PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22989, 21 June 1938, Page 7

PICTURE THEATRES

EMPIRE ‘ Big City,’ the film now at the Empire, is a dramatic story of a taxi-cab war in New York, with spencer Tracy as a taxi driver and Luise Rainer as his Rumanian wife. Thrills of pitched battles, a “ frame-up,” a glimpse into the “ inside ” of taxi-cab “ racketeering,” are backgrounds for the romance. One of the more elaborate scenes is a replica of the annual sportsmen’s dinner at Jack Dempsey’s restaurant in New. York. A production unit went to New York to film this sequence in the actual restaurant, and Dempsey and many other noted boxers and wrestlers appear in the episode. Frank Borzage directed the picture, based on an original story by its producer, Norman Krasna. Players include Charley Grapewin, Janet Beecher, Eddie Quiilan, and Victor Varconi. One of the most impressive church ceremonies in the world was reproduced with every detail authentic for one of the dramatic'highHghts. This was the High Mass of the Rumanian Church, sung with some of the oldest ecclesiastical music in existence. The scene was filmed for the episode in which Luise Rainer, falsely accused of a crime and sought by the police,, takes refuge in a Rumanian Church in New York. FORMBY’S FUNNIEST. ‘ I See Ice ’ is shortly to be released at the Empire by British Empire Films, and' George Formby’s latest picture should be a riotous success. This A.T.P. entertainment is claimed to provide that master comedian with even greater comedy opportunities than those of any of his previous films, which include ‘Keep Fit’ and ‘Keep Your Seats, Please.’ It is a rollicking'story of a country boy” making good”’ as a photographer’s assistant whose ingenious camera, which he conceals in his tie, is a terrific asset in leading himself and his girl friend to fortune. His great ambition, to become a member of the staff or a London newspaper, leads George into some screamingly funny and embarrassing situations. Watch him at a dinner party, ruining, through an uncontrollable fit of hiccups, a soulful excerpt from ‘ Tannhauser ’ sung by Gavin'Gordon, his adventures on a train en route to London on which he pulls the communication cord, and makes his “ get-away ” from the resultant confusion by masquerading as an unbalanced lady, and the final spectacular mixup at an ice hockey match where some members of the team are detailed to seize George’s camera at any costs. It is an ideal vehicle for the unassuming methods of the star, who, in addition to the robust incidents cited, scores easily on his urgent yet naive romance, and on his handful of bright songs sung to his own ukulele accompaniment. George is admirably backed up by the pertness and; feminine charm of Kay Walshe as Judv, his girl friend, and’ the suave villainy of Cyril Ritchards.

GRAND Loretta Young and Don Amecbe are the stars in ‘‘Love Under Fire,’ which will conclude to-night at the Grand. It is a brilliantly produced film in which comedy and drama are cleverly intermingled. Forced by trickery into the belief that she is a hunted thief, Loretta Young seeks obscurity in Spain, only to meet a Scotland Yard detec-, tive, played by Don Ameche, who is on a “ busman’s holiday ” and is seeking excitement. They find it in plenty. DRAMA AND COMEDvI Barbara Stanwyck and Preston Foster, who scored a hit with their first appearance as a romantic team in ‘Annie Oakley,’ are together again in ‘ The Plough and the Stars,’ a tragedythreatened romance woven around the exciting drama of the Irish Insurrection of 1916. It will be shown to-mor-row at the Grand. ‘ The Plough and the Stars,’ which draws its title from the emblem on a flag, treats of the plight of a Du'Ain girl whose marital romance is threatened with disaster because of her young husband's loyalty to the Irish Citizen Army. The supporting players include Sean O’Casey, Una O’Connor. Barry Fitzgerald, Denis O’Dea, Eileen Crowe, Arthur Shields, J. M. Kerrigan, F. J. M'Cormick, Moroni Olsen. Erin O’Brien-Moore. and Bonita Granville. Six girls, living within the shadows of Broadway’s bright lights, are the leading characters in ‘ Walking Down Broadway,’ Twentieth Century-Fox hit k which will be the ' associate feature. The heartcatching story of their desperation and longing, laughter, and triumph, makes a, picture described as being as brightly exciting as Broadway itself. STRAND Thrills and comedy are well balanced in the excellent programme at the Strand this week. Boris Karloff, the master of many “ horror ” films, is cast in another fascinating role in ‘ The Man Who Changed His Mind,’ but this time he does not enter so much into the realms of gruesomencss. He plays the part of a scientist who is obsessed with a fantastic theory regarding the transference of souls from one body to another, and, although the plot exceeds the bounds of credibility, it is logically unfolded with gripping drama from start to finish. Anna Lee gives an excellent performance as Karloff’s assistant in his queer experiments, and John Loder is also well cast as her fiance, who becomes involved in one of the experiments. Donald Calthrop and Frank Collier head the supporting cast. The second attraction on the programme, ‘ She Had To Eat,’ is a delightful comedy with plenty of action. It concerns the adventures of a young man who is marooned in a strange city, thanks to the efforts of an eccentric millionaire, and immediately becomes involved in a series of brushes with the law because of his resemblance to a notorious gangster. Jack Haley has the leading role, and is ably assisted by Eugene Pallette. Rochelle Hudson, and Arthur Treacher. REGENT One of the 10 best pictures produced in 1937, the United Artists masterpiece ‘ Dead End ’ is being screened < at the Regent. ‘ Dead End ’ has as its first object the conveying of a lesson, hut incidentally it presents much entertainment. The conflict in New York between the very rich and the very poor provides the draamtic theme for the picture, which suffers not a bit by reason of the fact that the problem it delineates is not present in New Zealand to anything like the degree that New York knows. Sylvia Sidney and Joel M’Crea are starred at the head of a great cast. Miss Sidney has her greatest role as Drina, the girl who

valiantly fought a losing battle to keep her little brother Tommy from the gangster’s fate ahead of him and to raise them both out of the slums. M'Crea is seen as Dave, the poor architect she loved, who dreamed of tearing down all the tenements in the world, and who loved the beautiful Kay, played by Wendy Barrie, who had found a way out of the slums into luxury. Humphrey Bogart plays “ Baby Face ” Martin, the killer, drawn hack from his gangland haunts to the slum where he was reared, by an irresistible-yearning to see his mother and his boyhood sweetheart, Francey, once more—who faced the cold steel of the G-men’s bullets, all to find that his mother hated the very sight of him and that Francey had taken life the easiest way. The ‘ Dead End ’ kids from tho original New York stage cast are seen again in their unforgettable characterisations. ‘ PORTIA ON TRIAL.’ Given sincere and sympathetic treatment, and telling the story of a woman lawyer, the film, ‘ Portia on Trial,’ coming on Friday to the Regent, is an example of the high standard reached by Hollywood studios in the dramatic art. Taking the leading role, that of Portia Merriman, is the star of stage and screen, Frieda Inescourt, and the principal male role is handled by Walter Abel. Others prominently cast are Neil Hamilton, Heather Angel, Ruth Donnelly, Barbara Pepper, Anthony Marsh, and Clarence Kolb. The studio has chosen outstanding dramatic material for the screen play, for the story was written by Faith Baldwin, noted American authoress. The manner in which the book has been treated establishes ‘ Portia on Trial ’ as a strong dramatic production worthy of the attention o! any mature audience. It is said to be a film of the type that can keep an audience hushed throughout its screening time, and to possess a strength seldom seen on the screen. STATE Jessie Matthews, the British dancing star, and Jack Whiting, the Broadway singer and dancer,, aro joined in

the lead of ‘ Sailing Along,’ which is at the State. There is an aura of freshness surrounding the whole production, and the same gay and tuneful breeziness that makes any Jessie Matthews film well worth seeing. | Sailing Along ’ seems to be just the picture for which she has been waiting, for it is the best and strongest link in a chain of outstanding musical films. The story is one of those delightful wisps of froth which is in itself a joy. Jessie Matthews plays a “ dance struck” girl of the river Thames, who wins her nig chance through an eccentric millionaire. She has one of those squabbly but happy romances witli the son of her adopted father, and this is complicated by her meeting with the actorproducer with whom she works. The songs arc satisfactorily tuneful, and the tap duos by Miss Matthew!; and Jack Whiting arc a delight. Tho honours for the supporting cast are divided among Noel Madison as the Press agent, Alastair Sim as the artist, and Athene Scylcr as the elderly spinster The supporting programme includes a brilliantly-conceived and dramatically-executed piece of defence propaganda which holds an intense interest. ANOTHER “PIMPERNEL” EPISODE. The cricket match of the eighteenth century was a much more elaborate event than one sees to-day. In tiiose days the duration of the match was declared, a local public holiday, and practically every person in the area would come to watch it. An interesting sequel from ‘ The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel,’ which will come to the State on Friday, illustrates one of these old-time matches. The scene features Barry K. Barnes, who plays the Pimpernel, and Sophie Stewart as Lady Blakeney, with a crowd of 200 extras in the gaily-coloured costumes of the eighteenth century. ‘ The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel,’ which is released by United Artists, is a sequel to the first Baroness Orczy story, and continues the adventures of the gallant English nobleman who saved thousands of aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution. In ad-

dition to Barry K. Barnes and Sophie Stewart, the east includes Margaretta Scott, Janies Mason, and Allan Jeayes.

OCTAGON 1 In Old Chicago,’ one of the Fox Film Corporation’s latest releases, is still proving popular at the Octagon. It is a highly dramatic and exciting story of the early days of one of America’s greatest cities. In many respects it follows the general style of that recordbreaking success, 1 San Francisco,’ with the exception that the great earthquake is replaced by the historic fire which all bub razed the city to the ground. The theme is an immense one that has been handled with skill and imagination, and the result is a thrilling production which captures the attention from the outset and holds it to the end. An excellent cast has been assembled for the presentation of the main roles, and the mob scenes, winch are many, have been cunningly and effectively contrived. At the head of jdio cast is that talented young man, Tyrone Power, who made his name in ‘Lloyd’s of London.’ As-the saloon keeper and down-town _ maker and breaker of politicians, he is responsible for a performance of unusual intensity and finish. His personality dominates the entire story, and he builds his part up to a most effective and convincing climax. In the leading feminine role is Alice Faye, who appears as a music hall star whose destiny becomes strangely mixed up with the fortunes of the hero. Hers is a difficult part, but she manages it exceptionally well, and proves to be an excellent partner for Tyrone Power. Alice Brady finds herself with a part of generous opportunity as Mrs O’Leary, mother of the saloon keeper SWIFT-MOVING COMEDY. ‘Bringing Up Baby,’ a fast-paced modern comedy romance, with Katharine Hepburn as an heiress animated with mischief, end Cary Grant in an equally bizarre hut contrasting role as the victim of her torments, will have its Kew Zealand premicro on Friday at the Octagon. Miss Hepburn portrays

an impetuous society girl who always gets what she wants, and* wanting Cary Grant, a staid and dignified professor of zoology, she does her best to break up his impending marriage to his secretary. Grant, however, has only one interest in life—the completion of the skeleton of a giant dinosaur at his museum. Miss Hepburn, with the aid of a tame leopard, entices him from his work, and involves him in a flood of complications in which their exploits, the leopard’s escape and pursuit over the Connecticut countryside, a 1,000,OOOdol bequest, a big game hunter, Miss Hepburn’s domineering aunt, a boastful Irishman, and a suspicious psychiatrist are all tangled together in one riotous piece of screen fare.

ST. JAMES James Bridie s adaptation of a popular Continental story is seen in Storm in a Teacup,’ now at the St. James. Taken from a play that has been popular for several years throughout Europe and Great Britain, Storm in a Teacup ’ was originally written by Bruno Frank, an animal lover, m Germany. The author intended the play to be an exposure of the fact that the excessive dog tax in his country compelled many poor people to send their pets to the lethal chamber. It is also, incidentally, a . humorous exposure of civic pomposity and political humbug. James Bridie, in his play, has drawn a rich range of types and a vivid picture of life in a small Scottish community. Frank 'Burdon, a young English reporter, obtains a post on a small Scottish newspaper, and is left m charge during the proprietor s absence. Ordered to interview the Provost; a self-important individual with aspirations to found a Scottish national party, he publishes instead a slashing attack on that individual for refusing to hear the appeal of an Irish widow whose dog, because she had been unable to pay the license fee, has been, condemned to death. The reporter is m love with the Provost’s daughter, and refuses to withdraw his criticism, and she eventually comes over to his side. Mr Jack Carter, the yodelling cowboy, gives a stage presentation. BING’S BRIGHTEST. Bing Crosby heads the cast of ‘ Double or Nothing,’ which, with ‘Hold ’Em, Navy,’ will open a season at the St. James on Friday. Bing Crosby’s vocal feats are not made the excuse for the story of | Double or Nothing,’ although Bing contributes more than a fair share of his vocal talent. Martha Haye provides the perfect foil, for the star. Andy Devine and William Frawlev are included in the cast, and they all enter for the mad 30-day race to a fortune. The story relates how Axel Clark, an eccentric millionaire, leaves a will which calls for the throwing away at random of 25 purses, each with a 100-dollar bill and an address on it, to test the public’s honesty. What happens when the purses are picked up provides the humour. ‘ Hold ’Em, Navy, the associate feature, stars Lew Ayres, Mary Carlisle, John Howard, Benny Baker, and Elizabeth Patterson. Although it is another Annapolis story, it has the different twist which makes it of interest. MAYFAIR Stirring adventure from the pen' of Rudyard Kipling can be seen in its film adaptation in the programme concluding to-night at the Mayfair. Victor M'Laglen and . Shirley Temple are co-starred ,in . the leading roles of this feature, which is entitled ‘ Wee Willie Winkle,’ The action takes place in a colourful Indian setting. Will Hay is seen in the second attraction, ‘ Windbag the. Sailor,’ as a captain who has absolutely no knowledge of nautical matters. He becomes involved in a mutiny and ends up on a South Sea island. • ESPIONAGE.' Mingling intrigue with romance and humour that also have their place m the news, ‘ Espionage ’ will be. shown to-morrow at the Mayfair. With Edmund Lowe and Madge Evans in the leading roles, this picture was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is the glamorous story of two American newspaper workers, both assigned to trace a millionaire munitions manufacturer at a time when his movements are of vital importance to the world. Neither of them is aware that the other is a reporter from the opposition paper. Madeleine Carroll, Francis Ledcrer, and Mischa Auer are starred in Columbia’s zestful new romantic comedy, ‘ It’s All Yours,’ which will be the second attraction. Directed by Elliott Nugent from a screen play by Mary C. M'Call, jun.. the film moves through more romantic complications than ever Cupid planned. Supporting the principals Is an imposing cast, including J- C. Nugent. Grace Bradley, Victor Kihan, George M‘Kay, and Charles Waldron.