ENTERTAINMENTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 10 June 1939, Page 4

ENTERTAINMENTS

CURRENT ATTRACTIONS MAJESTIC: “THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD” IS MAGNIFICENT FILM. “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” which opened to big business yesterday at the Majestic is a massive TechniI colour melodx ama. produced by Warner Bros., starring Errol Flynn, and featuring j Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, ! Basil Rathbone, lan Hunter, and a sup- | porting cast of some thousand players. The handsome young star, Errol Flyixn. I who had such triumphs in "Captain j Blood” and “The Charge of the Light j Brigade,” plays Robin. The beautiful! young Olivia de Havilland, who was j the heroine of those successes, is Maid I Marian. This is their third picture to- ! gether and in every way it excels its predecessors. This version of “The Adventures of Robin Hood” is altogether different from the great picture which Douglas Fairbanks made in silent form in 1922. It is filled with fighting—bows and arrows, quarter staffs, pikes and broadswords being the weapons—and is played in immense and beautiful scenic settings both indoors and out. Michael Curtiz and William Keighley were the directors, and in the supporting cast are such star players as Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, lan Hunter, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale, Melville Cooper. Pa trie Knowles, Una O’Connor, Herbert Mundin and Montagu Love. A superb musical score, written by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who made musical histoi*y with his scores for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and other gerat pictures, is said to surpass anything ever done before. Years of research preceded the filming of the great production. All of the vast body of “Robin Hood” literature was fine-comb-ed by the research department of Warner Br-os. in ox*der to find out the customs of the folks of that era, what they wore, what they ate, what kind of furniture they had, and all the other details that make for authentic movie props. A special contingent of the department worked only on medieval weapons—bows and arrows, quarterstaves, and pikes, which play a large part in the action of the picture. The original story and the screen play were devised by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller, and has several of the well authenticated incidents contained in most of the legends surrounding England’s greatest outlaw, but the bulk of the story is original in form. Four of the eleven existing Technicolour cameras in the world, each valued at £7500. were employed throughout the making of this thrilling romance, which is described as the outstanding adventure picture of the 1938 film season.

REGENT, TO-NIGIIT: GENE AUTRY IN “THE OLD CORRAL” AND “SAVAGE GOLD.”

The progi-amme showing at the Regent to-night can be i*elied upon to provide first-class entertainment. The feature attraction is “The Old Corral” the latest musical starring Gene Autry. Briefly the story tells of the invasion of the West by modern gangdom, when a night club entertainer, accused of murder, takes refuge in a western town. Gene Autry, the sheriff. finds himseli in difficulties, when faced with gangsters using machine guns, and all the advantages of modern warfare, but he proves that he’s quite equal to them. He sings no less than four numbers in the film, “Old Pinto,” “The Old Corral.” “Heart of the West,” and “Silent Trails,” the first two of which he composed himself. Abounding in fast action and thrill-

ing adventures against novel backlOunus, the picture has an excellent and talented supporting cast, includin Hope Manning. Lon Chaney, junr., and Smiley Burnette. The associate attraction “Savage Gold” is a drama of the conflict of white man against savage in the hunt for buried treasure—gold. It is a sensational screen masterpiece that is realistically graphic and true, and surpasses any exploration thriller seen in years. Patrons are advised to reserve. Box plan at R. A. Thomas’s or telephone theatre, 1102.

STATE: NOW SHOWING, SWEET STORY BY KATE DOUGLAS WIG GIN, “MOTHER CARET’S CHICKENS”

Once in a while comes a picture, simple yet great, a human story of tenderness, simplicity and charm that will always be cherished as a memory. Such a picture is “Mother Carey’s Chickens.” Bubbling with the humour and naturalness that made the original Kate Douglas Wiggin story one of the bestsellers of its day, the film version of “Mother Carey’s Chickens” is at present screening at the State Theati'e. Closely following the book, the film deals with the interesting careers of the Careys. The head of the family, a naval officer, dies during the war with Spain, and his wife and four children, left penniless save for a scanty pension, try to carry or. as their father would have wished. Through the efforts of a young school teacher who is in love with the older daughter, the Careys leave the tenement in which they are living and take, over an old, tumble-down house in the country. They remodel it as a teachers’ boarding house, but unforseen complications arise just as they complete the task. The climax is charged with hilarity as the family adopts a unique method of dispossessing an unpleasant couple who claim their house. Against the background are played interlocking romances between the two daughters and their respective admirers, all thoroughly steeped in the colourful atmosphere of the late nineties and enriched with Miss Wiggin’s sparkling comedy. Anne Shirley and Ruby Keeler, as the daughters, are cast romantically opposite Frank Albertson and James Ellison, respectively. Fay Bainter portrays the highly sympathetic mother. Jackie Moran and Donnie Dunagan as the other two “chickens,” Ralph Morgan as the ill-fated navy captain-father, Walter Brennan as a typical New England storekeeper, and Phyllis Kennedy, Margaret Hamilton, George Irving and other well known players contribute to the film’s realism. First appearing in 1910, “Mother Carey’s Chickens” proved to be one of the most popular stories ever written. The locales of the story,