ENTERTAINMENTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 August 1942, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

OPERA HOUSE —Finally To-night: “Flying Blind” and “Doomed Caravan.” Next attraction (commences to-morrow, “The Girl in the News.”

The London film critic who described ‘-The Girl in the News” as “the nearest thing to directorial perfection ever,” gave an apt description of this production wkich will be presented at the Opera House, commencing to-morrow. The background of this gripping drama, which co-stars Margaret . Lockwood, Barry K. Barnes and Emlyn Williams, is modern England with a strong detective and legal background. It tells of a young nurse who is twice wrongfully of murder and is twice acquitted through the efforts of a young lawyer, with whom she afterwards falls in love. The “black-out” is used as an excuse to prevent Roger Livesey discovering Margaret Lockwood’s hiding place; mystery and comedy is extracted from the efforts of a taxidriver to retrace a previous journey; a piece of detection hangsmn an invalid chair that will not go through a certain door; innocent portions of a dialogue are re-quoted with damaging effect; a “montage” sequence of closing doors and descending lifts shows an unavailing search for work; a reflection in a silver tray and a “closeup” of a kettle give added point to a callous murder plot, while the tendency on the part of one of tile characters to patronise a barber’s shop at least twice a day leads not only to the acquittal of the girl, but also to the arrest of the real culprit.

REGENT THEATRE—To-night: “The Firefly.” I Each recent year has brought to the screen a finer type of musical picture, I but these new musicals would have fa hard time surpassing “The Firefly,” I with Jeanette MacDonald which is i showing for a return season at the i Regent Theatre. The facts require no I superlatives when your cast is I composed of such stars as Jeanette MacDonald, Allan Jones and Warren William. Lavish; scenes present the sweeping; drama of old Spain in the, period when Napoleon was defeated by Wei- '

lington at Vittoria. Hundreds of costumed extras appear in the spectacular scenes. Seven thrilling musical ; numbers, five of them from the original Friml operetta, feature the 'picture. Two others were written

especially for the film. Miss MacDonald dances beautifully and sings “Love is Like a Firefly.” “He Who Loves and Runs Away,” and “When a Maid Comes Knocking at Your Heart,” in perfect voice, Allan Jones

sings “A Woman’s Kiss” and “The Donkey’s Serenade,” and they smg in duet “Giannina Mia” and “Sympathy” with charming effect. To all who care for music and true artistry this is a picture you can see again and again.