MAJESTIC THEATRE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20067, 13 October 1939, Page 5

MAJESTIC THEATRE

Charlie McCarthy in “you CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN,” AND “MAN IN BLUE."

Hilarious comedy sequences deftly woven into a powerful .story stamp New Universal’s “You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man,” which begins a three-day season at the Majestic Theatre to-day, as one of the screen s best comedy offerings. Heading , the cast of the picture are W. C. Fields, Edgar Bergen and his famous stooge dummy, Charlie McCarthy, while the picture also introduces Charlie McCarthy’s dumb cousin from the country, Mortimer. Mortimer’s rendering of “My Little Yellow Basket” has to be seen to be felt. Highlighting the film, as you might suspect, is the bitter feud between Fields and ms wooden Nemesis, McCarthy. The battle hits a new .comedy height. Many will laugh until their sides ache when Charlie McCarthy pops up with a black eye presented to him by Fields, and has to do an act with his face blackened so that his discoloured optic will not be noticed. The story concerns the ups and downs ol a circus, of which Fields is the proprietor, with McCarthy, Bergen and Mortimer providing 'the featured acts. The attractive Constance Moore, playing her first major role, gives a brilliant performance, while another newcomer is, Blacamor, a Hindu animal hvDnotist who performs some amazing feats with lions and crocodiles. Ed. Brophy, Mary Forbes and Thurston Hall are also prominently cast. For something different in hilarious entertainment, “You Cant Cheat an Honest Man” offers everything necessary for a splendid night of riotous amusement. Supporting “You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man is New Universal’s “The Man in Blue,” a powerful and exciting drama of a man’s last chance, the dramatic story of a policeman who adopts the son "of a burglar whom he kills in self defence during a. gun battle. It is a powerful, inspiring story, of hate ana love; of distrust and suspicion; .of faith and redemption. Through it is woven a beautiful romance that makes a man’s life whole again. The policeman is portrayed by that fine character actor, Edward Ellis. The boy is played by Billy Burrud tn the early sequences and by Robert Wilcox in the main situations of the play, while the girl in the story is Nan Grey, one of the “Three Smart Girls.” The programme opens with the ninth chapter of “Buck Rogers.”