AMUSEMENTS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20452, 13 January 1941, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS

KING’S THEATRE “CAPTAIN CAUTION”: LAST DAY The thrilling adventures of a ship during the dangers of the war of 1812, in which Great Britain, America and France were all active on the sea, form the theme of “Captain Caution,” which will have its final screenings at the King’s Theatre to-day. —“Rebecca” To-morrow — Retaining an almost verbatim faithfulness to the; book, the film •Rebecca." which returns to the King's •Theatre to-morrow, spins its tale of a man, the girl he married after the death of his faithless first wife, and their home, all overshadowed by the mocking spirit of “Rebecca,” the woman the man married first. The cast of this first David O. Selznick production, to follow his “Gone With the Wind,” makes evident its complete understanding of the spirit of the novel. Stars arc Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, the latter in her first starring role as the mentallytortured principal, with Judith Anderson, George Sanders and Reginald Denny also rendering outstanding performances in featured parts. REGENT THEATRE “PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX” The director of the “Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex,” now showing at the Regent Theatre, is constantly seeking new and original ideas. He is excited about the technique he used in the climatic sequence of the picture, where Bette Davis, as Queen Elizabeth, sends her lover, Errol Flynn, as the Earl of Essex, to the executioner’s block because she knows it is the only way to save England. While most directors would be satisfied to follow the stereotyped formula of trailing Flynn with the camera across the Tower of London courtyard and then showing a brief Hash of the headsman's axe as it starts its descent, Mr. Curtiz has done the entire execution scene in sound effects. His camera concentrates on Miss Davis and the entire execution is recorded in her emotional reactions together with sound effects —the beat of drums and the roar of the mob as Flynn tramps to the executioner’s 1 block, a long, terrifying roll of drums as the headsman’s axe is suspended in air, a single, deep boom of the drums as the axe falls. Then, utter silence, the camera still on Miss Davis. —“Rhythm on the River”— Sing, swing with Bing Crosby and Mary Martin in the rhythmical romance, Paramount’s new show, “Rhythm on the River,” coming to the Regent Theatre on Tuesday. It’s got the season’s top .tunes, ,the screen’s irresistible romantic team, and a supporting cast headed by Basil Rathhone, Oscar Levant, Lillian Cornell, Charley Grapewin, Oscar Shaw and John Scott Trotter and his orchestra. Seven hit songs strike up the band for a big music co-operation on “Rhythm on the River." The songs are “That's For Me,” “Rhythm on the River,” “I Don’t Want to Cry Anymore,” “Only Forever," “Ain’t it a Shame About Marne,” “When the Moon Comes Over Madison Square,” and “What Would Shakespeare Have Said?”

MAJESTIC THEATRE

“PHANTOM RAIDERS” AND “THE GIRL DOWNSTAIRS’’ No matter how many thrillers you have seen on the screen, this is one to top them all. It wouldn't be fair to give the story away, but let it be said that Walter Pigeon and Florence Rice have a whale of a time getting to the bottom of the mystery in “Phantom Raiders,” a new Nick Carter adventure Which commences to-day at the Majestic Theatre. Pidgeon plays the part of Nick Carter, the role he created in the first of the series dealing with the adventures of the famous novei detective. Miss Rice, with the help of dashing John Carroll, carries off the romantic honours. And there’s Donald Meek, too, as Bartholomew, the bee-man. who delighted you with his hilarious antics in the earlier “Nick Carter. Master Detective.” Joseph Schildkraut, the screen’s arch villain, runs true to form again and a more sinister character you couldn’t hope to find. Nat Pendleton is there as the tough night club bouncer and ex-champion of the Pacific Tuna Fleet, and Steffi Duna comes straight from her triumph in “Waterloo Bridge" to arid a very lively touch to the scene. It all takes place in the tropics where every other person either is a spy or looks like one. Four ships are sunk' at sea with all hands before Nick C3n put a stop to this mass murder. And if you think it’s easy to stop an international ring of sabotage men—well, just go and sec what Nick goes through. He can’t resist a pretty girl anyway, so that doesn't make things any easier. Jacques Tourneur, who directed the first, in the Nick Carter series, did this job. too, and he keeps things humming right through the proceedings. For sheer excitement see Nick save a doomed ship at sea and find out who the “Phantom Raiders" are. The associate feature, “The Girl Downstairs,” is a gay whimsical comedy of a rich girl upstairs, a poor girl downstairs and man about town. The stars include Franciska Gaal, Franchot Tone, Walter Connolly, Rita Johnson and Reginald' Gardiner. The programme opens with the serial, “Wild Bill tticock.”