PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22774, 8 October 1937, Page 13

PICTURE THEATRES

‘ ST. JAMES Mystery and romance placed in the peaceful atmosphere of a great college ’ comes in new drama form from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. ‘ Under Cover of ’ Night ’ is the feature picture to be , screened at the St. James to-night, with Edmund Lowe featured.. Lowe introduces a new and interesting type of de- , tective, this time a college graduate , returned to the scene of his youth to . solve a series of mysterious killings in | the faculty. Florence Rice, the daugh- ■ ter of Grantland Rice, famous sports i commentator, scores in the leading feminine role. This young actress appears to be definitely en route to star- ! dom in the near future. ‘ Under Cover i of Night ’ presents a new type. of mystery story. The audience is given each clue as the detective comes. upon it, and accordingly follows him in the process of solution, step by step. It is a clever technique, and should prove papular with Dunedin picture-goers. In the unusually distinguished supporting cast are Dorothy Peterson, of Dionne Quintuplet'picture fame; Sara Haden; Henry Daniel!, the Varville of Garbo’s ‘ Camillo ’; Henry Kolker, the friar of ‘Romeo and Juliet’; Nat Pendleton; Dean Jagger; Marla Shelton ; Eflie Tilbury ; Harry Davenport, and Theodore von Eltz. 'The romance of the story 1 is tho love between Miss Rico and Dean Jagger, who are involved in the college murders, and eventually 1 brought together by the persistent detective. Lowe in his new characterisation achieves one of his finest in a long succession of notable pictures. ; ‘ Under Cover of Night ’ was directed by George B. Seitz. [ ■ GRAND Let it be said at once that the gangster element conies into ‘ Student i Doctors Can’t Take Money,’ which is 1 now showing at the Grand, but it en- > ters on a novel angle and is not merely s a repetition of a hackneyed theme. Barbara Stanwyck’s baby is lost, and ’ in seeking her Barbara discovers that ‘ an underworld, character. named Lines - knows where tho little girl is, but will : not tell unless Barbara either gives him a thousand dollars or herself as mistress. Barbara cannot pay the : cash price and. is reluctant to pay the i other price. Joel M'Crea is a medical student who happens to be at hand : when another. gangster needs instant ’ .medical attention to save his life. Joel • "saves it, but under the rules of his medical studentship must take no pay--1 ment. But about the time when ! ganster No. 1 (Innes) is demanding 1 from Barbara the thousand dollars, , gangster No. 2 sends Joel M'Crea a ! thousand dollars for saving his life; • and a difference of opinion arises be- ; tween Barbara and Joel when the latter decides not to accept tb© money. • Barbara will not tell him that she wants the thousand dollars to recover her child; and Joel does not discover her maternal predicament until she is on the point of becoming the unwilling mistress of gangster No. 1. Then Joel calls for help on gangster No. 2, who rallies his gang, kidnaps both gangster No, 1 and Barbara, and thus provides means to wring from the blackmailer the whereabouts of the lost child. Lovers of thrilling outdoor drama, sprinkled - with comedy- and romance, will welcome the George O’Brien ad- ' venture picture, ‘ Park Avenue Logger,’ an R.K.O. Radio release, which is screening in support. The story is laid in the giant timber country of the North-west, where O’Brien is seenas a newcomer in the logging business, but whose excellent physical condition and sledge-hammer fists soon command respect among the hardy lumberjacks. STRAND Telling the truth about the evils of easy, prison paroles, Columbia’s new action drama, ‘ Freedom For Sale,’ which presents a picture of racketruled parole, boards, opened to-day at the. Strand. Featured in the cast of this film are Paul Kelly and Rosalind Keith, Kelly will be seen in the role of a police lieutenant on the racket squad. He convinces the editor of a largo newspaper, played by Thurston Hall, that the “ human interest ” stories being carried in bis paper are glorifying gangsters. This tends to sway public opinion, thereby aiding the gangster in obtaining paroles. He enlists the aid of the editor and a young girl reporter, flayed by Rosalind Keith, in contriving a daring plan to break up the gang and get to the “ higher-ups.” A fake murder is arranged and the gano; leader is arrested. With him in gaol Kelly moves up as leader. From here on ‘ Freedom For Sale ’ moves with a staccato pace to its climax. Sophisticated and fastmoving is the Hal Roach-M.G.M. fea-ture-length . comedy, ‘ Mister Cinderella,’ which supports. Jack Haley, Betty Furness, Arthur Treacher, and Raymond Walburn are featured. Strictly up to date are the adventures of a barber with a society complex, who leaves his tonsorial parlour for a Back Bay parlour to solve big business and win his princess charming. An ultra-fashionable and . elaborate background was given the production to provide pleasing effects and entertainment episodes. STATE The action melodrama, ‘ Michael Strogoff,’ presented on a big scale and with exciting battle scenes, is now at the State. In this adventure picture is offered a wealth of excitement, tender romance, and remarkable pageantry of drama and action. This cinema version of Jules Verne’s story has woven into the plot panoramic scenes of the Russian army pitted against the barbaric Tartar hordes in two different battle episodes. As those who have read the famous story , will recall—and here is a film story of a book that faithfully follows the original plot— ‘ Michael Strogoff ’ concerns itself with the perilous journey of its hero across Siberia and through hostile Tartar patrols to reach a besieged Russian army at Irkutsk with the Czar’s orders for the campaign. A beautiful woman spy is on his trail; a Russian girl befriends him; he is trapped, he battles river pirates, is captured and tortured by the Tartars, but with the aid of the loyal girl, succeeds in his mission and in a thrilling revenge over the Tartar leadoi. For all its straightforward simplicity ‘ Michael Strogoff ’ reaches absorbing heights in its steady accumulation of dramatic tension. Margot Graham gives a fine performance as the spy, -who, too late, tries to save Michael Strogoff, played by a new star in Anton Walbrook, from the Tartars. Elisabeth Allan is charming as the friendless girl whose shy romance with the' courier provides the love interest, and Akim Tamiroff, as the traitorous Russian, Colonel Ogareff, leading the Tartar rebellion, presents a brilliantly convincing piece of villainy. The supporting players are excellent.

REGENT * A Star is Born,’ with Fredric March and Janet Gay nor in the principal roles, is now screening at the Regent. This movie is, in essence, the tale of that one girl in 100,000 who went to America s him capital and had the luck to be given a big chance and the ability to take it. But it is more than that; it is a spectacle, a study in emotional tension because of its revealing details of the disintegration of Norman Maine, who has been a great star and is reduced to waiting at homo all day tor his wife to return, a high-spirited romp in the wooing of the young star by the old, and a preachment on courage. In it Janet Gaynor, player in many Cinderella films, returns superbly to her last days, and Fredric March, the swaggering actor of ‘ Anthony Adverse,’ and the racked adventurer of •Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,’ has what is probably the most difficult role of his career, and proves again what a sound and resourceful actor he is. The whole bustling, glaring scene, shown in_ its intensity at the moment of making of a film test, with the cameramen measuring, the sound men bawling, and the numerous other underlings, from makeup men to fly-swatters carrying out their task with a supreme indifference to the feelings of the new star, is realised in all its details, embellished with the amusing dialogue of Dorothy Parker and superbly photographed. And the supporting roles are filled by excellent actors headed by Adolphe Menjou and May Robson. _ The supporting programme maintains the high standard set by the principal film. OCTAGON Action, international intrigue, and romance in generous portions kebp Paramount’s The Girl From Scotland Yard,’ which is now at the Octagon, moving at a swift pace. The picture has plenty of thrills and. chills, some excellent comedy, and a flavouring of music. The story presents Karen Morley in the title rolo as Linda Beech, an agent who uses her beauty and wit to trap the inventor of a death ray who threatens to destroy England’s Air Force with his invention. Since the ray is operated at a distance and is invisible, it is not an easy job that confronts her. The girl is assisted in tracking down the inventor by an American newspaperman (Robert Baldwin), who gets involved in the intrigue when he falls in love with tho beautiful secret agent. He and Linda succeed in trapping the inventor, but not before the latter wrecks several bombing aeroplanes in a thrilling aerial battle high over London. The Paramount production, ‘ The Crime Nobody Saw,’ which supports, is an unusual mystery story with a comio twist, with Lew Ayres. Ruth Coleman. Eugene Pallette, and Benny Baker in the leading roles. It is, described as a thrilling story which moves at a rapid pace, and it has everything it takes to make first-class entertainment. The story is unusual in that it is a mystery in which there are no mastermind detectives o,r police officers. It is solved by three authors who are in quest of a plot for a play which they must deliver within 24 hours. The mystery walks right in on them. EMPIRE In a sparkling musical comedy, ‘ The Show Gbes On,’ introducing several songs that promise to be as popular as any she has sung, Gracio Fields is seen at the Empire. In ‘ The Show Goes On ’ the famous star has been provided with the most novel and best-mounted picture of the whole Gracio Fields series. , A strong cast was selected to see her through—Owen Nares as her patron; Martin Fraser, a composer of worth-while music and songs; Cyril Ritchard, Australia’s popular stage star, as Grade's accompanist, “ Jimmy ”; John Stuart, making a come-back to the screen in the role of “ Mac,” Gracie’s former flame of little Hindlebury town, and Amy Veuess as her screen mother. With' the completion of ‘ The Show Goes On ’ ends the series of Gracio _ Fields films produced at A.T.P. Studios by Basil Dean. The series have comprised eight pictures, ‘ Sally in the Alley,’ ‘ Looking on the Bright Side,’ ‘ Sing As We Go,’ ‘ Love, Life, and Laughter,’ ‘ This week of Grace,’ ‘ Look Up and Laugh,’ ‘ Queen of Hearts,’ and ‘ The Show Goes On.’ It was Mr Dean and his A.T.P. associates who were responsible for Miss Fields’s entry into pictures, a foresight which has been more than justified by world-wide releases. To this series of outstanding successes the unique personality that is Miss Fields’s, Mr Dean’s skill in production, and the splendid facilities of the A.T.P. Studios have mainly contributed. _ Grade Fields is the highest paid British film star, and in ‘ The Show Goes On ’ she relives some of her early stage life. This goodnatured Lancashire actress, with a voice that might, have made her an opera star had she so chosen, and a personality so loved in England that whenever she appears on the radio, theatre, and cinema receipts slump everywhere, began her career as a member of a seaside concert party. _ln those days she dreamed of doing serious stage work, but one of her companions said: “ You’ll make more money and get more pleasure out of making people laugh than out of making them cry.” And he was right. MAYFAIR Presenting his greatest of many memorable characterisations, Charles Laughton brings Rembrandt Van Rijn, the most famous of Dutch painters, to vivid life in ‘Rembrandt,’ a London Films production, which concludes to-night at the Mayfair. Will Hay, whose ‘ Boys Will Be Boys ’ was a phenomenal success, stars again in a Gainsborough comedy, ‘ Where There’s a Will,’ which supports. ‘AREN’T MEN BEASTS.’ English studios excel in the production of farce, especially where a touch of 'sophistication is introduced, and ‘Aren’t Men Boasts? ’ which opens at the Mayfair to-morrow, is well up to the standard. It deals with the efforts of » young man to escape from his past in time to marry. On the brink of a marriage ceremony, his father, a mild dentist with no practice to speak about, becomes involved in a scandal with a young woman, who says (quite falsely) that he has attacked her. His only clue to her identity is that she has a mole on her shoulder. And from then on the fun begins, and the plot sets out to prove that “ men are beasts.” An outstanding cast includes Robertson Hare, Alfred Drayton, Billy Milton, June Clyde, Judy Kelly, and Ellen Pollock. Also screening will be the technicolour film ‘ Garden of Allah,’ starring Charles Boyer and Marlene Dietrich.