PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22883, 15 February 1938, Page 14

PICTURE THEATRES

OCTAGON An excellent double-feature programme of a diversified nature is at present being screened at the Octagon, the attractions being ‘ It Happened In Hollywood ’ and ‘ Adventure’s End.’ Starring Richard Dix and Fay Wray, ‘ It Happened In Hollywood ’ is an entertaining film on the lines of ‘ A Star Is Born,’ as it tells of the struggles of two “ silent ” stars when sound was introduced to pictures. One of the chief features of the film is a party of “ stand-ins ” —the doubles of famous stars. The second film, ‘ Adventure’s End,’ tells a thrilling tale of the sea, in which whaling adventures, hurricanes, and a mutiny play important parts. The cast is headed by John Wayne'and Diana Gibson, and another prominent member is Paul White, a negro entertainer from the New York stage. The photography and scenery are outstanding.

EDWARD E. HORTON STARRED. A feature of the new Edward Everett Horton film, ‘ The Man in the Mirror, which is coming to the Octagon on Friday, is the dialogue, which has a “ punch ” and a laugh in every line. F M'Grew Willis was responsible for the writing, and he is said to have done very good work indeed. This man has been in films for 20 years, and has written sub-titles and dialogue for more than 350 major Hollywood films. Among -the most striking comedies written by Mr Willis may be mentioned Twin Beds.’ ‘Dp i n Mabel’s Room, ‘ Charley’s Aunt,’ ‘ The Nervous Wreck,’ ‘ Her Temporary Husband ; and ‘Meet. the Wife.’ M'Grew Willis was supervisor for Cecil B. de Mule s films for three years. Hj& went to -kngland in 1936 and has since worked on ‘ You Must Get Mamed,’ She Got What She Wanted,’ ‘ Song of Freedom and others. His own play. Canal Zone,’ is to he produced in New York this year. The supporting film will be ‘ Career Woman,’ with Clair© Trevor and Michael Whalen.

REGENT It is some time since Stanley Lupino appeared on a Dunedin screen, and theatregoers will welcome his return in ‘ Over She Goes,’ which is enjoying a successful season at the Regent. One of the leading English comedians, Lupino is at his best in this gay film packed full of hilarious situations, clever 'dialogue, and tuneful melodies. _ Teamed with Lupino in his new film is Laddie Cliff, who almost equals the star in his ability to raise laughs. The story deals with a charming young girl’s attempts to force a handsome young nobleman to propose to her. In this she succeeds, but amusing complications set in and all manner of ways are introduced to allow the course of true love to run smoothly. Comedy situations abound and_there are some exceedingly amusing incidents before the climax is reached. Four beautiful actresses support the comedy team. They are Claire Luce, Gina Malo, Sally Gray, and Judy Kelly, all of whom give. excellent. performances. On© of the most interesting features of the film is. the appearance of Max Baer, as a famous American boxer who causes Lupino many anxious moments. Several new songs and, some excellent dancing add to-the excellent entertainment the film offers. Scenes on a lights house are particularly outstanding.' There is a varied and highly-entertain-ing programme of features fully up to the high standard set by the Regent.

FINE TECHNICOLOUR MUSICAL. . The first big-scale musical filmed in tbe advanced technicolour, * Vogues of 1938,’ featuring_ Warner Baxter and Joan Bennett, is said to be all that musical entertainment should be, and it will be shown at the Regent on Friday. Catchy song hits, a host of specialty artists, wonderful spectacles, beautiful girls, distinguished acting, a clever story, .and snappy dancing are said to be just a few of the features of ‘ Vogues • of 1938,’ which should set a new standard in this type of entertainment. The story is mainly concerned with the escapades of a runaway heiress bride and the fierce rivalry between two fashion houses. Warner Baxter, in the male lead, distinguishes .himself with an unusually good characterisation, full of vim, and shot with humour. Opposite him, Joan Bennett gives a delightful performance, her charm and acting ability suiting admirably the role in which she is cast. Helen Vinson, as Warner Baxter’s extravagant and stagestruck wife, contributes much to the merriment of the story; but it is again left to Mischa Auer to provide tbe highlight among the supporting cast. Again he is an impecunious prince, and again his droll style of humour and art of expression are responsible for uncon 4 trolled mirth.

GRAND ‘ The Toast of. New York,’ a film dealing with America shortly after the Civil War, will conclude its season at the Grand this, evening. Edward Arnold and Frances Farmer, who appeared together in ‘ Come and Get It, take the leading roles in this film. | The story is highly .dramatic, iyith an attractive romantic interest. Others in the cast are Cary Grant and Jack Oakie. ‘ Good Morning, Boys,’ which supports, stars Will Hay, the famous comedian.

COMEDY AND JUNGLE DRAMA. In the middle of the weddipg a gun exploded, and a man fell. The girl reporter, who was being married, ran out of the ceremony in pursuit of the story, leaving the astonished groom-to-be standing at the altar. Ann Sothern.is the enterprising 1 young reporter, and Gene Raymond is the young man she left, behind in their thrilling screen romance, ‘ There Goes My Gin,’ which will be shown to-morrow at the Grand. Gene; Raymond and Ann Sothern were first teamed some seasons back by R.K;O. Radio in ‘ Hooray for Love, 1 So successful was this combination that they were subsequently teamed in succession in ‘ Walking On Air.’ and.‘ The Smartest Girl In Town.’ With ‘ There Goes My Girl ’ they essay their fourth co-starring venture and their most ambitious vehicle, a serious screen drama in which romance and detective thrill action are subtly combined. Certainly there will never be another picture like it. Oso Johnson presents Martin Johnson’s last adventure, the pictorial climax of his career, in ‘ Borneo,a Twentieth Century-Fox release, which will be the second film. Termed by Lowell Thomas, the picture’s narrator, as the isle of the incredible, of .the inconceivable, and of the impossible, ‘ Borneo ’ presents a startling picture record of sights seldom or never seen before by civilised man. A land where “ tall ” stories come true, Borneo is the place where fish climb trees, where snakes fly, and oysters grow on trees. Beep in the jangle monkeys have “ schnozzolas,” head-hunters lurk, Murut men blow death, and the raging “ devil-beast ” holds the land in a reign of terror.

EMPIRE The uproarious antics of the absurd Marx brothers—Groucho, . Harpo, and Chico—together with the admirable supporting work of Maureen O’Sullivan, Allan Jones, Margaret Dumont, Esther Muir, and others, combine to make ‘ A Day at the Races,’ latest Marx laugh extravaganza, which is at the Empire, one of the most amusing photoplays of this year or any other yeah It would be difficult to imagine any picture being funnier than the last Marxian epic, ‘ A Night-at the Opera,’ but their current vehicle with its hilarious plot shifting between a sanatarium and a race track, with Groucho in the role of a horse doctor, Chico as a jockey, and Hanpo as a race track tout, undoubtedly tops even the former picture for. sidesplitting situations. Then there is the excellent singing of Allan Jones in such captivating song numbers as ‘On the Blue Venetian Waters,’ ‘ To-morrow is Another Day,’ and ‘A Message from the Man in the Moon.’ Comedy predominates, however, as it cannot help .but do with the Marxes in the stellar roles, and such scenes as the trio literally pasting Esther Muir to the wall behind wall paper, or making what must be the most preposterous medical examination ever conceived of Margaret Dumont. TRACY AND TONE. The dramatic story of ‘ They Gave Him a Gun,’ which will be screened on Friday at the Empire, tells how Fred (Spencer Tracy) and Jimmy (Franchot Tone) go through the war together. Jimmy is unnerved even at home in America in the training camp, apcl faints when a detailed explanation of bayonet drill is ’ given by a sergeantmajor. Fred helps him along, and. the boy is gradually obsessed with the idea that with a gun in his hand be is a first-class killing force. On the range he shoots a possible, and on the field he silences a persistent machine gun post. He is given a medal and a wound, and through his wound he meets Rose, a nurse, who is in love with Fred. He does not know that. News of Fred’s supposed death comes through, and Rose promises to marry Jimmy. Fred comes hack, and with the generosity and broad outlook that he possesses he agrees to give up Rose. Home in America he receives a rude shook when he. sees the work that Jimmy’s gun is doing, and the film has some tense moments before Jimmy goes out to meet the same death as he has brought to so many others. Gladys George plays the nurse.

ST. JAMES The roar of navy fighting aeroplanes, the languorous romance of the tropics, a vivid, swiftly-paced story—these are the elements which Universal has combined to make top-flight entertainment of ‘ Wings Over Honolulu,’ now showing at the St. James. Wendy Barrie portrays a beautiful Virginia belle who marries a young navy officer, played by Ray Milland. The wife has no knowledge of the conventions, customs, and taboos of the naval service, and she becomes embodied in a situation which almost wrecks her husband’s career. Wendy Barrie portrays a beautiful Virginian girl who falls deeply in love with a handsome young naval flyer, Ray Milland, whose aeroplane ,is forced down near her plantation. After a whirlwind courtship they are married, but the lovely Wendy finds herself totally unprepared for the excitement, the rigid conventions, and the burning jealousies which complicate her life as a navy wife in Honolulu. She shows neither understanding nor consideration for the call of duty, which keeps her husband away from her day_ and night for long stretches. During one of his absences, the wife enters into an innocent flirtation with a former Suitor. Innocent though it is, however, the affair gives rise to a storm of scandal which brings the story to a smashing climax. FORMBY’S FUNNIEST. George Formby’s riotous screen career is continued in the entertaining comedy ‘ Keep Fit,’ which will be the next change at the St. James. Unanimously acclaimed as Formby’s funniest film to date, it provides the maximum of good, wholesome fun. George plays the role of a small-town barber who finds himself the central figure in a newspaper campaign to “ boost ” .up circulation by means of a series of athletic competitions. Although not by any means of the athletic type, George, more by good luck than good management, gains fame and a bride by winning a boxing contest. The incidents which lead up to the fight make a most amusing plot, and the pace is maintained from beginning to end.

STATE The charming personality of Shirley Temple is the outstanding feature of ‘ Wee Willie Winkie,’ which has opened a season before large at the State. This talented young player has lost some of her childlike simplicity, but this is more than compensated by her acting, which has become infinitely more clever. She is cast as the daughter of a pretty young widow who travels to Nortnern India to live_ with Iter father-in-law, a typical Indian colonel in charge of a border outpost. June Lang gives a pleasing portrayal as the girl’s mother, while an immensely amusing characterisation as the colonel is contributed by C. Aubrey Smith. Others in leading roles are Victor M'Laglen as Sergeant MacDufi and Douglas Scott as a drummer boy. The dramatic interest of the story is centred in the constant warfare between the border garrisons and the hill tribes, the film being the screen version of Kipling’s story of the same name. The picture contains : a strong lement of comedy, much of which is provided by Shirley herself, but there are some intensely dramatic moments, and several are filled with pathos. The romantic interest necessary to make the picture complete is supplied by the girl’s mother and a dashing young officer at the outpost. ‘W© Willie Winkie ’ provides excellent entertainment for all tastes. STRAND In ‘ The High Command,’ one of the excellent films now being offered for the entertainment of Strand patrons, Lionel A twill is starred as Majorgeneral Sir John Sangye, V.C. He offers the best performance of his brilliant screen career. An exceptionally strong supporting cast includes Lucy Mannheim as Diana Cloam, Steve Geray as her foreign husband, James Mason as Captain James Heverell, with whom Diana is secretly in love, and Leslie Perrins as Carson, a captain under Sangye, who knows a carefully-guarded secret of the major-general’s past, and is biding his time before revealing it. The locale of the story is West Africa, and although the whole of the picture might have been made in the studio, A.T.P. were determined to obtain the correct atmosphere, and the production units spent over two months in West Africa, where, through the courtesy of the Governors of Nigeria and the Gold Coast, they were able to obtain remarkably authentic results. The other picture is ‘ When Love Is Young,’ featuring Virginia Bruce and Kent Taylor.

MAYFAIR The emotional glory of a woman’s love; the flaming courage of a hero’s lie; the vengeful fury of a husband’s hate • intrigue, romance, adventure—with’the fate of an empire at stake! These are featured in ‘ Lloyds of London,’ the brilliant new Twentieth Cen-tury-Fox film which will bo shown finally at the Mayfair this evening. Fredclie Bartholomew and Madeleine Carroll are starred in the exceptional cast, which features Sir Guy Standing, Tyrone Power, Q. Aubrey Smith, and Virginia Field. WALLS-LYNN COMEDY. The presentation of film stars as stars in a picture has long been a favourite plot with Hollywood magnates, but few such pictures could equal the high standard set in ‘ Mad Holiday,’ which will be shown to-morrow at the Mayfair. With a most ingenious plot, brilliant direction, a host of unusual backgrounds, this film can be counted as one of the best murder mysteries yet to be shown locally. The cast alone would be sufficient to carry a film, including as it does Edmund Lowe, Ehssa Landi, Zasu Pitts, Ted Healy, Edmund Gwenn, and Walter Kingsford. ‘ For Valour,’ which will be the second film, reunites the popular combination of Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn, and in celebration of the occasion Ben Travers, that prince of comedy authors, wrote ‘ For Valour ’ especially for them. The resultant screen production is a riot of laughter, with Walls and Lynn both playing dual roles that allow full play for some amazing character acting and make-ups. ‘For Valour’ is one of the most intriguing comedies in lyhich these two stars have ever appeared, for not only does it provide them with splendid opportunities for some brilliant character acting, but also boasts a plot, the qualities of which have rarely been surpassed. Tom Walls was responsible for the direction of the picture, the action of which switches with rapidity from Boer War scenes to the Brighton front in 1937, and in and out of gaol in rollicking adventure and thrilling denouements.