EMBASSY THEATRE

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4726, 24 January 1946, Page 1

EMBASSY THEATRE

CURRENT PROGRAMMES “SECRET COMMAND’’ SHOWING TO-NIGHT 1 they gave out Academy Oscars in Hollywood for tho greatest variety I characters portrayed by an actor, Pat O’Brien would win hands down. , In thirteen years on tho screen, Pat ‘ has played men of more than 35 dif--1 ferent callings, from circus clowns to I clergyman, and done repeat engagements on almost adl of them. However, it remained for his current Columbia picture, “Secret Command,’’ to give him the roughest and toughest of them all. He plays a pile- ! buck, which is a combination rigger, pile-driver, rough carpenter and 90 per cent. mule. The occupation of pilebucking is so tough that insurance companies won't have anything to do with the men who follow it as a livelihood. Ihe film is based on the story in 1 the “Saturday Evening Post’ and is said to be one big thrill from beginning to end.

SHOWING SATURDAY

“THE YOUNG ME PITT’’

ilie King and Queen of England recently attended a showing of “The Young Mr Pitt,” the stirring story of the man whose licry words spurred men to victory, at a special entertainment for troops stationed in the district.

The soldiers were thrilled by the fi lm, which stars Hubert Donat and features Robert Morley, Phyllis Calvert and John Mills. They found great inspiration in the following words recited by Donat in the title role which, incidentally, indicate the timeliness of the picture: ‘‘We must remind ourselves that we arc called upon to struggle for the destiny not of this country alone, but of the civilised world....And we shall at last see that wicked fabric destroyed which has brought with it more miseries, more ■ horrors than are paralleled in any part of the annals of mankind. ’ ’

TUESDAY NEXT “THE HIT PAKADE” “The Hit Parade,’' is Republic’s most recent bid for laurels in the musical comedy field. Judging from advance reports, the film offers everything the doctor ordered in the way of songs, dancing and general entertainment.

Susan Hayward and John Carroll head the star-studded cast. Susan is a small town girl who comes to New York hoping to break into the professional song writing field. Carroll is a brash young night club singer who has blithely pirated one of ausan’s songs, appropriating it for his own use and profit.

Susan’s original intention was to expose him as a cheat and a hoax, but she contrives a more subtle form of revenge when he asks her to “ghost write” all his songs on a 50-50 basis. She will seemingly agree to his proposal, write a few songs for him, and them expose him when his name is still bigger, so that his humiliation will be all the more acute. But in the course of her association with him, she succumbs to his charm and falls in love with him, and he turns out to be a “right guv” after all.

“THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER’’ THURSDAY NEXT A really lirst-class programme lias been, arranged for Thursday next when that delightful comedy, “The Man Who Came to Dinner” will bo screened. Advance reports have it that the screen version of the comedy is even more riotously funny than the stage play which rocked Broadway for two years.

Monty Woolley, who created the role of Sheridan Whiteside, famous lecturer i and vitriolic wit, on the stage, was 1 brought to Hollywood to do the role for the screen. Bette Davis plays his j sophisticated secretary, and Ann Sheri ' ( bin plays the stage actress ho ini ports to break up Bette’s romance when he believes she is about to give up her job. I How Bette matched him trick for trick and the ultimate outcome is as much as the funny bone can bear without breaking.