, massing fortunes, to lose them and build other fortunes. But always in the foreground are the spectacular Ziegfeld productions and his amazingly beautiful showgirls. The dance numbers never before have been equalled. The direction of Robert _ Z. Leonard places him among the kings of directors, and the photography by _ OllieMarsh and Georg© Folsey is an histone masterpiece. STATE Ginger Rogers and Fred. Astaire have never acted, sung, or danced so captivatingly as in ‘ Swing Time,’ thenlatest production, which will have its finale to-night at the State. Some entrancing new steps are introduced, and

there is a delightful romance which runs throughout the film. Helen Broderick and Eric Blore are at their best in supporting roles. AN HILARIOUS COMEDY. P. G. Wodehousc’s classic characters of Jeeves, the perfect butler, valet, and general handy man, and Bertie Wooster, tho equally-perfcct nincompoop, again come to the screen, in ‘ Thank You, Jeeves,’ which will bo commenced at the State to-morrow. The film is a faithful reproduction of the Wodehouse. atmosphere of hilarious and quite irresponsible nonsense. Bertie Wooster, forced by the complaints of bis neighbours to abandon the only thing in life that gave him anything like a kick—playing the drums—finds life .empty, dull, and dingy; he is bored. Feeling then the urge of adventure, and lured on by his extravagant admiration for a young woman who descends into - his fiat one night, he becomes entangled—there is no other word for it—in the plots of spies and arch-plotters and other interesting people. He blunders along in his blithe, inconsequent fashion, and succeeds almost in ruining everything for the side ho imagines himself to be working for, when, in a flash of sanity, he sees that he has been wrong. .The story develops in_ typical Wodehouse fashion, with the admirable Jeeves finally coming to tho rescue. Arthus Treacher is excellent as. Jeeves, ST. JAMES As a novel, as a. play, and in the earlier film version, Edna Ferber s • Show Boat ’ was a tremendous success, but the latest film production, which concludes to-night at the _St. James, surpasses previous productions from every viewpoint. The music, a very important part of ‘ Show Boat, is ensured of excellence by the presence of three outstanding singers—lrene Dunne, whose soprano matches her appearance in beauty, Allen Jones, the handsome, lilting tenor, and Paul Robeson, the magnificent negro bass. TYPICAL GANGSTER FILM. The startling audacity of American racketeers is brought into relief in .the picture which comes to the St. (lames to-morrow, * Sworn Enemy, starring the . popular Robert Young and Florence Rice. The title _ ‘ Sworn Enemy ’ seems rather appropriate, for the picture gives, it is said, a-remark-able insight into the methods of typical American gangsters, and shows just how vindictive they can .he when the occasion demands. Joseph Calleia. the .man who has played so many roles ■of the hard-bitten type, takes the part of the “big chief,’’ who _is lulled into a false sense of security by his own peculiar success. Robert Young has the leading. male role of the man who loses his brother through the • machinations of the gangsters. Florence Rice, who, incidentally, is the daughter of the doyen of American sports -writers, Grantland Rice,, plays opposite Young as the girl in the case. Nai Pendleton, who is rapidly establishing himself in the screen firmament, appears as the rising prize fighter who .is under the charge of Young, and later is managed by Young himself. Tho veteran Lewis Stone plays a dramatic role as the innocent mail convicted of crime and sent to the penitentiary. Other players in the cast are Harold Huber, Harvey Stephens, and'Samuel Hinds. ‘Sworn Enemy’ should meet with the applause of those who like their screen fare to contain a little excitement. STRAND Replete with high adventure.and fast action, Universal's ‘ Conflict,’ starring John Wayne and featuring Jean,Rogers in the feminine lead, has its finale tonight at the Strand. ‘ Adventure in Manhattan,’ the associate feature, con;cerns the efforts of a former newspaper man, turned crime novelist, to solve a series of robberies .engineered by a master crook. The featured! players are Jean Arthur and Joel M’Crea. A new and baffling mystery melodrama, ‘ Murder by an Aristocrat,’ comes to the Strand to-morrow, with Lyle Talbot, Marguerite Churchill, and Claire Dodd in the leading roles. Produced by First National from the exciting novel by Mignori G. Eberhart, the picture is said to he packed with thrilling situations, eerie and bloodcurdling episodes; that make the hair stand on end. The associate film will be ‘ Rainbow’s End,’ a stirring and thrilling romance of the West. Hoot Gibson and June Gale; are the featured players. ' „ OCTAGON A thrilling car crash is one of the many exciting incidents in the adaptation of Edgar Wallace’s world-famous thriller, ‘ The Crimson Circle,’ which concludes to-night at the Octagon. Exciting as this scene is on tho.screen, however, it also caused plenty of thrills when it was actually being shot. ‘Fugitive in the Sky’ stars Warren Jean Muir. ‘ King of Hockey,’ the stirring Warner Bros.’ romance with the popular ice sport as its background, will be commenced at the Octagon to morrow. Staged in, the atmosphere of Madison Square Garden, New York, the exciting incidents of the game are brought to the screen by crack hockey players. A worthy successor to ‘ Seventh Heaven ’ comes from the same author, Austin Strong, in Paramount’s ‘Along Came Love,’ the story of a romantic shop girl who meets her ideal and contrives to make him fall in love and propose to her despite the fact that he has other things on his mind. ■lrene Hervey and Charles Starrett play the leading roles. MAYFAIR Gladys Swarthout and Jan Kiepura bring a new type of musical faro to the screen in Paramount’s ‘ Give Us This Night,’ now screening at the .Mayfair. Kiepura, star of European movies,” concert and opera stage; and- Miss Swarthout, lovely Metropolitan Opera soprano, sing both popular and semiclassical music from a score specially written by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Oscar Hammerstein 11. Korngold is world-renowned as a composer, and Hammerstein has written the lyrics for such successes as ‘ Lover Crime Back to Mo,’ ‘The Desert Song,” ‘ Indian Love call,’ ‘Who,’ and ‘Old Man River. ’■ The story deals with the rise of a young Italian fisherman to the heights •- of operatic fame—-a career achieved through the aid of a lovely young opera star and a middle-aged composer. The Warner Bros.’ production, 1 Boulder Dam,’ which colo.urfnlly exploits the exciting incidents ■ connected with the construction of the mighty power prosupports, with Ross Alexander, Patricia Ellis, and Lyle Talbot in the leading roles.