ENTERTAINMENTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 116, 17 April 1931, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

PALACE THEATRE. “THE SEA BAT" SCREENING FINALLY TO-NIGHT. f> “The Sea Bat,” Aletro-Golchvyn-Alayor s | new marine melodrama which will have its j final screening to-night at the Palace Theatre, should rank high with that large group of people who like their drama J mixed with novelty and - interesting detail, t Wesley Ruggles, the director, has produced I a picture which is a personification of those c words with excitement added. Those who s thought there was no new situation or t menace in melodrama are invited to glance j over this original story by Dorothy West. i Sea bats, those giant rays weighing two ’ tons or more, which infest tropic waters, are the monsters who supply the excite- J ment of this tale. t “OH, FOR A MAN’ AND “SIMBA.” In Hamilton MacFaddcn’s Fox movietone production, “Oh, For a Alan!” combig to the I’alaec Theatre to-morrow with I “Simba,” Alison Skipworth, beloved stage - star, as “Laura.” the maid to a prima j donna, contributes one of the outstanding character isations of the current screen year. ( It is a gem of acting without restraint, . perfect timing and real artistry. Jeanette MacDonald and Reginald Denny are featured in the production, with the supporting cast including such well-known and popular players as Warren Hymer and Marjorie White. Patrons will hear for the first time in “Simba” a marvellous sound picture device named the “dulcetonc.” 'lnc film record of the Martin Johnson expedition in Africa, is an amusing and instructive film. The Johnsons have a Hare for showmanship which makes the instructive part of this performance very enjoyable. With Martin behind the camera and Osa behind the gun the thrills arc plentiful. Every imaginable kind of wild animal is pictured. Another feature of the performance is the beautiful coloured illustration of the “Song of Safari,” sung on the “dulcetonc” by Frank Munn, the famous Brunswick recording artist. ROSY THEATRE. I “LAWFUL LARCENY” AND “MID- | NIGHT MYSTERY.” Double feature programmes have been very popular at the Rosy and to-night will see the final screening of “Lawful Larceny, featuring Bebc Daniels aiid “Midnight Mystery,” featuring Betty Compson. TO-MORROW'S CHANGE OF PROGRAMME. “Billy the Kid,” which will open at the Kosy Theatre to-morrow for three days, has "been added by King Vidor of Metro; Goldwyn-Maver to the rapidly increasing list of pictures dedicated to various _ phases of American history. “Billy the Kid” relates the stirring happenings at Lincoln, New Mexico, during the famous “cattlemen's war” of 1878. 1d79 and 1880. The career of William Bouncy during that time is the crux of the wildest point the wild west ever reached. The siege of the McSwcen home is one of the most gripping things ever seen on the screen, and old and young, men and women, will get a tremendous thrill out of it. John Mack Brown plays "The Kid,” and Wallace Beery gives another of his inimitable characterisations at Sheric Garrett. Kay Johnson has the feminine lead. Karl Dane is seen as the comic cowboy Swenson. AT THE REGENT. “SILVER HORDE” ENDS TO-NIGHT. Lovers of outdoor drama to-night will have their last chance to see Radio Pictures’ talking screen adaptation of the Rex Beach novel, “The Silver Horde,” when it is shown at the Regent Theatre, lroniendous in its scope, sweeping in its movements, portraying the struggles of characters made famous by the noted Alaskan author, it provides entertainment such as is seldom seen on the talking screen. "PLUNDER” OPENS AT MATJNEE TO-MORROW. Few of those who saw the first screen version of the Ben Travers stage farces will admit that any successor could be better than “Rookery Nook.” The novelty, the spontaneous humour, the drollncss ot Ralph Lynn, the insinuating smile of loin Wallis the acting of the whole cast, and the daring’story of “Rockery Nook” made an instantaneous impression on its _ beholders. However, “Plunder,” which is to be screened at the Regent Theatre to-morrow, differs sliglitlv from “Rookery Nook m type. True, it has the same humour, the' same situations, but it frequently grows more tense, as in ’the Scotland Yard sequence, and an undercurrent of drama prevails throughout and never lets the interest flag or the comedy become overdone. \lt is a larce right through, and the dialogue fairly sparkles with the inimitable Ben Travers wit. The story is based upon the attempt of Tom Wallis and Ralph Lynn, as co-conspirators, to dispossess the scheming Mary Brough and her son Robertson Hare, of jewels which really belong to Ralph’s fiancee, Winifred Shotter. L one can imagine the witless Ralph Lynn committing theft and manslaughter and ? then hoodwinking Scotland Yard into be- , licving he didn’t, one will get an idea ot the humorous possibilities of the plot. With the same cast, the same direction and a better story than “Rookery Nook, “Plunder” is on the way to making entertainment records. The plans arc rapidly filling at the Central Booking Ofhci, ’phone 7178.