PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 23146, 21 December 1938, Page 8

PICTURE THEATRES

REGENT Using as its hero the famous English actor of the eighteenth century, David Garrick, ‘ The Great Garrick,’ a gay and rollicking comedy, is the main item of entertainment on the current programme at the Regent. Brian Aherne, who won great praise for his delightful performance in the record-breaking ‘ Merrily We Live,’ has the title role, while Olivia de Havilland handles the main feminine role with _ distinction. ‘The Great Garrick ’ is not a heavy biographical sketch of the life of the famous actor, hut is a light and extremely amusing comedy. Edward Everett Horton, who has the part of Tubby, Garrick’s valet, provides a great deal of the humour of the production, while also in the cast are Melville Cooper. Lionel Atwill, and Luos Alberni. ‘ The Great Garrick ’ is entertainment at its very best, and is bound to satisfy the tastes of the most fastidious theatregoer. There is an excellent supporting programme. DEANNA’S FINEST ROLE. Packed with clever comedy, brilliant dialogue, the sparkle of youth, and the indescribable beauty of Deanna’s voice, ‘ That Certain Age,’ which will open at the Regent on Friday, can be hailed as the finest of the four pictures this star has made for Universal. Deanna sings, five numbers in ‘ That Certain Age.’ Three of these are by the popular song-writing team of M'Hugh and Adamson. These are ‘My Own,’ ‘Be a Good Scout, ’ and ‘You’re As Pretty As a Picture.’ Her two classical selections are ‘ Les Filles des Cadiz,’ by Leo Delibes, and ‘ Romeo and Juliet Waltz,’ from the opera. Noteworthy also is the fine, performance by the entire cast. Melvyn Douglas as the warweary correspondent, Irene Rich as the society-mad mother, John Halliday as the indulgent father, Jackie Cooper as the heartbroken boy friend, Peggy Stewart as the “ meanie.” little Juanita Quigley as the pest, Nancv Carroll as the “ other woman ” in Ueanna’s life, Jackie Searl, and Charles Coleman do excellent and workmanlike jobs of their roles. All in all ‘ That Certain Age ’ is the finest role Deanna has ever played, which probably means it is one of the finest pictures of the year. GRAND A sinister plot to ruin a young Westerner and his feminine partner and) force him to relinquish a milliondollar tungsten mine, comprises the basis of ‘ Painted Desert,’ newest George O’Brien starring vehicle, now at the Grand. Together with the pretty granddaughter of the old prospector who originally found the mine, the young cattleman borrows enough money to put up a stamp mill and start developing the property. But a dishonest promoter, anxious to get the valuable lode himself, launches a well-planned campaign to defraud the rancher and get the mine away from him. The campaign leads to some of the most thrilling scenes ever filmed, with the • stampede of a mule train carrying ore from the mine, a cattle stampede, a strike of the miners, and a daring scheme to blow up the mine itself as some of the highlights of the film. Added to. this is the scene of dynamiting an entire mountain top away. Revealing what goes on under the glitter and veneer of Hollywood picture-making, ‘ Fugitives for a Night,’ the second film, presents a new screen team in the persons of Frank Albertson and Eleanor Lynn, featured in a romantic drama of an unusual kind. Miss Lynn portrays a publicity girl at a large film studio, and! Albertson is a young man who acts variously as a companion, bodyguard, chauffeur, calj-boy, and jack-of-all-work for his screen-star-employer.

STRAND Nan Grey and Donald Woods Lave the leading roles in ‘ Danger on the Air,’ which is now being screened at the Strand. It is a murder mystery with a new twist and a fine climax. The othei picture is ‘ Prairie Thunder,’ in which Dick Foran, the “ singing cowboy,” is starred. The story takes one back to the days when cowboys and Indians was the favourite juvenile game, and it is full of thrills from start to finish. It tells of the adventures ol Rod Farrel, a scout, whose job it' is to keep the United States cavalry at an outpost informed of activities in the area, and he discovers a renegade white man who is urging the natives to revolt to prevent the coming of the railway. There are many fights and a pleasing romance. HUMAN ‘ HARDY FAMILY.’ The audience becomes part of a delightful family in ‘ Judge Hardy’s Children,’ third of the “ Hardy Family ” series, coming on Friday to the Strand. They share the problems of the father and mother and the joys and tribulations of the children, and they laugh with the characters rather than at them in the liomelv, down-to-earth comedy scenes. The picture, above all else, is intensely human. It

deals with people everyone knows as next-door neighbours. It is this charm which -was notable in ‘ Ah Wilderness!’ that makes the scries always a thing of joy. The new picture, a sequel to ‘ You’re Only Youim Once,’ takes the judge and his family to Washington. Mickey Rooney as the son has a flirtation with a little French girl, Cecilia Parker, as the daughter, is infatuated ■with a young State department employee, and lobbyists assail the judge, who has been appointed to a Federal commission. Mickey gets thrown out of a dancing school for teaching Jacqueline Laurent the ‘ Big Apple.’ He gets his first tuxedo, and returns to his school sweetheart at home. So does Cecilia. Lewis Stone plays the kindly judge and father, Fay Holden is the understanding mother. Robert Whitney makes his bow as a new and very adequate leading man, and Leonard Penn plays his rival for Cecilia’s love. Ann Rutherford is Mickey’s home-town sweetheart. Janet Beecher contributes clever character work as the governess of piquant Jacqueline _ Laurent, new French discovery, making her debut in American pictures. Ruth Hussey is beautiful and yet dangerous as the plotting lobbyist’s wife.

STATE A delightful romance characterises the musical film ‘ Josette,’ screening at the State. Tala Birrell is seen as a night-club entertainer in a small New Orleans town ; _ A retired elderly man, played by William Collier, sen., has a liking for her, to -the dissatisfaction of his sons (Don Artieche and Robert Young). In an effort to break him of his infatuation the sons send their father to New York, but he defeats their plan by taking the singer with him. This leaves the night-club manager without an. entertainer to head his show. To fill the breach a wardrobe mistress, played by Simone Simon, poses as the absent singer. The film has a satisfactory ending in which the father is cured of his infatuation and another romance develops between one of his sons and the wardrobe mistress (Miss Simon). ASIA I RE-ROGERS COMEDY. The endeavours of a psychiatrist to play Cupid and marry off his best friend to a noted actress is the theme of ‘ Carefree,’ (RKO Radio’s latest musical romance, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the stellar roles, coming on Friday to the State. However, the scheme runs into unforeseen difficulties when the patient falls in love with her doctor instead of with the man she is supposed to_ marry. Hilarious complications involving hypnotism, a skeet-shooting match, legal injunctions, breaking into a church, and the wrecking of a nation-wide radio programme, are among the comedy highlights of the Astaire-Rogers vehicle. Woven throughout the story are a group of tuneful melodies by Irving Berlin, and four notable dance routines—Astaire’s solo Golf Dance, a fantastic Dream Dance, the romantic ‘ Change Partners ’ number, and the “ Yam,” the new popular ballroom step that is expected to replace most of the current American dances. Ralph Bellamy heads the supporting cast, which includes the Broadway favourite Luella Gear, Clarence Kolb, Franklin Pangborn, and the new “ find,” Jack Carson. Mark Sandrich directed the Pandro S. ißerman production.

OCTAGON 'Joy of Living,’ now showing at the Octagon, is tho latest production in the new American tradition of “ crazy ” films, and it makes no mistake about its craziness. The story is that of a highly successful Broadway revue singer who is one of a long line of old troupers. Unfortunately the rest of tho family move in on their successful relative. The result is that, although she is earning the equivalent of £2.000 a week, it is insufficient to keep up with tho extravagance of the family. At the same time, certain members of the family are jealous of her 'success. All is not so well until a young man who owns a Pacific island and a tramp steamer, among other things, sets out in pursuit of the singer. The pursuit leads him at first into various police headquarters, hut eventually their place is taken by night clubs. Irene Dunne is as sparkling, and as vivacious as ever in the role of tho revue singer. Opposite her as the Young Lochinvar of the tramp steamer, is Douglas Fairbanks, jun. CHARMING ‘SNOW WHITE.’ Of the millions of persons throughout the world who see Walt Disney pictures each day, not all realise that the principal reason for their universal appeal is the manner in which Disney endows animals with human foibles. This will be found particularly true in 1 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney’s first full-length feature, commencing to-morrow night at the Octagon. This Grimms’ folk tale was chosen for production because of the opportunity to present in it many small animals, adapted to appealing treatment. There are rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, several kinds of birds, tortoises, and deers—and not a villain among them. When Snow White becomes lost in the woods and breaks down through fright, the little ani- i

mals approach her timidly and befriend her, leading her to a safe haven. This happens to be the home of the seven dwarfs, where she lives until the Prince Charming finds her weeks later. Later these same animals contribute to one of the most enchanting scenes ever pictured. This comes when Snow White finds the dwarfs’ cottage very dirty and enlists the aid of the animals in cleaning it up. Squirrels use their tails as brooms, others stack dirty dishes, and some hop up and down on the pump handle to draw water. Bright-coloured birds hang clothes on the line after other animals have washed them, using the under-side of the tortoise as a washhoard. It is the animals, too, who discover that the old hag who visits Snow White in the cottage is really the wicked Queen in disguise, ready to bewitch her with the magic apple. And it is they who warn the dwarfs, who leap on the animals’ backs and give chase to the poisoner.

ST. JAMES Kenny (Baker, though a crooner, is an artist in his own way, and even those who dislike crooning will not be justified in refraining from visiting the St. 4 James this week. The “ local boy makes good ” theme is employed in ‘ Mr Dodd Takes the Air,’ which is the current entertainment, but, unlike most pictures of the kind, the local boy prefers to revert to type and eschew the bright lights of Broadway. Claude Dodd is a born electrician, and is never happier than when he is replacing a fuse or repairing a wireless set. He has a purely local fame as a baritone singer, and Pewamo plumes itself upon contributions to its annual strawberry festivals. The inevitable happens—a mattress manufacturer secs the possibilities in the boy’s voice, and invites him to New York. Up to this point the story is largely conventional, but it then takes a novel turn. ‘ San Quentin ’ supports. POWELL AND PARSONS. Catchy songs, magnificent settings, two famous band organisations, a swiftly paced inside story of Hollywood life, a star-studded cast headed by Dick Powell and Louolla O. Parsons, are some of the elements which make up the musical ‘ Hollywood Hotel,’ which will he screened on Friday at the St. James. Inclusion in the picture of an entire broadcast of the most famous of all U.S.A. air programmes, ‘ Hollywood Hotel,’ meant adding enormously to the cost of a production already ledgered in astronomical numbers. But the Warner studio engaged the band. The result is a musical which gives the audience double value in one of the finest pictures of the year. Dick Powell in the best role of his career gives an endearing acting performance—sings tunes that will send millions away whistling them. Opposite him play two of the famous Lane sisters—Lola as a temperamental movie queen who refuses to appear at a premiere for her producer, and Rosemary as a little unknown waitress who is called in to “ double ” socially for the star. A stellar array of laugh-makers are at their rollicking best—Ted Healy as the freelance photographer who becomes Dick Powell’s manager, and Hugh Herbert as the befuddled father of the movie star, give inimitable performances. Alan Mowbray playing the handsome leading man, does it to anyone’s taste. _ Mabel Todd, Allyn Joslyn, and Johnnie Davies all outdo themselves. Benny Goodman and his famous swing hand and Raymond Paige and his orchestra are highlights. EMPIRE A bright, quick-moving comedy in the traditional musical style is ‘ Everybody Sing,’ now showing at the Empire. Catchy melodics introduced by the latest in “ swing ” technique help to keep the audinece in the best of humours. The story is that of a crazy household in which the husband is a playwright of dubious success, the wife a juvenile lead of some 20 years’ experience, the elder daughter a wouldbe singer of opera, and the younger daughter a onite involuntary “ swing ” expert. The show ends with that ‘ Paradise of Tin-pan Alley,’ a success on Broadway. Fannie Brice, Billie Burke. Reginald Owen. Lynne Carver, Reg. Gardiner, and Henry Armetta have the main rotes. The supports include a travel talk on Budapest, newsreels, and a splendid ‘ Crime Does Not Pay ’ featurette.

LAUREL AND HARDY STARRED. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy return to their best form in ‘ Swiss Miss,’ which will open a season at the Empire on Friday. The last one or two pictures featuring this inimitable pair have not been quite as good as usual, but in this film they once again touch the classic heights reached in ‘ Beau Hunks,’ ‘Bonnie Scotland,’ and their other earlier triumphs. They are cast as a couple of mouse-trap salesmen, who hope to do good business in the homo of the famous cheeses—Switzerland. Accordingly they hie themselves off. in moth-eaten fnr coats and a rickety sledue, to the Alps to vend their wares. Before long they get mixed np with a counterfeit 5,000 franc note, a large dinner, and an irate hotel pro-

prietor, with the result that they are put into the kitchen to wash dishes, under the menacing eye of a despotic chef. Their troubles are added to when they become involved in a matrimonial mix-up with a temperamental composer and his pretty wife, played by Walter Woolf King and Della Lind. In between their quarrels the latter pair present a number of attractive melodies, greatly enhancing the general appeal of the film. MAYFAIR ' Laughing Irish Eyes,’ which will be shown at the Mayfair to-night, tells a rollicking story of a young Irishman, Phil Regan, who is brought to America as a ring champion. His greater delight, however, is his fine tenor voice, and Evelyn Knapp, as his coquettish but spitfire admirer, artfully steers him from the prize ring into contracts for love and music. The latest mystery film to reach the public, Universal’s ‘ The Man Who Cried Wolf,’ is the associate feature. The leading characters in the picture are Lewis Stone, Barbara Bead, andl Tom Brown.