ENTERTAINMENTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 6 December 1940, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS

CURRENT ATTRACTIONS MAJESTIC, TO-DAY, GEORGE FORMBY’S LATEST “GUNNER GEORGE.” NEWSREEL OF LONDON BOMBING SHOWING NAZI PLANES DESTROYED

A keen sense of humour is the herij tage of every Briton, and despite ? the present dark days through which . they are passing, British motion picture 3 studios reflect the splendid spirit of the people by calling up George Formb> to give the Empire a good hearty t! laugh when it is needed most. None > recognise the invaluable part the screen ’ j is playing in maintaining the morale of the people more than the British ! Government, who have encouraged the ’ * studios to carry on with the production j.. of light, bright entertainment, to keep j 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 l international affairs. “Gunner George.” ■ which leads the new bill at the ’ Majestic Theatre, may now be re- ; cognised as an invitation from the 5 j Motherland to "pack up your troubles” and get a laugh out of life again. ! Imagine the fun \yith George, banjo and ? all, in a foreign country in the midst of 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 necessitates his boarding a German ■ submarine single-handed, the story j reaches unprecedented heights of hilar- . * ity. Reviewers are unanimous that : i “Gunner George” is Formby’s best and ; funniest film. Lovely Phyllis Calvert is I' George’s inspiration in the land of es- ' j pionage and Romney Brent and Garry j Marsh are also prominently cast as henchmen of Hitler. Another excellent fir.. 1 ; half includes special pictures of the sensational bombing of London and the resultant fires. The picture also shows a German bombing plane diving | to doom, Polish destroyer bagging a j U-boat, and the Royal Navy taking over American destroyers. STATE: CARY GRANT, IRENE DUNNE, “MY FAVOURITE WIFE” AND “LONDON CAN TAKE IT” “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 hilariI OUS story which was especially designed for the stars’ talents by Bella and Samuel Spewack. Miss Dunne is cast as a wife presumably lost at sea whose husband, Cary Grant, has her declared legally dead after seven years’ absence and then marries Gail Patrick. The newlyweds 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 exj plorer were alone on that island for j seven years! Contributing lavishly to j the laug’.'s are Gail Patrick rs the bride who can’t compi-ehend her husband’s sudden aloofness and Randolph Scott, whose desire to marry Grant’s first wife after being stranded with her for seven years aggravates the burden the jealous husband is already carrying. In other fine performances are Ann Shoemaker, Donald Macßride, Granville Bates, and two youngsters, Scotty Beckett and Mary Lou Harrington, who portray the Dunne-Grant children. “My Favourite Wife” was produced by Leo McCarey. ! who guided the stars in “The Awful Truth” several years ago, while Garson | Kanin, responsible for “Bachelor | Mother,” directed. i “LONDON CAN TAKE IT” By special arrangement with the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, j Sir Harry Batterbee, a film entitled I "London Can Take It” has been airmailed from London for screening throughout the Amalgamated Theatres circuit in New Zealand. This special ! film screens at the State Theatre. Brought direct by air across three continents in the fastest time yet recorded, “London Can Take It” is one of the most inspiring films ever produced and shows how London meets the brutal attacks of Hitler’s airmen. “London Can Take It” is a deeplyimpressive picture, excellent in photography, and outstanding in its sound accompaniment. All through the pic ture runs the keynote of the steady morale of the “civilian army.” The commentary is by Quentin Reynolds, the war correspondent of “Collier’s Weekly” and he concludes “Bombs Cannot Kill An Unconquerable Spirit.” REGENT, TO-NIGHT: “GERONIMO” AND “BLONDIE ON A BUDGET” The defeat of the last, and most brutal, of the raiding Apache chiefs is told in Paramount’s “Geronimo.” Replete with torture and blood-curdling battlecries. Geronimo, the story avers, lost father, mother, sister and brother at the hands of the advancing white ! man, and swore not to until 1000 white men’s lives had paid for each ' death. His exploits reach the ears of the powers in Washington, and General Steele is sent to deal with the situation. The plot work in “Geronimo” is unmistakeably reminiscent of “Lives of a Bengal Lancer.” Frank Morgan is the ramrod General, William Henry his sensitive son. Preston Foster is the captain who takes young Lieutenant Steele under his wing and, eventually, does so that Steele may redeem himself . Battle sequences, of which there are many, provide much excitement. Some welcome comedy comes from Andy Devine as Sneezer, the scout. A particu lar y. convincing portrait of a craven politician is the work of Gene Lockhart. The associate feature is “Blondie on a ndget. Columbia’s sensational new comedy which has been hailed as even more hectic than any of its delightful predecessors. It features Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake as Blondie and ' Dagwood Bumstead. Rita Hayworth is prominently seen as an old flame who eturns to singe Dagwood—while Blon. me burns. Others in important roles * , rry Simms, the precocious Babv Dumplmg, Don Beddoe, as a neighbour r„d . ICe gets Da Swood into mpre a* aT 0 - 1 e trouble, and Qanny Mummert Holm lV 'rv. Fuddle ' the b °y next door. Fay Helm, Thurston Hall and John Qualen ItUVXKA PICTURES: DEANNA « DURBIN Grow ' "Three Smart Girls Theatre ‘- he bi]l at the Riwaka rneat.ie on Saturday Deanna is seen u' h V^ ry r ich girl, and she wears a in E c-u n keeping with her station i me. She sings four songs. In sudHeden re i? ha - 1 S S Winnin §er, Nan Grey, Heden Parrish, William LundigaA,

Robert Cummings. Nella Walker, and Ernest Cossart.

PICTURES AT RICHMOND

Scicening at Richmond Theatre on Saturday afternoon and evening is the thrilling South Sea Island story “The Hurricane’’ by the authors of “Mutiny on the Bounty.” Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall are starred in this story, set on the low island of Manakura, 600 miles from Tahiti.