ENTERTAINMENTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 9 January 1940, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

CURRENT ATTRACTIONS AT THE MAJESTIC, CHARLES DICKENS: “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” COMMENCES TO-DAY Scrooge, Tiny Tim, the Cratchits and the rest of the beloved characters in the Charles Dickens story came to life in “A Christmas Carol,” filmisation of the classic tale, which comes to-day to the Majestic Theatre. Directed by Edwin L. Martin, with Reginald Owen in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, the miser, and Terry Kilburn, as Tiny Tim, the crippled child who touches the man’s hard heart, the picture follows the original story with absolute fidelity. Old London of the Dickens period is faithfully reproduced, with its quaint Christmas costumes, its singing of carols and other details of the story. The cast includes Gene and Kathleen Lockhart as Bob Cratchit, the clerk, and his wife, parents of Tiny Tim. Lynne Carver and Barry Mackay are the romantic leads as Scrooge’s nephew and his sweetheart, and Leo G. Carroll, Lionel Braham, Ann Rutherford, D’Arcy Corrigan and Ronald Sinclair are among the players. The story tells of the regeneration of Ebenezer Scrooge, harsh miser, when shown Christmas of his past, present and future by the ghost of his dead partner and three Christmas spirits. Amid the dramatic highlights of the story are intimate glimpses of family life and customs of the time.

REGENT FINALLY TO-NIGHT “THERE’S THAT WOMAN AGAIN’ AND “MAIN EVENT”

Packed with dramatic suspense and fun-filled incident and blessed with action and dialogue that races spryly from one rollicking situation to another. “There’s That Woman Again” is a joy to behold. Melvyn Douglas is again the wife-suffering Bill Reardon with Virginia Bruce usurping the role of the scatter-brained Sally Reardon introduced by Joan Blondell. The story of “There’s That Woman Again” is better that its stellar predecessor. The action is swifter, the comedy more delirious and the romantic shenanigans of Sally and Bill more hectic than ever.

The associate attraction “The Main Event” exposes the racketeer invasion of the sporting world. With a milliondollar gate, a sports promotor suddenly learns his main attraction, the defending title-holder, is in the hands of gunmen. Frenzied efforts to pay the ransom money demanded fail, and Paige as a city police officer, starts sleuthing. When his girl friend is kidnapped, the action starts in earnest. Robert Paige and Jacqueline Wells are starred and others in the cast include Thurston Hall, John Gallaudet and Oscar O’Shea.

STATE: “PECK’S BAD BOY WITH THE CIRCUS,” STARRING TOMMY KELLY-ANN GILLIS

Seventeen years ago Jackie Coogan portrayed “Peck’s Bad Boy.” Five years ago Jackie Cooper carried on the tradition with a re-make of the film. Now Tommy Kelly—remember him as Tom Sawyer?—characterises fun-loving funmaking typical American youth in “Peck’s Bay Boy With the Circus,” in an entirely new background for George W. Peck’s juvenile hero. Here is a soul-gratifying mixture of real oldfashioned laughs and human interest. In this compilation of Bill Peck’s activities, he is seen as a vacation-bound youngster cheated out of his railroad fare by an unscrupulous circus attendant. He joins the show to hitch-hike to his camp. Determined upon revenge he feeds sleeping pills to the lions, converting a hair-raising exhibition of animal mastery into a comedy fiasco between a bewildered trainer and five sleepy lions. After this the fun piles qp rapidly. Bill’s ludicrous equine aero-: batics; his pranks which plunge him into mounting difficulty; and his youthful “crush” romance with the show’s young bareback rider lead to a merry and wild chariot race to the summer camp in time for the opening obstacle event. It’s one of the most exciting climaxes of the new season’s picture output! The boyish charm and naturalness in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” accompanies Tommy Kelly in his stellar role in “Peck’s Bay Boy With the Circus.” Splendid assistance is offered by Ann Gillis, who teamed with Tomrpy as Becky Thatcher in the former success. She is as lovely a juvenile leading lady as Hollywood possesses.