PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22947, 3 May 1938, Page 7

PICTURE THEATRES

EMPIRE Grace Moore’s latest film, ‘ I’ll Take Romance,’ which is now at the Empire, is a rollicking story in the humorous vein of Miss Moore's recent ‘ When You’re in Love.’ A delightful tale, it tolls of an opera singer, completely dominated by a vociferous aunt, who plans to break a contract to sing in Buenos Aires in order to accept one to appear in Paris. Jim Guthrie, a transplanted American, comes from the Argentine with his henchman, Senor Pancho Brownelles (born in Brooklyn), and things begin to happen. Melvyn Douglas plays Guthrie and proves himself the master of light comedy. Stuart Erwin was never funnier ' than as Pancho Brownelles. Helen Westley is the impetuous ex-opera singing aunt. Others in the excellent cast are Richard Carle, Esther Muir, Ferdinand Gottesshak, Walter Kingsley. Among the operatic numbers Miss Moore sings in ‘ I’ll Take Romance ’ are the Drinking Song from ‘ Traviata,’ the finale of the third act from ‘Martha,’ and gavotte from * Manon ’ and the duet from ‘ Madame Butterfly.’

TROPICAL ADVENTURE. No film in recent memory has commanded so much interest and consequently has been so eagerly awaited as ‘ Lovers and Luggers,’ Ci'nesound's action of tropical adventure, coming on Friday to the Empire. Cinesound has presented some excellent pictures in the past, but ■* Lovers and Luggers ’ sets a new production, story, acting, and, above all, a new entertainment standard for local films. Here, indeed, says one critic, is a picture Australia can proudly send overseas with every_ confidence of an enthusiastic reception. The cast of ‘ Lovers and Luggers ’ is headed by Lloyd Hughes, popular Hollywood star, who was specially “ invited ” for the starring role, and also boasts sucii screen and stage favourites as Shirley Ann Richards, James Raglan. Elaine Hamill, Sydney Wheeler, Alec Kellaway (Cecil’s brother), Frank Harvey, and Ronald Whelan. The screen play was written by Frank Harvey from the novel by Gurney Slade, and the action swings from London to the cosmopolitan port of Thursday Island to tell a fascinating story of romance and adventure woven around the pearling industry. STRAND The efforts of an aviator and a sideshow barker to solve a series of mysterious thefts and at the same time avoid arrest themselves provide exciting moments in Wheeler and Wqolsey’s comedy, ‘ High Flyers,’ which is now showing at the Strand. The comedians are seen as operators of an aeroplane concession who unwittingly steal a police aeroplane and smuggle some jewels, believing that they have been hired to transport newspaper photographs. Cracking up on the luxurious estate of the man who actually owns the jewels, the boys are obliged to pose as detectives, and endeavour to solve a series of strange thefts which are really perpetrated by a dog kleptomaniac. Romantic entanglements arise when Robert Woolsey falls in love with his host’s Spanish maid, played by Lupe Velez, and Bert Wheeler becomes enamoured -with pretty Marjorie Lord, the daughter, who is engaged to the man responsible for their plight. The associate fihm is A Late Extra;*- ■«’ REGENT Crowded and appreciative houses are greeting Deanna Durbin at the Regent in ‘ Mad About Music,’ which gives the 15-year-old star every opportunity to present girlish adolescence at its best and sweetest. As this picture develops one gradually recognises the great art with which it has be'en built up, and audiences can enjoy to the full the Deanna Durbin they so quickly loved in her two earlier pictures. They can enjoy her delightful personality—its charm and its sparkling comedy. She is “ mad about music ” only to the extent of Gounod’s ‘ Ave Maria ’ (with the Vienna Boys’ Choir) and three light modern efforts, of which ‘ I Love to Whistle ’ (sung by principal and chorus on bicycles) is the most outstanding. The star’s singing is part of her radiant self, and it would be a deprivation to hear her without seeing her, so much do the song and singer become one. Herbert Marshall, Jackie Moran, and Gail Patrick are the principals in support.

SANDY POWELL COMEDY. Sandy Powell, Britain’s inimitable comedian of radio, stage, and screen, will be seen at the Regent on Friday in ‘ It’s a Grand Old World,’ his new Action Pictures success, in which he is seen with Cyril : Richard, so popular* with theatregoers in this country, and Gina Mato. The picture, which - is a mixture of music, mirth, and melody, brings Sandy to the screen as a football fan, a radio star, a stage hand, a liontaraer, and a gambler—in fact, in just the sort of situations in which his fans expect him. Three new song hits by Jimmy Kennedy are featured in the film, these being titled * Jt’s a Grand Old World,’ ‘Bouncing Ball,’ and ‘Singing On.’ For hearty humour with a dash of musical comedy thrown in, it is claimed that the picture cannot be bettered, and that it will establish Sandy unquestionably as Britain’s premier comedian. The film was produced by Tom Arnold, who was responsible for so many of Jessie Matthews’s successes. STATE Bobby Breen, tfamous boy singer, plays another singing role in his latest film, 1 Make a Wish,’ which is drawing large audiences to the State. With him appears Marion Claire, a comparative newcomer to the screen, who has a pleasant voice, and Basil Rathbone, who takes the part of the composer who befriends Breen while he is in a boys’ camp. Much of the action takes place in this camp, which is situated near Rathbone’s home. When Rathbone retires to this country residence to work he finds that he has lost touch with his music, and it is Bobby who inspires him to write an operetta. The boy’s widowed mother comes to visit him, and Rathbone falls in love with her. He invites her to play a part in his operetta, but she goes away, preferring marriage to a rich siiitor. Rathbone is heartbroken, and he goes away also, leaving his musical work to be sent to the publisher. It is lost, but through the efforts of Bobby and his mother, who are familiar with the music, it is finally rewritten and produced. An outstanding supporting programme includes an hilarious Mickey Mouse comedy entitled ‘ Hawaiian Holiday.’ OCTAGON ‘ As You Like It,’ the long-awaited film which introduces Elisabeth Bergner to Dunedin audiences in her favourite role, is now at the Octagon. Beauti-

fully staged and photographed, the film brings Shakespeare’s gayest comedy to the screen with all its spontaneous lightheartedness preserved intact. Under the guidance of Dr Paul Ozinner (the director of ‘ Catherine the Great ’), the romance and beauty of the play have been transferred to the sound film with consummate skill. This production is undoubtedly the greatest achievement of British films. Elisabeth Bergner, the “ elfin colossus of the screen,” has the role of Rosalind. This has long been her favourite part on the stage, and she plays it with a keen enjoyment of the whimsical idea of a medieval lady of high degree masquerading as a boy in the Forest of Arden. Sophie Stewart, as Celia, provides an excellent contrast, and though her part is small in comparison with Bergner’s, she proves herself an accomplished actress. Orlando comes to life through the medium of Laurence Olivier, a star who has had many successes in Shakespearean roles on the London stage. The setting in which the play was produced at Elstree (under the direction of Paul Czinner) is idyllic. The huge Forest of Arden that was created for the production of 1 As You Like It ’ finds itself thoroughly at home. This set was rebuilt three times to show the various parts of the forest used in the story. The elaborate and spectacular finale, the wedding scene, takes place in one of the forest sets, with hundreds of peasants and shepherds in gay, flower-decked clothes, all singing, dancing, and iplaying flutes. There are two flocks of garlanded sheep amid blossoming trees. ALICE FAYE STARRED. ‘ You Can’t Have Everything ’ is the title of the new musical show coming on Friday to the Octagon. All the briliiance and freshness expected from the entertainment-makers who produced ‘Sing, Baby, Sing,’ ‘ Thanks a Million,’ ‘ On the Avenue,’ 1 One In a Million,’ and ‘ Wake Up and Live ’ is said to be surpassed by a galaxy of featured talent, which includes Alice h aye, Don Ameche, the Ritz Brothers, Charles Wiuninger, Louise Hovick, Rubinoff and his violin, Tony Martin, Arthur Tieacher, Phyllis Brooks, Tip, Tap, and Toe, Louis I’rirna and his band, and Tyler Brooke. A perfect example of his concept, proved at the box offices again and again, that entertainment in its .strictest form is the most, succcsslul, ‘You Can’t Have Everything’ is a swiftly-paced show in Darryl F. Zanuck’s best manner. Every entertainment element finds its ideal niche in the screen play by Harry Tugend, Jack Yollen, and Karl Tunberg, adapted from an original story by Gregory Ratoff. ST. JAMES The double-bill programme which is now at the St. James features ‘Thunder Trail,’ adapted from a Zane Grey tale of Arizona, and ‘ On Such a Night,’ which has for its theme a story of murder and discovery s6t against the tearing flood waters of the Mississippi Basin. It is unfortunate, as a matter of fact, that the film does not give more frequent glimpses of the floods, for there is majesty and impressiveness in these shots. Nevertheless, the tale of the hanging-to-be of Nicky Last (Grant Richards), who went astray when the flood waters caught the car in which he was riding to death, and who goes from a Red Cross refugee camp to a quiet home in Dixie, where the drama of the flood and of the crime for which Last was wrongly accused are fought out, has merit. The film is notable for the excellent performance of Eduardo Cianelli, one of the suavest villains of the screen. Karen Morley is appealing, and Roscoe Karns_and Alan Mowbray play their subordinate roles well. 1 Thunder Trail ’ deals, with the revenge of a boy whose father was shot to death in the bad days of the west, and it affords Gilbert Roland, in his first western film, opportunities which some of his more sophisticated roles never gave him. Charles Bickford does well, and the superb photography is a feature. ,

“ C/ESAR ” ON STAGE, A primitive battle to a finish, fang against claw, and no quarter asked or given, is the highlight of the picture, ‘Trailing the Killer,’ which is to be shown on Friday at the St. James. This startling motion picture marks an innovation in screen presentation, depicting, as it does, a vivid drama of the North-west' Woods, in true narrative form, and presented almost entirely by a cast of animal actors. The thrilling climax is a desperate fight between Caesar and a puma, which has killed the dog’s master. In his blind anger over the Toss of his friend and master, Caesar reverts to type, and in a frenzy of rage attacks the most dangerous animal to be found on the North American continent. Astounding as this incident is, it is but one of a series of intensely interesting scenes of wild life, which are as unusual and thrilling as anything that ever came out of the jungles. An additional feature of the production will be the appearance on the stage of the dog Caesar himself. GRAND Jane Withers’s - latest production, ‘ Wild and Woolly,’ is attracting large audiences to the Grand, where it will conclude to-night. In this fast-moving and amusing story set in the small Western town of Mesa City, which is celebrating the anniversary of its foundation, the aggressive and likeable personality of Jane Withers has ample scope for expression. Supporting Jane Withers in her schemes is Carl “Alfalfa ” Switzer, a prominent figure in ‘ Our Gang ’ comedies. There is a good supporting programme. MUSICAL AND WESTERN. ‘ Smash and Grab,’ which will be screened to-morrow at the Grand, marks Jack Buchanan as one of the two or three successful actor-producers. From time to time actors have branched out into production, but their attempts have usually been unhappy failures. Among the more successful producers who have stepped up from the ranks of the actors have been Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, James Cagney (who branched out about a year ago), and England’s Jack Buchanan. Radio’s greatest singing cowboy, Smith Ballew, becomes Harold Bell Wright’s most thrilling hero in the role of a fighting, singing, loving son of the plains who blazes a trail for gold-laden stage coaches, thundering through treacherous mountain passes that bristle with the guns of raiding desperadoes, and chanting unforgettable cowboy ballads to the tune of whining bullets in ‘ Western Gold,’ a Twentieth Century-Fox release which will be the second attraction. Replete with actionfilled entertainment, all the romance, colour, and grandeur of the tumultuous period that inspired the author to write his story, the film re-enactment of the bandit raids upon the supply of gold to the north during the Civil War features Heather Angel opposite the newest of the Western stars. MAYFAIR 1 Wings of the Morning,’ which had such a successful season in Dunedii earlier in the year, concludes to-night at the Mayfair. The story is set in tlx neighbourhood of Killarncy, and is adapted from two tales told by. Donu 1

Byrne in his well-known book, * Destiny Bay.’ An outstanding feature of the picture is the freshness and spontaneity of every scene. The leading character in the story is a young gipsy girl, who has fled to a refuge at Destiny Bay from the war in Spain. In this part Annabels, noted French actress, excels. GARBO AND TAYLOR. The exciting romantic combination of Greta Garbo with Robert Taylor undei the direction of the brilliant George Zukor, who only recently filmed the successful ‘ Romeo and Juliet,’ makes the distinguished new Metro - GoldwynMayer picture, ‘ Camille,’ which will be shown to-morrow at the Mayfair, one of the most compelling attractions the screen has ever offered its host of adherents. Never in the memory of one reviewer has there been so thrilling a love team as that revealed in ‘ Camille ’ through the unforgettably poignant portrayal of the incomparable Miss Garbo and the virile and romantic performance of Taylor, whojn this picture more than satisfies the expectations of the millions who have proclaimed him the screen’s most fascinating male actor. Featuring three of Hollywood’s most popular comedians in a rollicking screen play bubbling over with entertainment and humour, RKO Radio presents ‘ Don’t Tell the Wife.’ Guy Kibbec, Una Merkel, and Lynne Overman have the leading roles. From the play, ‘ Once Over Lightly,’ by George Holland, a Broadway success, ‘ Don’t Tell the Wife ’ was adapted for the screen by Nat Perrin, and realistic settings were designed by art directors Van Nest Polglase and Foild Gray. GREEN ISLAND A sparkling modern romance, woven about a young millionaire’s efforts to induce a girl to marry him for himself and not for his money is pictured in ‘ Smartest Girl In Town,’ starring Gene Raymond and Ann Sothern, which will be shown at the Green Island Cinema to-morrow night. Following their recent success in ‘ Walking On Air,' the Rayraond-Soth-orn team contributes an even more riotous performance in the new vehicle. Raymond, as the wealthy young man, has experienced a series of unpleasant situations which cause him to shy away from girls with a gold-digging complex. Hence, when Miss Sothern mistakes him for a poor photographer’s model like herself, Gone continues the masquerade, especially when he learns that she is centring her affections on an affluent young "man. Raymond’s ingenious schemes to cross Ann’s romantic path with bis attain ludicrous extremes, but the mirthful. rapid-fire results promise j to leave audiences weak with laughter.