PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22805, 13 November 1937, Page 21

PICTURE THEATRES

THE NEW PROGRAMMES HILARIOUS COMEDY DRAMATIC ENTERTAINMENT “PUNTED" EVIDENCE 4 We Who Are About To Die,’ the principal film on the Grand programme, is a startlingly realistic drama with an excellent theme and a capable cast. The film deals with the emotional reactions of » young aviation engineer who is condemned to death for a crime he did not commit; John Beal has the difficult part of the young engineer who is made the victim of a dastardly plot by a gang of gunmen, who rob an aeroplane factory, murder the cashier, and run down a child in their flight from the scene of the crimes. “ Planted ” evidence and the misguided testimony of respectable citizens blinded by public feeling, together with the work of a poll, tically ambitious district attorney campaigning for governorship on a platform of criminal convictions, combine to make an open-and-shut case against the helpless prisoner. Preston Foster, Ann Dvorak, and John Beal are seen in the featured roles. They are supported by a cast of forty-odd that includes many prominent players. ‘ Hollywood Cowboy/ a thrilling 8.K.0. Radio western film,_ lends excellent support. George O’Brien appears as a Hollywood actor who takes a holiday in the cattle country in which he had spent his early years. _ He meets a pretty girl, played by Cecilia Parker, and is tempted to take work on her aunt’s farm as a cowboy. The dramatic interest of the film is introduced with the arrival of a gang of city criminals who endeavour to break up the peaceful life of the farming community. The film comes to an exciting and highly satisfactory conclusion. Others prominent in the cast are Joe Gaits, Frank Milan, and Charles Middleton. INTRIGUING LIGHT COMEDY HARLOW AHD TAYLOR CO-STARRED Unabated enthusiasm over the film ‘ The Man in Possession ’ has caused the management' of the Empire to' retain this brilliant comedy for a further week. Taylor and Harlow have never been teamed before, but the wisdom of the choice is demonstrated by the finished product;—one of the best of the type of light comedy which Metrq-Goldwyn-Mayer does so well. Complicated situations follow one another closely, leading up to a totally unexpected 1 climax, with dialogue of real cleverness adding flavour throughout. The plot is original, and. the entire film has a sophistication of its own. . The cast .is .outstanding. It includes Reginald Owen, remembered as Myrna Loy’s fiance in that delightful comedy, ‘Petticoat Fever.’ There are alo Una O’Connor, talented character actress; E. E. Clive, Hollywood veteran; and Cora Wotherspoon. Those who go to the Empire expecting the type of entertainment that Jean Harlow alone was capable of providing, will not be disappointed. And, even talking into account the fact that she has opposite her the screen’s newest, most romantic hero, she is not overshadowed. The picture is definitely hers, and she has made the most of it. Taylor is uniformly good. Then too one must remember that W. S. Van Dyke was the director. It is seldom that one of his .pictures fails to reach the highly popular class. * Man in Possession ’ will strike the fancy of filmgoers. It will appeal to their sense of humour; its witticisms and its worldliness will do much to enhance the good reputation that Robert Taylor and. Jean Harlow built up for themselves. Taylor, who comes straight_ from his brilliant romantic, role opposite Greta Garbo in ‘ Camille/ plays comedy with a lightness that shows his talent. He is the ne’er-do-well son of_ an English family who becomes butler in the house of his brother’s fiancee, an American widow. Jean Harlow is the widow, posing as a wealthy woman, actually iroproverished and pursued by her creditors. Taylor, a magistrate’s officer, is given the task of watching her personal effects. In short, he is bailiff. The charming widow persuades him to pose as her butler, in order that her wealthy fiance will be deceived, marry her, and restore prosperity. The fiance is not deceived —he is the bailiff’s own brother. The two start a contest to win the lady’s heart. Naturally, the handsome hero wins. It is a comedy with an air of whimsicality that will feature, starring the newlydiscovered Deanna Durbin, and another ‘ March of Time ’ film, are the shining lights of the supporting programme. The former is a bright little miniature that must surely be the most attractive musical featurette this year.

‘HEAD OVER HEELS’ JESSIE MATTHEWS FEATURED Tuneful, colourful, and possessing love Interest of a wholesome and refreshing variety, ‘ Head Over Heels,’ which is the (principal attradtion at the State, was screened in Dunedin for the first time yesterday. Large audiences at all sessions appreciated to the full every minute of the bright entertainment, which was delightfully musical, entertaining, and punctuated with dancing turns supplied by the vivacious Jessie Matthews, whom,the British film producers are soon to lose to Hollywood. The film succeeds in establishing the young actress on a higher pinnacle than any of her previous performances. The star exploits her charming personality to advantage, rises to great emotional heights when the occasion demands it, dances with exquisite artistry, and sings her way from scene to scene with a voice of fine range and beauty. With her constantly in the picture the song “ hits ” seem to harmonise with the action of the piece. Melody follows melody in orderly sequence, and the numbers which lend enchantment to the drama are ‘ Through the Courtesy of Love,’ ‘ Head Over Heels in Love,’ ‘ May T Have the Next Romance AVith You,’ 1 Don’t Give a Good Gosh Darn,’ ‘ Lookin’ Round Corners,’ and ‘ There’s Look ig Yflur Eyes Again.’-

One thought emerged from the picture, and that was that while America may make Miss Matthews a greater star in the future, she can hardly become more charming and admirably suited to any future role than she has in ‘ Head Over Heels.’ The setting for the film is Paris, and its action centres round struggling artists of various de. scriptions. A chance meeting throws together a little cabaret singer, Jeanne (played by Miss Matthews), a struggling sound engineer to a broadcasting station, and an insincere young actorphilanderer. A love theme develops, in which Jeanne’s affections turn to the worthless actor. She sets him on the road to fame, but when his chance of a Hollywood engagement comes his way he has no compunction in deserting her. The more solid and sincere engineer of inventive genius (a role which Robert Flemyng plays with distinction) mends the broken shreds of the romance, hut many are the complications which have to be surmounted before lie and Jeanne realise that their paths through life must follow the same course. The final scene is literally “ full of punch,” and sees the treacherous actor knocked out and Jeanne and Pierre, her engineer-lover newly acquired of a fortune, marching off to gaol together between gendarmes whose efforts to restore the peace were distinctly disastrous to their usually immaculate appearance. The production goes with a rhythmic swing, and introduces dancing and novelty turns of the type usually associated with Miss Matthews. The caste is particularly well chosen, with the star’s principal supports being Louis Borrell, Robert Flemyng, Whitney Bourne, and Paul Leyssac.

OCTAGON’S ATTRACTIVE OFFERING MYSTERY AND "SINGING COWBOY!" A varied programme was offered at the Octagon Theatre yesterday when two most enjoyable pictures were presented. First there was ‘ The Great Gambia!,’ which provides sufficient mystery to keep the audience in a state of suspense to the last reel. The story has some novel aspects which • add to the entertainment. For instance, after it has been shown that each character in the play could logically have committed the crime,.a new note in murder films is handed the audience by interrupting the picture before the denouement and giving the audience a minute in which to solve the murder—with the time clocked off on the screen. Akim Tamiroff is a magician and mind reader who warns the parties interested of the impending murder, and then mysteriously appears to help solve it, thereby putting William Demarest, the not-so-smart detective and Edward Brophy to shame. Other roles are well handled by Reginald Denny, Genevieve Tobin, Marian Marsh, and John Trent, and the picture was directed by Charles Vidor. , . , The second picture ‘ Blazing Sixes is a story of the wild west in the days when law was the six-shooter. Dick Foran is the featured player and the story centres about the rounding up of a gang of bandits by _ Government agents (the G-men of their day). The star is shown operating in the disguise of an ordinary cowhand. During the course of his investigations he falls in love with the pretty owner of the Diamond M ranch. Foran is heard to advantage in a number of cowboy songs. •STORM IN A TEA CUP’ Adapted from an original German play, a clever, hilarious comedy produced by the Victor SavillerUnited Artists Company, ‘ Storm in a Teacup ’ drew a largo and enthusiastic audience to the Regent last evening. Although enjoyable from the very beginning, this film has the rather rare distinction of becoming steadily better as it proceeds, until it ends in one of the most delightful court room sequences ever perpetrated. Almost Gallic in its lightness and incisive wit, the story is set in Scotland, and with the hero an Englishman and another important character an Irishman, the opportunity provided for much hearty and healthy fun at the expense of national characteristics is fully indulged l in. ‘ Storm in a Teacup ’ is well named, for it is truly a story of much ado about nothing. As one would expect, therefore, the central thread is of gossamer quality:’ it is the interwoven comedy and the rich character _ drawing that distinguishes the picture. Victor Saville’s treatment has the same lightness of touch, the same smooth gaiety as that of the great I rench director, Rene Clair. . The storm arises when an old Irish woman living in a Scottish town is unable to pay her dog tax. Fines mount up, but- she still cannot pay, so she appeals to the provost to save her dug. (But the provost has had his head turned by public adulation and the excitement of standing for Parliament, and the old woman is turned away with a flea in her ear. However, an English reporter, with a keen sense of fair play, takes up the oudge&s for her, and from that small beginning the affair develops into a “ cause celehro which rocks Scotland! from end to end and even extends across the border. The necessary romantic problem is supplied by the crusading reporter being in love with the daughter of his archenemy, the provost. There is a lifelike quality about the characters, and some of the situations that neatly balances the more farcical sequences, and many of the shafts of wit aimed at Scottish Bumbledom in particular could find a target in local government generally. The acting is entirely in tune with the direction and the theme. As the reporter-hero, Rex Harrison (seen briefly in ‘ Men Are Not Gods ’) leaps to the fora as one of those refreshing young personalities who depend more on acting ability than bn good looks to make an audience want to see more of them. Vivien Leigh is his leading lady, and she strengthens the conviction gained from ‘ Fire Over England ’ and ‘ Dark Journey ’ that she is England’s most promising hox-office heroine. Sara Allgood' is richly comic as the old Irishwoman. Upon the proper interpretation of the provost’s character really depends the success of the play, and Cecil Parker gives an outstanding performance in the part of a man so carried away by self-admiration that he has almost forgotten how to he human. There are other brilliant character cameos contributing to make ‘ Storm in a Teacup ’ as fine a piece of light entertainment as the British studios have turned out in many a long day. ‘ Three Little Wolves,’ the Silly Symphony Cartoon on the supporting programme, is one of Disney’s masterpieces..

‘GOOD OLD SOAK’ WALLACE REERY AS THE STAR ‘ Good Old Soak ’ opened yesterday on the screen at the St. James, with Wallace Beery as the star. An appreciative audience indicated its pleasure at Beery’s superb characterisation and warmly applauded a capable supporting cast. The story, by Don Marquis, depicts a typical situation in the average American small-town family durug the era of Prohibition. Beery, in what is without doubt his most touching role to date, brings to life the lackadaisical character who left work to keep up with the speakeasies. When the family fortune goes missing lie, of course, is blamed. He proceeds to find the guilty persons, and the manner in which ho restores the money and reunities his family makes a story which should provide many laughs for audiences. In the leading role Beery, it is said, utilises his wide knowledge of human nature and infuses a remarkable warmth into the character. In the supporting cast Una Merkel gives an excellent portrayal, and Eric Linden makes a great success of his part as the son or the “ Old Soak./ Judith Barrett pleases with her singing of ‘ You’ve Got a Certain Something.’ It is a satire of a fin© order, and the director, J. Walter Ruben, showed rare perception in his filming of the highlights of a never-to-be-forgotten period in American history. Outstanding in support of Beery and Una Merkel are Betty Furness, Ted Healy, and Janet Beecher. Others who offer true-to-lifo small-town characterisations include George Sidney, Robert M'Wade, James Bush, and Margaret Hamilton. In ‘ Good Old Soak ’ the panorama of the American scene during the “ era of drought ” is pictured with all the whimsical humour that Don Marquis injected into his own inimitable description. It is a charming story, laughable, ironical, and, above all, vastly entertaining. A programme of associate features was also screened, including an “ Our Gang ” comedy, ‘ Hearts Are Trumps/ and ‘ Oriental Paradise/ a Fitzpatrick colour traveltalk, and a selection of newsreels.

A GRIPPING DRAMA NATURAL YET COHVINGIHG Those who want to see a picture with a good story honestly written and as sincerely produced, without tho usual “ slick ’’ tricks so useful and ornamental in covering up deficiencies of plot and writing, should see ‘ The Man in Blue,’ an unpretentious Universal picture, at tho Strand, which is not only splendidly acted, but presented by Milton Carruth with such quiet compelling force that it is lifted far above the average routine film. Unusually entertaining, because of the grip of its narrative, it is dramatic without being spectacularly so. It holds the attention throughout, as much by solid characterisation as by its excellentlyconstructed and gripping story. The simplicity and sincerity with which the story is told is one of the picture’s many merits. Every seen© in this film advances the narrative while developing its tension. Drama, is not presented for the sake of its effect; it arises from sequences that follow naturally the trend _ of a plot which achieves its climax without tho least forcing of fact or coincidence. It is a straight-out story of a boy who is adopted by the constable who shot his father in tho execution of his duty. The dialogue is so good that its perfection and naturalness, its constant individual touch, almost pass unnoticed, especially as they subtly infuse into the story a strength of its own to emphasis© the excellence of the production in general. A very human and convincing document, ‘ The Man in Blue ’ is_ distinguished by fine character studies. In the title role Edward Ellis gives a sympathetic study, worthy of a major production. Robert Wilcox is also excellent and restrained as Frankie Dunne, who. as a boy, is intelligently played by Billy Burrud. Ralph Morgan, as the professor, shows once again how cleverly he can hide the real intentions of a character until the right psychological moment. Nan Grey makes a fine June Hanson.

Gay with lilting tunes, sparkling with happiness, and bringing to the screen for the first time ‘ The Riviera,’ a brand new dance, Republic Pictures’ merry, musical production, ‘ Dancing Feet,’ starring Eddie Nugent, Joan Marsh, Ben Lyon, and Isobel Jewell, in support, is a story of a society heiress who goes Broadway just to show the man she loves that she can earn her own living. Joan was a spoilt society heiress with a will of her own, and when her grandfather demanded that she stop seeing Ben it was just too much for her, so she left the house to find Ben and get him to marry her right away. Ben was in bed suffering from a drinking bout, so off Joan went again, determined to find something to do and make her grandfather and Ben sorry. Her first job was as a dance hostess at the Dreamland Night Club, where she met Eddie, who changed her whole mode of life—for Eddie was an ideal dancing partner, and his ambitions appealed to the dancing strain in her, so together they mapped out a new routine in which they set the whole country dance crazy with their dancing feet. Adapted from the novel of Bob Eden, author of ‘ Twenty Dollars a Week,’ ‘ Dancing Feet ’ has been brought to the screen by Joseph Santley, of many a stage musical production, , A FINE DOUBLE

HORTON AND 1 ROAD BACK' Telling tho story of what happened in Germany after the Armistics, ‘ The Road Back,’ now at tho Mayfair, is a film of considerable interest. The story has been produced by James Whale, who made ‘Show Boat ’ and ‘ Journey’s End.’ It relates the adventures of returning love-hungry soldiers; the drama of the wives who waited; the sweethearts who stirred their boy friends to jealous violence. _ It portrays most vividly the food riots, tho feverish unrest of an entire nation surging toward revolution. The soldiers start their march hack home and hear about the Kaiser’s flight and the revolution in Berlin. ‘ The Road Back ’ boasts a cast including 2,000 players, notable among them being Barbara Read, John King, Richard Cromwell, and Slim Summerville. Edward Everett Horton plays a combination of Tarzan, human fly, and racing driver in Universal’s comedy, ‘ Oh, Doctor! ’ which supports. The picture is based on Harry Leon Wilson’s novel of tho same name. His fighting talents appear when he wrestles

with a gorilla. He crawls up and down the sides of buildings. He becomes a speed demon when he drives his car at well over the 100 miles an hour mark, and throughout he maintains the fine air_ of comedy which has long characterised the films in which he has appeared.

FOREIGN LEGION DRAMA ‘UNDER TWO FUGS' In a dramatic spectacle that rivals some of the greatest of the screen’s achievements, ‘ Under Two Flags,’ the Twentieth Century production, which will be shown at the Green Island Municipal to-night, brings to the screen Ouida’s unforgettable story of a man redeemed from the legions of the doomed by a woman’s love. The picture presents Ronald Colman, Claudette Colbert, Victor M'Laglen, and Rosalind Russell with a huge supporting cast. Colman _is a private in Prance’s Foreign Legion, loved by Miss Colbert. She, in turn, has captured the heart of M'Laglcn, his major. When Colman, _ who has fled England to atone for his brother’s crime, falls in love with beautiful Rosalind Russell, the tale begins to rise to its pealk of dramatic intensity. Will Hay has departed from the Narkover tradition and become Mr Stubbins, a brokendown solicitor, in his latest film, ‘ Where There’s A Will,’ which will be screened next Wednesday. He has an excellent cast in support. Gina Male is “ Goldie Kelly,” a member of a gang of American crooks. She successfully coaxes a gullible earl into buying her some nice jewellery. Peggy Simpson has a featured role as the young daughter of Will Hay. William Beaudine was responsible for the direction.