AMUSEMENTS

Grey River Argus, 8 February 1940, Page 12

AMUSEMENTS

Opera House FINAL SCREENINGS. “YOUNG MR LINCOLN.” A’ motion picture that presents the stor v of Abraham Lincoln that has never been told, his thrilling, exc.ting, romantic youth is stirringly revealed in “Young Mr Lincoln,” to be finally screened at the Opera House to-day and to-night, with Henry Fonda in the starr.ng role and Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, A.rleen Whelan and Donald Meek in featured roles. NEXT ATTRACTION (Commence To-morrow): "THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN.” Dreamy days on the Mississippi, thrilling adventure, comedy and pathos, written as only Mark Twain coud write of them, mark Mickey Rooney’s first solo starring vehicle in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” sequel to “Tom Sawyer,’’ will commence screening at the Opera House to-morrow (Friday) for a short season. The picture has caught the full, flavour of Twain’s whimsical humour and deep understanding of human-kind. The adventures of the river bo v who aids a runaway slave in an attempt to reach a free state; their traves up the river on a raft; their adventures with the rascally “King” and “Duke,” a pair of crooks, are all faithfully portrayed under the deft direction of Richard Thorpe. The ranking comedy highlight is the absurd “Romeo and Juliet” performance with Walter Connolly as Romeo and Mickey, in girl’s clothes and makeup, as Juliet. Dramatic highlights are his exposure of the crooks to save Lynne Carver and Jo Ann Sayers, playing heiresses, from being robbed, and the sequence where Rex Ingram, as the slave, carries the boy, bitten by a snake back to medical aid, knowing it means his return to slavery. The scenes, filmed on location along the Sacramento River, are beautifully picturesque. The picture follows the book with absolute fidelity. Locations, settings, costumes and all details are authentic to the period. Mickey, as Huck, is given the best opportunity for dramatic acting in his career, and makes the most of it. He also has typical Rooney comedy moments. Rex Ingram, the Negro actor, who played “De Lawd” in ‘Green Pas-1 tures ” gives a compelling performance. Walter Connolly and Wiliam Fraflev provide much hilarious comedy as the' two crooks, and Elizabeth Risdon scores as the kindly Widow Douglass who befriends the boy hero.

REGENT: Now Showing—“THEY R MADE HER A SPY” and “ANNABEL TAKES A TOUR.” “THEY MADE HER A SPY” Breaking sharply away from a routine theme, RKO Radio’s “They Made Her a Spy” proves an entertaining drama on governmental intelligence methods. The picture presents a vivid description of the activities of foreign spy rings in American and how such

rings are organised and °P their methods of concealment, ana their objectives. Most of the action takes place in the national capita, with Sally Eilers as a patriotic young girl who becomes an American counter-spy in a foreign ring, and Allan Lane as a newspaper reporter who also joins the ring to get material for an expose. Neither, however, is aware of the other’s real identity, which makes for the romantic complications of the film. Miss Eilers | clever and successful' efforts to join 1 the spy group, the performance of her ostensible duties and the exciting cliI max when the ring is rounded up by I military and civil authorities, all fur--1 nish absorbing screen material. Her incidentally, is one of the best the brunette star has given in recent years, and Lane is equally effective and Convincing as the reporter. Fritz Libber as the suave manager of the spy ring, Frank M. Thomas, Theodore Von Eltz and Pierre Watkin as army officers, Addison Richards as a politician, and Larry Blake as Leiber’s aide, head the picture’s supporting cast in capable fashions. Jack Hively’s direction, the screen play by Michael' Kanin and Jo Pagano from George Bricker’s story, and Robert Sisk’s production values, all combine to make the film genuinely interesting. “ANNABEL TAKES A TOUR” Jack Oakie and Lucille Ball, who recently met with outstanding success in “The Affairs of Annabel,” repeat their original roles in a sequel, “Annabel Takes a Tour.” Ruth Donnelly and Bradley Page, who created the roles of the cynical secretary and the nervous movie producer in the first “Annabel” picture, deftly re-enact their original parts, with other featured performances given by Ralph Forbes and Frances Mercer, as the foreign writer and the rival actress; Alice White, as a movie-struck manicurist; and Pepito, famous clown, as a daffy musician. Most of the action takes place in Chicago, on board a transcontinental train, and in a film studio in Hollywood, where inside glimpses of movie methods are amusingly revealed.