ENTERTAINMENTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 97, 24 March 1941, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

State Theatre.—Stirring' with . romance, 'laughter, memories and , melodies of the unbelievable street that makes the nation sing. "Tin Pan Alley," 20th Century-Fox film which slurs Alice Faye and Betty Grable, is now showing at the State Theatre. Jack Oakie and John Payne head a great featured cast of top-notch cntortain-ment-inakers in "Tin Pan Alley,", which includes Allen Jenkins, Esther Ralslon, the Nicholas Brothers dusky dancing stars, a"nd Ben (Shadraeh) Carter. With some of America's greatest popular song writers ot yesterday and to-day contributing their best and biggest hits, "Tin Pan Alloy" surpasses by far, any musical since '-Alexander's Ragtime Band," which .swept the nation. It tells how song hits are made in human terms of composers and song

pluggers. Briefly, "Tin Pan Alley" narrates the experiences oF two shoestring song publishers, Jack (Jakio and John Payne, ■whose songs achieve prominence after Alice Faye sings them. Alice and John fall madly-in love but a split comes when he pays more attention to his songs than to lovely Alice. They are rejoined in London, however, when wais is declared. Paced

at, a rapid tempo and set in a background of tliose stirring years of strife, "Tin Pan Alley" smashes into a thrill-packed finale which climaxes its sweeping drama. Marked by many outstanding highlights, the spectacle of Alice Faye and Betty Grable doing a torrid hula hula dance is really a sight to behold. Glamorous and torchy, those two beauties top anything they've .ever done on tho screen

Mayfair Theatre.—Newer than to-mor-row's headlines is Monogram's topical production, "Drums of the Desert," showing at tho Mayfair Theatre to-night. For the first time in any motion picture, Monogram shows a mass attack of troops descending from the sky in parachutes, upon an unsuspecting enemy. When Lieutenant Paul Dumont, played by Ralph Byrd, is sent to French Morocco to train the Senegalese battalion of the French Legion in new parachute manoeuvres, bo steps ofT the boat into the middle of an Arab rebellion. To further complicate things, Dumont finds himself in love with Helcne, his bes f friend's fiancee. She, in turn, finds that she loves Dumont instead of llaoul, whom she came to French Morocco to marry. Dumont and Helene, played by Lome Gray, meet in the bazaar for a last rendezvous, whore they are captured by the Arabs, Hassan and Abdullah. Sergeant Williams knows of the meeting, tells Kaoul, and plans a parachute attack .to surround tho encampment and thus prevents the pair from being killed. The associate feature is "Devil on Horseback."

Ankara.—Three hundred tractors and lorries from America have arrived at Basra en route to Turkey. Other American' goods are steadily flowing in.