ENTERTAINMENTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 303, 20 November 1936, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

REGENT THEATRE. “HEARTS DIVIDED.” Never has the beautiful star, ■ Marion Davies, appeared in a more entertaining and gripping romance than in her latest Cosmopolitan. production, “Hearts Divided,” commencing at the Regent tomorrow. This story of«the wooing and winning of the brilliant and. beautiful Betsy Patterson, of Baltimore, by Captain Jerome Bonaparte, brother of the French Emperor, is a real hcarl» mobbing drama. While the romance is predominant, the picture has an historical background, with Jerome Bonaparte in America as the agent of his brother to negotiate the salo of the Louisiana tcrr<tory. It brings in many noted characters of the period, including Napoleon himself, President Thomas Jefterson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Marshall, Aaron Burr and Alexander .Hamilton. The picture is a lavish one, with mammoth acts and colourful backgrounds, while the women arc costumed in the gorgeous Empire gowns of the period. Picturesque scenes take place in the Patterson mansion and estate and.; in the palace of , the Emperor of France. Ihc picture is enlivened by catchy songs written by the famous team of Harry Warren and A 1 Dublin, and sung by Dick Powell, wiio has the leading masculine role' opposite Miss Davies.'There is plenty of thrilling action in addition to the somewhat tangled up romance in-which Jerome woos Ins lady love incognito and against the wishes of the Emperor. But this madcap adventurer hurls his thundering defiance at his powerful brother and brings bis wooing to a climax in whirlwind fashion. Never has Miss Davies been more pleasing, nor more charming than as the beautiful belle of Baltimore, who loses her. heart to Jcrom |. who she knows only as her tutor in I‘ionch and music. She carries off the lighter position of the romance with a delightful whimsy and rises to the more emotional scenes with the -artistry of an experienced and polished performer. Powell, who also played opposite Miss Davies in “Page Miss Glory,” is highly amusing as well as romantic in his role of the carefree Jerome. Claude Rains does some exceptionally fine acting in the role of Napoleon Bonaparte, Never does he overemphasise the traditional mannerisms of the Little . Corporal, nor resort to the trite gestures with which the Emperor was credited. Rains’ lack of posing make stho character seem natural and human. Charles Ruggles, Edward Everett Horton and Arthur Treacher add some line comedy touches in their roles of three indefatigable 6uitors of the beautiful Betsy.

STATE THEATRE. -“THE BRIDE WALKS OUT.” “The Bride Walks Out,” Barbara Stanwyck’s new starring vehicle which opens to-morrow at the State Theatre, is one of the most hilarious and entertaining pieces of screen fare seen in many a moon. The story deals with the trials and tribulations ol a pair of newly-weds, portrayed by Miss Stanwyck and Gene. Raymond, who try to limit their expensive housekeeping ideas to a 35-dollars-a-week budget, while they endure the blandishments of a carefree young millionaire, enacted by Robert Young, aimed to breaking up their scrappy home. Revealing more difficulties in trying to balance their budget than the Government ever dreamed of, t1.%5 tale whirls dizzily from one comedy situation to another and winds up with a grand oldfashioned chase and a fight, that lands the belligerent Mr Raymond in gaol. The Titian-haired Miss Stanwyck, as the pleasure-loving bride, displays brilliant ability as a comedienne. .And her. performance is all the more brilliant for the compel if ion she has at the hands of such accomplished f archers' as Messrs.. Raymond and Young, and of'those of Ned Sparks and Helen Broderick, who,'as a long and bitterly-married couple, provide much of the mirthful background of the film. Raymond’s portrayal tops his recent performance in “Love on a Bet,” both for comedy and for colourful character delineation, and Young is ideally cast as his champagne-loving rival whose attentions to Miss Stanwyck bring about many of the film’s most vivid moments.