ENTERTAINMENTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 5 December 1940, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

CURRENT ATTRACTIONS STATE, FRIDAY: “MY FAVOURITE ! WIFE” STARRING CARY GRANT ' AND IRENE DUNNE. ”My Favourite Wife.” brings back Irene Dunne and Cary Grant to the screen in a gay sophisticated romantic comedy. A large share of their success in this breezy film is due to the hilarious story which was especially designed lor the stars’ talents by Bella and Samuel Spewack. Miss Dunne is cast as j a wife presumably lost at sea whose I husband. Cary Grant, has her declared ! legally dead after seven years’ absence and then marries Gail Patrick. The p.ewlyweds no sooner depart on their honeymoon than the first wife returns, very much alive. She was rescued from an uncharted Pacific island on which she had been marooned all these years with Randolph Scott, portraying a handsome scientist. She overtakes the honeymooners at a Yosemite hotel, and presents herself to her startled husband. Unable to blurt out the truth to his bride, Grant tries to keep his first wife hidden—with some hilarious and disastrous complications. Now starts a mad pace which is heigthened until the uproarious climax. The kissless bride and her distraught husband flee home only to find Miss Dunne awaiting them and posing as an old friend of the family. And soon after the double-groom learns that his first wife and the virile ex- i plorer were alone on that island for I seven years! Contributing lavishly to the laugls are Gail Patrick as the bride j who can't comprehend her husband’s I sudden aloofness and Randolph Scott, | whose desire to marry Grant’s first wife j after being stranded with her for seven j years aggravates the burden the jealous | I husband is already carrying. In other | fine performances are Ann Shoemaker,; Donald Macßride, Granville Bates, and i two youngsters, Scotty Beckett and | Mary Lou Harrington, who portray the' Dunne-Grant children. “My Favourite I Wife” was produced by Leo McCarey. I who guided the stars in "The Awful | Truth” several years ago, while Garson i Kanin. responsible for "Bachelor Mother,” directed. "LONDON CAN TAKE IT” By special arrangement with the High I Commissioner for the United Kingdom, Sir Harry Batterbee, a film entitled | "London Can Take It” has been air- j mailed from London for screening i throughout the Amalgamated Theatres j circuit in New Zealand. This special I film screens at the State Theatre at 2.9 j and 8.0 Friday. Brought direct by air | across three continents in the fastest | time yet recorded, "London Can Take j It” is one of the most inspiring film* ever produced and shows how London I meets the brutal attacks of Hitler’s air- j men. London Can Take It” is a deeply- i impressive picture, excellent in photo- ' giaphy, and outstanding in its .sound 1 1 accompaniment. All through the pic-i I ture runs the keynote of the steady ! I morale of the “civilian army.” The! commentary is by Quentin Reynolds, the J' war correspondent of "Collier’s Weekly”l and he concludes “Bombs Cannot Kill i An Unconquerable Spirit.” REGENT, GUEST NIGHT PRO-! GRAMME “THE BARRIER” AND “ROMANCE IN THE NIGHT” I A story by Rex Beach combining I the roaring clays of 1898 in Alasaka with a beautiful love story of the! I North Woods! That’s the combination I that makes Paramount’s “The Barrier” I an unforgettable picture! Leo Carrillo Jean Parker, James Ellison, Otto Kruger. Robert Barrat. Andy Clyde * and Sara Haden are part of the magnificent cast. Some of the most thrillin to action scenes that have been seen in recent years and outstanding outdoor photography make "The Barrier” tops ’ in visual appeal, while the story, one of Rex Beach’s best, is fascinating as well as thrilling. The film was , directed by Les Selander. Music, ( comedy and romance blend in Para- t mount’s "Romance in the Dark,” the i associate feature. Gladys Swarthout < is seen in the role of a country ser- ( vant-girl who is turned into a bogus ‘ Persian princess by John Boles. His i ruse works better than he expects—she < captures his heart. When her first night j audience denounces her as an i imposter, Boles steps in and turns her 1 disgrace into a smashing success by 1 means -#f his own singing. John Barry- ■ more furnishes the high comedy of ; the piece. Others in the cast are ! 1 Claire Dodd. Fritz Feld, Curt Bois and I Carlos de Valdez. MAJESTIC, FRIDAY: GEORGE I ORMBY’S LATEST “GUNNER I GEORGE.” NEWSREEL OF LON- ! DON BOMBING SHOWING NAZI PLANES DESTROYED A keen sense of humour is the heri- 1 , tage of every Briton, and despite - the present dark days through which they are passing, British motion picture ; studios reflect the splendid spirit of the people by calling up George Form- ; bj to give the Empire a good hearty ' laugh when it is needed most. None recognise the invaluable part the screen is playing in maintaining the morale of the people more than the British i Government, who have encouraged the studios to carry on with the production of light, bright entertainment, to keep i alive "that jolly old sense of humour.” as it were. Thus, Associated Talking Pictures, of Ealing, England, present "Gunner George.” in which George Formby joins the Secret Service, just for fun. to reveal the sunny side of international affairs. “Gunner George,” which will head the new bill at the Majestic Theatre on Friday, may now be recognised as an invitation from the Motherland to “pack up your troubles” and get a laugh out of life again. 'lmagine the fun \yith George, banjo and j all. in a foreign country in the midst of | j enemy spies. The joke of it all is that ! | everybody “knows” he is a British | agent, except George himself. When he eventually unearths information that j necessitates his boarding a German submarine single-handed. the story 1 reaches unprecedented heights of hilar- !• ity. Reviewers are unanimous that “Gunner George” is Formby’s best and funniest film. Lovely Phyllis Calvert is George’s inspiration in the land of espionage and Romney Brent and Garry Marsh are also prominently cast as henchmen of Hitler. Another excellent firs'; half includes special pictures of the sensational bombing of London and the resultant fires. The picture also shows a German bombing plane diving I to doom, Polish destroyer bagging a U-boat, and the Royal Navy taking j over American destroyers. GOLDEN BAY THEATRE Picture patrons will be well catered for at the Golden Bay Theatre. Takaka. on Friday and Saturday when the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer adventure film with a semi_historical flavour, “Stand Up and Fight.” will be presented. Costarring Wallace Beery and Robert Tay-

lor for the first time and with Florence Rice in the feminine lead, the story of the film is set in western Maryland in the 1850‘s when railroad and stage coach lines were engaged in a bitter struggle for right-of-way as the popu lation of the United States surged westward. In addition to its many dramatic j highlights, the film is rich in humour j and romance. Included in the special supporting programme is the Cinesound newsreel of "The 1940 Melbourne Cup j Race.” a short, "Angel of Mercy.” de-, picting the birth of the American Red j Cross and another interesting feature entitled "Hollywood Hobbies.”