ENTERTAINMENTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 August 1946, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS

OPERA HOUSE.—To-night: "He Snoops to Conquer.”

In the new George Formby film “He Snoops to Conquer” which is showing at the Opera House to-night, Formby has an entirely new role. As the man of all work in a Town Council office the picture gives him the most topical role of his career as the “man of the people,” and who is being backed for the local council election of Tangleton by eccentric millionaire Sir Timothy Strawbridge (played by Robertson Hare) and his daughter Jane (Elizabeth Allan), in an effort to bring the Government’s proposed scheme for town planning into being despite the opposition of a crooked Council and its Chairman (played by Claude Bailey). Unfortunately for George electioneering brings • forth all kinds of troubles, but for the audience _ sequence after sequence of hilarious fun.

No Formby picture would be complete without some of George’s inimitable song numbers and in this one he gives us three, —one with his banjolalee, “If You Want to Get Your Photo in the Press,” another when he plays the guitar, “Hill Billy Willy,” and finally when he proposes to Elizabeth Allan in song, “Unconditional Surrender.”

REGENT THEATRE.— To-night: “The Desert Song,” starring Dennis Morgan and Irene Manning.

“The Desert Song,” showing at the Regent Theatre to-night, is the much-awaited version of that perennial. stage favourite. The highly musical entertaining stars Dennis Morgan and Irene Manning have a supporting cast of such favourites as Bruce Cabot and Gene Lockhart. Filmed in technlcolour the picture has successfully recreated the wild beauty and indescribable loveliness of Northern Africa which is the setting of the story, which tells of a young itinerant musican, Paul Hudson, who in the guise of El Khobar, makes daring and spectacular efforts to free the down-trodden Riff slave labour from the ruthless oppression of their Nazi overlords. Interwoven into the plot is the beautiful love story of Paul and the lovely Margot, a French cafe singer who loves him for courage and unselfishness. Running throughout the story are exquisite renditions of the beautiful Romberg music. The much loved and familiar numbers such as “One Alone,” “The Desert Song” and the stirring “Riff Song” and others are greatly enhanced as sung by the youthful singing team of Morgan and Manning. “OUR MISS GIBBS” COMEDY AT THE REGENT. Theatregoers are in for a treat in the coming week with the spectacular musical comedy presentation of “Our Miss Gibbs,” a delightful and intriguing story hinging on the disturbed solemnity of every-day doings at a large London store and the entanglements include romance and theft and subsequent mix-up over the Ascot Gold Cup, which has been “lifted” as a joke by an amateur Crook (Jack Bluett). The cup falls into the hands of Tim (Les Lindley) the country cousin from Yorkshire of Mary, the leading lady, played by Miss Dawn Garland, but he is persuaded by a real crook (Ashley War'nes) to have it placed in a safe deposit. Into the picture comes a lord’s son played by Viv Hansen, who pays court to Mary-while the Duchess (Miss R. Sullivan) and her daughter Lady Betty (Mrs; Haglund) also become involved in the intrigue, which eventually reaches its zenith, with the way paved by grand humour, songs, dancing and delightful chorus work, while the bridesmaids and dudes contribute a good deal to the whole plot. There is splendid well balanced accompanying piusic and the show is aii all-round first-class attraction.