ENTERTAINMENTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1938, Page 12

ENTERTAINMENTS

OPERA HOUSE. A spectacular drama that storms in epic sweep over half the world, “Slave Ship,” which will be screened at the Opera House Theatre to-night and to-morrow, stands head and shoulders above the general level of film fare to take its rightful rank as the mightiest of all the sea sagas. The film, which co-stars Warner Baxter and' Wallace Beery, pictures the adventures of the last slaver as, with mutiny reddening the decks, it sails on its last desperate voyage. A honeymoon ship of horror, the slave ship also carries aboard its fury-racked hulk Elizabeth Ann, who boards the vessel for a honeymoon and finds, too late, that she is off on a trip that brings her constantly face to face with danger and death. Mickey Rooney is also aboard as a spunky cabin boy who boasts stoutly_that he is a man in a man’s world —and gets a chance to prove it. To Warner Baxter falls one of the most colourful roles of his career, as a romantic scourge of two oceans, defying the navies of all the world and fighting at last for love in -the greatest adventure of all. Opposite him is Wallace Beery, in a role that dwarfs all of the famed actor’s previous sea roles. As the villainous mate of the last slaver, Beery makes the big-fisted, bullheaded seaman a figure of continuous interest, genial and treacherous to his dying breath. George Sanders, Jane Darwell and Joseph Schildkraut are among those featured in the film, which presents all the emotional throb and surge that makes the blood leap and the heart pound with eager excitement, in a saga so heroic that only the screen could encompass its grandeur, only the ocean inspire its greatness.

REGENT THEATRE. John Howard, handsome, seriousvisaged former philosophy student, makes his first appearance in a comedy in “Mountain Music,” a satire of life in the hills, co-starring Bob Burns and Martha Raye, concluding to-night. In “Mountain Music,” he plays the role of Burns’ kid brother who steals his brother’s gal, pretty Terry Walker, while the Arkansas drawler is suffering from amnesia. A DOCTOR’S .DIARY. A motion picture that has been called “The ‘Front Page’ of the medical profession,” “A Doctor’s Diary,” concludes to-night at the Regent Theatre. Telling the story of a young physician’s romance and hardships, “A Doctor’s Diary” has John Trent, Helen Burgess and George Bancroft in top roles. Much of its action takes place behind the scenes in a modern hospital. “VOGUES IN 1939.” Recent films in technicolour have, if anything, been too lavishly endowed with bright tints and hues, so that much of the effect has been wasted. But it is not so with “Vogues of 1938,” which commences at the Regent tomorrow for three sessions, 10 a.m., 2-15 p.m., and 8 p.m., and also on Monday and Tuesday. Warner Baxter is the star, filling a difficult role with considerable success. Opposite him appears Joan Bennett, more attractive than ever, in a love story that is straight-forward enough, but pleasant for its lack of excessive complication. Baxter appears as the proprietor of Curson’s dress-designing establishment. He has a wife whose only ambition is to be on the stage, in the star rolls that were denied when she was a chorus girl. Joan Bennett is the daughter of a fashionable set, who rejects a wealthy husband on the wedding day and goes to work for Baxter. Gradually she becomes indispensable to Baxter, whose wife' proves her worth in running off with the promoter of the stage show that ruins him. In -the end, naturally, all comes right, when he is rescued from bankruptcy by a last lucky stroke. On the fashion side the film is unusually interesting. The colour gives a naturalness that is very pleasing, and in addition there are a number of really good song and dance numbers.