ENTERTAINMENTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 67, 16 February 1939, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

STATE THEATRE. j “THE COWBOY AND THE LADY.” The first of the new season’s pictures 1 ■ from United Artists is “The Cowboy and ■ the Lady,” coming to the Stato Theatre ) ' to-morrow, which was produced by Sam : i Uel Goldwyn, who has in the past provided i many of the screen’s finest achievements. > ; It ie a romantic love story richly endowed t by the presence of two first-class cinema , stars, Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon. i Against a lavish setting of Washington , drawingrooms and Florida mansions, coni traeted with the pictorial beauty of the ■ : western plains, “The Cowboy and the > , Lady” unfolds a heartily-told story of the r debutante daughter of a Senator, played ’ by Merle Oberon, who is whisked suinarily 1 ] away to bask on the Florida sands while i a night club scandal is brewing in which ■ she is involved Becoming bored with the j conventions and restrictions of a socialite's I existence, she goes out on a “blind date” with her maid and cook. The feminine trio j land at a rodeo show, and there Merle is paired with bronzed and robust Gary Cooper appearing as a cowboy hero of the goldon west. The romanco between the I two is spiced with comedy and farce and gallops on to an unexpected climax. Coop- . er, as the strong silent type of hero who drily sees through the sham and glitter of 1 so-called cafe society, returns to the kind of role which first made him famous. Back jin a ten-gallon hat, high-heeled boots, I j dungarees and roll-your-owins, America’s I No. 1 he-man of the silver sheet turns in ; his most stirring and dynamic performance to date. Merle Oberon, cast as a gay and witty modern of the upper-crust, enriches her rolo with fine timing and a beautiful sense of comedy. KOSY THEATRE. “THE ACCUSING FINGER.” The extent to which circumstances can weave a noose around an innocent man’s neck is dramatically portrayed in Paramount’s “The Accusing Finger,” a tense drama of circumstantial evidence, which screens to-night at the Rosy Theatre. With Paul Kelly as a ruthless public prosecutor who uses every legal device to rush men into gaol so that his perfect record for convictions can be maintained, “The Accusing Finger” shows how ho himself is caught in a mesh of circumstances which place him in the shadow of the electric chair. Kelly is in love with Marsha Hunt, his secretary, but cannot marry i her because his wife, Bernadene, Hayes, “ refuses to give him a divorce. Kelly and ( Miss Hunt are confronted in a public restaurant by Miss Hayes, and ho is over—' heard threatening her. Later he comes to i her homo and engages in a spirited argu-., ment with her. Several minutes later sheji is found dead with a bullet, fired from Kelly’s revolver, in her heart. Kelly tells]' the police there was a burglar in the j house, but so perfect is the ease made ] made out against him by witnesses that ho is sentenced to die. Taylor, an inves- 1 tigator, believes in Kelly’s innocence. He starts the almost hopeless task of finding the killer. Miss Hunt and Taylor come to love each other during the investigation, and it is not an easy thing they have to tell Kelly. “THE BIG BROADCAST.” One of the greatest casts of radio headliners ever assembled to make a motion picture will be seen and hoard as the second attraction. Paramount's “The Big Broadcast,” starts its triumphal run. ! COVENT GARDEN BALLET. ‘ To-morrow night at the Opera House, beginning at 8 o’clock, J. (J. Williamson Theatres .will present for this one occasion only the famous L'ovent Garden Russian Ballet in three of their most brilliant and most successful productions, beginning with the joyous ballet “Carnaval,” which will bo followed by the beautiful and poetic romance “The Swan Lake,” and the final ballet “Lcs Presages,” which is based on Tchaikovceky’s Fifth Symphony, depicting man’s struggle against destiny. Each of the ballets will be staged with the same magnificent scenery, wardrobe, and lighting effects as when they wore produced at the Covent Garden Theatre, London, and the dancers are these who appeared in them in England, America, and Australia, all of whom arc world-famous. In “Carnaval” will be seen Tatiana Riabouchinska, Tamara Grigorieva, Sono Osato, Anna Volkova, Yura Lazovsky, Edouard I’orovansky, Roman Jasinsky, Marian Ladre, Valeri Shaievsky, and other notable dancers. “Carnaval” was created by the famous coreographist, Michael Fokinc, under whose personal direction it will be staged here. The two principal dancers in “The Swan Lake” are those very distinguished personalities and great artists. Irina Baronova and Anton Dolin, who are j supported by Sergo Bousloff, Valeri Shniev- | sky. and others. In “Lcs Presages” there is a groat east of dancers, including Tamara Grigorieva, Irina Baronova, Tatiana Riabouehinska, Paul Pctroff. Roman Jasinsky. Sono Osato, Edna Tresahar, Borislav Runanine, and other notable members of the Covcnt Garden Russian Ballet. The box plans arc at C'ollinson and G'unninghame’s.