ENTERTAINMENTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 24 June 1937, Page 2

ENTERTAINMENTS

CURRENT ATTRACTIONS MAJESTIC: WALLACE BEERY IN "THE ADVENTURES OF LOVABLE OLD HUTCH” ON SATURDAY "CHINA CLIPPER” "Old Hutch” which had its initial screening yesterday is the story of the man who is know in every town. There is more than mere wealth of humour in this new character who comes in the person of Wallace Beery. He is the essence of rich, good humour, but beyond that he symbolises the easy tolerance, the quiet acceptance of fate, and in the last analysis, the fiery individual who, when driven to fight, does it with his whole soul, his strong body and two good fists. Many people will recall the story of “Old Hutch” which was written by Garrett Smith and appeared in "The Saturday Evening Post.” A strong supporting cast ably assists Beery in this heart warming story of which Eric Linden, Cecila Parker and Elizabeth Patterson are perhaps outstanding. The audience last night was obviously delighted with the story and players. “Old Hutch” is a picture that suggests the happy memories of the past and embodies the strident action of the present in an entertaining combination. The bracket of short subjects on the programme include news services, a colour musical cartoon, and an “Our Gang” comedy. No more thrilling drama of the air has come to the screen than that presented in “China*Clipper” which commences its season on Saturday at the matinee. Starring Pat O’Brien, Beverly Roberts, Ross Alexander, Humphrey Bogart and Henry B. Walthall, thrill is said to follow thrill in a story which brilliantly combines fact with fiction. The screen play by Commander Frank Wead, deals with the men of unbounded enthusiasm and courage, who were pioneers in establishing transoceanic air lines and the flights of dare-devil pilots who risked their lives in battles with fog and storm to nose their ships into foreign lands. Special interest is also evidenced in the air mail newsreel of the giant Hindenburg disaster at Lakehurst, a subject which will be presented as the highlight of an interesting first half. Patrons are advised to make early reservation for Saturday as booking is advancing rapidly.

STATE: "BECKY SHARP” WITH MIRIAM HOPKINS, IN TECHNICOLOUR. SATURDAY, “CHAMPAGNE WALTZ” WITH GLADYS SWARTIIOUT

To-night W. M. Thackeray’s book "Vanity Fair” comes again into prominence by the adapted film version “Becky Sharp.” Filmed in glorious technicolour, it represents a lavish production of realistic colouring. The ballroom scenes especially are conspicuous for their magnificence and beauty. In 1899 Becky Sharp stepped from the pages of William Makepeace Thackeray’s famous novel “Vanity Fair” to the American stage. Langdon Mitchell, the brilliant young playwright who wrote the play, named it after the vivacious Becky who, as Thackeray’s foil, had, a half century before, thrown London’s literary and social inner circles into a turmoil. Minnie Maddern Fiske, then at the height of her great career, played the title role. It became her best known characterisation. “Becky Sharp” has been seen on both the silent and talking screen. The adaptations, however, were not from the Mitchell play, which is admittedly the only successful adaptation of the novel ever written for the stage. Now the sparkling vivacious minx comes to the world again. This time on the screen . . . the talking screen and more . . . the full-colour screen. Born in the halls of literature, Becky Sharp comes again with the warmth that colour will add to her colourful personality and the vital fire that the artistry of Miriam Hopkins, stepping into the shoes’of Mrs Fiske, has breathed into her greatest role. “Champagne Waltz” commences its season on Saturday. With golden-voic-ed Gladys Swarthout, the superb acting of Fred Mac Murray, the riotous comedy supplied by Jack Oakie, the brilliant dancing of America’s famous ballroom partners, Veloz and Yolanda, together with an excellent supporting cast, “Champagne Waltz” can be claimed as the acme of screen entertainment. Selected as Paramount’s jubilee commemorative picture, it has proved a veritable success wherever screened. On Paramount’s jubilee day it was screened simultaneously in over 300 theatres in the world an honour accorded no other film. Gay old Vienna is the background. This is Miss Swarthout’s third appearance in motion pictures. The beautiful lyric soprano voice of the famous Metropolitan Opera diva has already captivated America and it is promised that the music especially written for her in this production will add fresh laurels. Mac Murray, who was a band leader before he came lo Hollywood, has a part in this production similar to the one he had in “A Princess Comes Across.” He also plays the saxophone, on which he is a skilled performer. There are generous helpings of both the waltz and “swing” music in “Champagne Waltz,” with particularly notable arrangements of Strauss’s celebrated “Tales from the Vienna Woods” and “Blue Danube.” The “swing” music includes the now historic "Hold That Tiger,” the opus generally held responsible for the birth of “swing” both as music and a dance form.

REGENT: TO-NIGHT “HEAT WAVE AND “HARD ROCK HARRIGAN.” TO-MORROW, “EXPERT’S OPINION” THRILLING SPY DRAMA, AND "STRAIGHT FROM THE SHOULDER”

The final screening of “Heat Wave” featuring Cyril Maude and Anna Neagle and "Hard Rock Harrigan” starring George O’Brien will take place at the Regent to-night. Commencing to-mor-row is another very strong double feature programme, “Expert’s Opinion” is the main attraction ana it is a thrilling and exciting espionage drama that is packed full of thrills from the first to the final scene. The cast is headed by Lucille Lisle and Leslie Perrins whi have associated with them Kim Peacock and Molly Fisher. The picture opens with a music-hall double-gun act in which one of the partners is shot dead. As a result one partner is tried for murder, but is acquitted, the jury returning a verdict of “Murder by a person or persons unknown.” The verdict is influenced by the evidence of the ballistics expert of an arms manufacturer who declares that the fatal bullet was fired from a gun not used in the act. The invention of a gun upon which the supremacy of nations may rest is the cause of the crime, and while

foreign agencies endeavour to obtain the formula, the wife of the inventor comes under suspicion. A thrilling climax at the final court scene reveals the murderer and brings the picture to an exciting conclusion. “Straight from the Shoulder” is the other attraction and has Ralph Bellamy, Katherine Locke, David Holt and Andy Clyde in the leading roles. It is based on Lucian Cary’s sensationally successful “Saturday Evening Post” tales, and shows a quick-thinking artist, who, when he witnesses a gang killing, sketches the killers for the police, thus identifying them. The killers, pursued by the police, vow to “get” him, and are thwarted only by the courage and bravery of his young son, played by David Holt. A special added attraction is the pictorial record of the fatal fire and crash of the airship Hindenburg at Lakehurst Aerodrome. The shots of this accident are a really outstanding piece of work. I