ENTERTAINMENTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 24 October 1940, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

CURRENT ATTRACTIONS STATE, FRIDAY: WALT DISNEY’S “PINOCCHIO” When Walt Disney produced “Three Little Pigs” the whole world applauded. His genius was apparent in other shorts. Then he came to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” and it was thought he had reached the greatest heights he would climb. But in “Pinocchio” one realises that if humanity can achieve perfection it is here. The colour cartoon combines exquisite delicacy with the wildest excitement. Jiminy Cricket appears first and begins to tell the story. Later this adorable person becomes the conscience of Pinocchio, the puppet who, through the agency of the Blue Fairy, becomes a little boy. And the boy, Pinocchio, delights the heart of the dear old man Geppetto, who has carved him out of pine for a puppet show. At first Pinocchio is not a real boy, but a puppet, which can move without wires. When Geppetto realises that he is alive, he says at once that he must go to school, and Pinocchio is fitted out and given an apple for the teacher, and, at the suggestion of that marvellous kitten, Figaro, a school book. Like all natural boys, Pinocchio finds it hard to listen to his conscience, and so, despite the warnings of Jiminy Cricket, he falls into the hands of that oily gentleman, J. Worthington Foulfellow, and his accomplice, Gideon. Thus begins the adventures which are to leave you breathless. When you have decided that Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket, and dear old Geppetto, ai'e going to divide your heart, you are transported to fresh adventures and fresh characters. You are made to realise that Cleo, the goldfish, is the one perfect representation of all the blondes in the world. You meet that shocking boy, Lampwick, who has a very bad influence on Pinocchio. You become acquainted with the horrid coachman, having passed on your way through this wonderland, Stromboli, the puppet master who was brutal enough to put Pinocchio in a cage with a large padlock. The wicked coachman takes charge, and Jiminy Cricket, for all his glorious agility, finds it hard to keep up with such astonishing changes and fantastic doings. Poor old Geppetto and Figaro and Cleo are, of course, long left behind, but they come along again—in most curious fashion. Pinocchio discovers that they have been swallowed by Monstro, the whale. He ties a very large stone to himself, and with the faithful conscience, Jiminy Cricket, he dives to the bottom of the ocean. Here the glories of the Disney illustrative art are unsurpassable. The film is accompanied by music which fits every occasion. Soon Nelson will be singing Jiminy Cricket’s “Give a Little Whistle,” “Got No Strings,” and “An Actor’s Life For Me.”

REGENT, GUEST NIGHT PROGRAMME, “RAWHIDE” AND “YOU CAN’T HAVE EVERYTHING”

The two-fisted outdoor action thriller “Rawhide,” starring Smith Ballew, i- the principal attraction on the programme currently screening at the Regent Theatre. The story of “Rawhide” is of the blazing action type, deftly interwoven with catchy music and colourful romance. In it Ballew and Gehrig team to wipe out the toughest band of cattle racketeers ever known to the

West. Feminine lead in the film is played by Evalyn Knapp with others in (he cast including Arthur Loft and Si Jenks. Gehrig appears by special arrangement with Christy Walsh. “You Can’t Have Everything’ ’is the title of the associate featui*e. It comes from the same studio that was responsible tor the uproar, the brilliance, the freshness and the melody of “Sing, Baby, Sing,” and “Thanks a Million,” Alice Faye, the Ritz Brothers, Don Ameche, Charles Winninger, Louise Hovick, Rubinoff and his violin, and Tony Martin are featured.

MAJESTIC: “FLORIAN,” STARRING ROBERT YOUNG, HELEN GILBERT, AND IRINA BARONOVA, FAMED RUSSIAN BALLERINA.

A cavalcade of world turmoil and the collapse of an empire, against which is traced a tender romance, opens Friday at the Majestic Theatre, in “Florian,” long-heralded adaptation of Felix Salten’s famous novel of the fall, of the Hapsburgs following the last World War. Filled with spectacular seouences showing the pomp of Imperial Austria before the war, the picture follows the nation’s fatp through the World War. revolution, and collapse of the Empire, tracing their effects on a pair of lovers and a magnificent stallion, once the steed of the Emperor. Robert Young, as a groom in the Imperial Stables, and Helen Gilbert, new acting discovery, fall in love despite their difference in station, drawn together by mutual love for the horse. The girl, a royal duchess, is betrothed to an archduke, played by Lee Bowman, by order of the Emperor (Reginald Owen). The archduke has an affair wi*h a ballerina, played by exotic Irina B&ronova, brought to the studio from Europe for the picture. The war, revolution and fall the Hapsburg dynasty wipe away social barriers and solve the problem of the lovers. The picture brings tc the screen an amazing horse actor in “Florian.” a Lippizan Imperial horse presented by the Austrian Government to Maria Jeritza. opera star. | The animal is seemingly human in its intelligence. Robert Young plays the her engagingly and Miss Gilbert, formei studio ’cellist discovered by Winfield Sheehan, producer of the picture, gives a dignified and restrained per- j formance as the noblewoman. Miss Baronova as the fiery dancer not only acts a dramatic role with great skill but figures in a spectacular ballet in a reproduction of one of Franz Josef’s imperial receptions. In perfect make-up, Reginald Owen enacts the Emperor, practically duplicating the original after careful study of his personality and habits. Charles Coburn has the sympathetic role of the kindly veterinarian who befriends the lovers. Lee Bowman is a dashing figure as the archduke and Lucile Watson scores as the countess.