ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20922, 11 July 1931, Page 14

ENTERTAINMENTS.

ST. JAMES' THEATRE.

A sparkling modern comedy which keeps tho audience at a high pitch of merriment throughout is "The Virtuous Husband," tho principal picture on the programme now being screened at St. James' Theatre. This story is a comedy of the'type which always proves so successful on the legitimate stage and lends itself so readily to the enhanced effects which only the talking picture can give.

Tho witty dialogue and: humorous situations which abound throughout are such as mark (ho few comedies which leave a lasting impression on {lie mind, and each vies with the other in ensuring the success of the picture. The story concerns the love and matrimonial affairs of an ultra serious young man and a charming young woman "of lovable disposition, who lit tle anticipates the atmosphere of frigidity which, under the guise of high principles, is to mark their early married life, Tho young man, whose role is played by i Elliott Nugent, has been guided throughout his life by an over-solicitous mother's advice. When tho .mother dies she leaves several hundreds of letters for the guidance of her son, with instructions that they shall be opened and acted upon at certain specified points in tho process of his affairs. His courtship and marriage uro governed by»frcquent references to his mother's letters, such is his state of mental bondage. Tho farcical situations which thus arise can readily bo realised, and they arc put to tho fullest use in developing an entertainment of delicious humour from beginning to end. "The Virtuous Husband'' is indeed a picture calculated not only to drive all workaday worries from the mind but to provide'the tonic of laughter which denotes' the highest form of'entertainment. The part of tho young wife is played by Jean Arthur with outstanding success. Her ■charming personality and restrained acting blend in a perfect portrayal. Elliott Nugent, as the husband, has a role difficult to present in a convincing manner, but lie achieves his purpose to such a satisfying degree that the audience, although it has no patience with his "principles," is won over so far that its sympathies with the man are not withheld. The bride's father and mother, whose parts aro played respectively by J. C.

Nugent and AJison Skipworth, are major characters who provide a deal of the humour. Betty Compson, as Inez Wake-

field, a friend of the family, has a rolo which enables her to contribute materially toward the laughter making. Also shown is an interesting news budget, a laughterprovoking cartoon and a Slim Summerville comedy which completes a programme that provides two hours of unalloyed merriment.

REGENT THEATRE. A dramatic newspaper story entitled "Scandal Sheet" heads a fine programme shown at the Regent Theatre for tho first time yesterday It is noteworthy for a remarkable character study of a ruthless editor of ah American "yellow" daily paper—a powerful role entrusted to George Bancroft, the hero of countless dramas of the silent and talking film. The picture, dominated at all times by his burly frame and rugged features,_ moves with steady pace from a fascinating boginning in "the interior of a modern newspaper office to an intensely emotional ending involving the complete social and financial ruin of its too-relentless editor. His motto was "If it's news I'll print it," and in putting this creed into practice he cared little whether he ruined institutions or men. No appeal for mercy touched his callous heart, the newsgathering methods he imparted to his men savoured of the unscrupulous, his news sheet was founded successfully upon the sensational and the scandalous, and his glib order was invariably "Get the news, print the news and there are no exceptions." Nor was there an exception when he discovered that his wife was the leading figure in a sensational "scoop , involving the reputation "of his ' name. "This is a story that will never be printed," his staff affirmed knowingly, but they were wrong. He not only printed .it but wrote the account himself and professionally interviewed his wife to add confirmation to his stoiry. In George Bancroft's hands this vivid character is tho epitome of rigid discipline, its remorseless tragedy being relieved by occasional lighter touches of character revelation that. help to humanise the part. The cast is still further strengthened by the appearance of Clive Brook, famous for his acting with Ruth Chatterton, in the suave role of the banker who is ruined by the newspaper. The feminine interest is iri the capable hands of Kay Francis. The film includes''some dramatic interior photography of news presses at work and some intciesting architectural interiors in tho modem style. The remainder of the programme has some attractive features, including a beautiful scenic film, "The Ebony Shrino," photographed in Guatemala, a singing-comedy, "Top Notes," in which Willie Robyn is heard with admirable effect, a Chester Conklin comedy entitled "Taxi," and an engrossing series of topical features showing such varied items of interest as Lord Irwin's return to London from India, tho famous Fratellmi clowns performing for poor Italian children, rough riders at Aldershot, and an American rodeo.

RIALTO THEATRE. Outstanding success is being achieved by the Radio comedy, "Cracked Nuts, at the Rialto Theatre. Bert Wheeler arid Robert Woolsey, whose list of _ hilarious productions includes "Hook, Line and, Sinker," "Half Shot at Sunrise" and "The Cuckoos," appear in the film as two rivals for the throne of El Dorania, an imaginary "comic opera" kingdom in Central Europe. The situations involved are not only amusing in themselves but they give abundant scope for the witty jokes of Robert Woolsey. The keen contentions of the two comedians for the crown cease only when they learn that tho successful contestant must first have engaged tho other in a duel.

LYRIC THEATRE. "The Sea God" and "The Perfect Alibi," a distinctive English production, are the two splendid pictures at the Lyric Theatre to-day. In the first Richard Arlen appears as a deep-sea diver whoso grotesque attire gives him a strange hold over the superstitious natives of a Pacific island. "The Perfect Alibi" was produced at Elstree by Basil Dean, a noted English director. CAPITOL THEATRE. Ruth Chatterton has the p;u't of a woman of no culture endeavouring to be worthy of her socially-superior husband in " The Better Wife," in which she appears with Clive Brook at the Capitol Theatre to-day. " Midnight Mystery," with Lowell Sherman, is a second picture.

PAPAKURA STAR THEATRE. Ruth Chatterton and Clive Brook will be seen in " The Better Wife," at the Papakura Star Theatre to-day. On Wednesday " The Silver Horde" will be shown. ONEHUNGA PICTURES. " Billy the Kid" will bo shown at the Strand Theatre, Onehunga, and " Senorita," with Bebe Daniels, at the Foresters' Theatre, Onehunga, to-day. EMPIRE THEATRE. The two American black-face comedians, "Amos 'n' Andy," are at their best in "Check and Double Check" at the Empire Theatre to-day. GREY LYNN CINEMA. Dorothy Macknill has the part of a woman with a chequered past in "Once a Sinner," to bo shown at the Grey Lynn Cinema this evoning.

CIVIC THEATRE:

Entertainment of a delightfully farcical nature is presented in the picture, "Parlour, Bedroom and Bath," which commenced a season at the Civic Theatre yesterday. Reginald Denny seems to have settled into an accepted place as tho leading actor in American farces, and his performance in this picture is well up to the standard he has set in such pictures as "Embarrassing Moments and "Those ,Three French Girls." Another welcome addition to the cast of "Parlour, Bedroom and Bath" is Buster Keaton, tho "wooden-faced comedian." whose quiet and subtle acting in the fields of low comodv lends the production a particular merit of its own. L'or the most part tho plot and the; humour are in ■the hands of these two actors, who make a very successful thing of it. The_ more riotous parts of (lie farce are left in tho hands of Cliff Edwards, whose peculiar looks stand him in good stead, and Charlotta Greenwood, a tall comodionno with a very appealing sense of humour, and a flair for acrobatics. The story hinges on

the efforts of Reginald Denny to marry a girl who isi determined to remain single until tho marriage of her sister, a rcmmiticnlly-incHned girl, whose one idea is to meet a man with a clashing and cap tivating personality. Despairing of Ins hopes to bring about a marriage, he leaves his fiancee, but while driving away in ins car lie runs down Reginald Irving, played by Buster Keaton. Tho injured man is carried back to the home of Denny's fiancee, whero her sister is immediately attracted by him. Denny, seeing the possibilities of a match, concocts that the newcomer is a prominent figure in the divorce courts of Paris and Lon* don. The girl is fascinated by the man she believes to bo really wicked and dashing, and his air of quiet innocence and childish bewilderment completes the enslavement of tho capricious young Later, however, the truth leaks out that he is as innocent as he looks, and the two conspirators decide to stage a scene in which Irving can be caught in the toils of an obliging siren. Apart from a slight oversight in mistaking a friends wife for tho "woman in tho case," Irving manfully performs his task of compromising himself and the lady. It is only when the injured husband arrives, armed with a revolver, that matters do not seem to be working out as smoothly as was expected. The story ends with an hilarious entanglement and a fingl series of" explanations and reconciliations in the best farce style. Throughout the picture interest centres in the antics of Bustei Keaton, and so irresistibly funny are his actions that -the audience last evening was for seconds at a time rendered help' less with laughter. The supporting programme is a very interesting one, if which the comedy element. predominates, An amusing sound cartoon in the "Flip tho Frog" series, provides an entertain ing conception of the latest methods o painless dentistry. A short comedy, cn titled "One of the Smiths," feature: Charlie Chase as a time-payment col lector, who becomes involved in a num ber of absurdly funny situations in t village community in Kentucky. Mr Howard Moody plays two enjoyable selec tions on the organ, Lernare's "Andan tino" and Drdla's "Souvenir."STRAND THEATRE. " The activities of the Tcheka, tin dread Russian secret service, form th< theme of tho thrilling .mystery-drama "The Spy," which was shown at th< Strand Theatre for the first time yester day. The story relates the struggles o an aristocratic Russian family to hol< together in the face of the terrifying con ditions brought about by the Soviet rule Kay Johnson, the gifted emotional actress who will be remembered for her excel lent performance in "Madam Satan,' ably portrays the part of Anna Turina whose husband Ivan is in hiding in Paris Neil Hamilton gives a masterful perform ance in the role of the banished hus band, while John Halliday is featured-a Sergei, the Tchekist spy, who is respon sible for the added element of in trigue and mystery. Freddie Frederic! as Kolya, the son of Anna and Ivan has undoubtedly the strongest child rol enacted on the screen since Jaclfi Coogan's portrayal of "The Kid." A unusually powerful supporting cast ir eludes Milton Holmes, Austen Jewell an Henry Kolker. The story opens wit Anna Turina in Moscow _ awaiting wor from her husband, who is in hiding i Paris. Sergei, a member of the Tcheks has Anna thrown into prison, but release her on a pretence of friendship. In til meantime her small son, left to his ow resources, has joined a gang of Re youths led by a youth Yashka. Ann accepts Sergei's offer of work in a Sovi< gambling house where she is found h her husband who has returned from Par bearing a letter in cod« pertainir to a revolutionary plot. From_ this poii events move quickly to a thrilling cliina: An exceptionally fine supporting pr gramme includes an entertaining corned; entitled ''Leave It To Me,", and a Fc Movietone news film, a section oi whi( shows Miss Diana Fishwick, British go champion, competing in the United State Other items depicted include tho Can dian skating championships and the vis of Prince Takamatsu of Japan to Americ Altogether the programme provides an e cellent evening's entertainment.

PLAZA THEATRE. " Present Arms" will conclude a successful season at the Plaza Theatre today. The production takes the form of a musical-comedy and is rich in song and dance numbers. The principals are Denny Rubin, Lilvan Tashman, Louise Fazenda, Ned Sparks, Ken Murray and Rita la Roy. The programme on Monday will be headed by " Bad Sister," which lias been adapted from the novel by Booth Tatkington. The cast includes Sidney Fox and Betty Davis, both of whom make their screen debut. They appear as two sisters, Marianne and Laura, who are both in lovo witli Dick Lindley, a role played by Conrad Nagel. Other prominent are Slim Summerville and Zasu Pitts, who supply the delightful comedv in which the story abounds, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Winninger, Emma Dunn, Bert. Roach and David Durand CRYSTAL PALACE THEATRE. Reuniting the two popular screen lovers Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, " The Man Who Came Back,", which heade the double-feature prograrmno at the Crystal Palace Theatre to-day, is a vivid drama of a reckless youth's regeneration. Much, of the story is sot amid the opium "dives" of Shanghai and Honolulu. The other film, "Man of the North," is a racy outdoor adventure-romance. EPSOM REGENT THEATRE. El Brendel, the Swedish comedian, Is inimitably droll in " Just Imagine," an impression of life 50 years hence, to be shown with " Sea Legs " at the Epsom Regent Theatre to-day. Jack Oakie appears in the latter. EMPRESS THEATRE. Hilarious humour is deftly combined with breathless suspense in " Feet First," Harold Lloyd's comedy, to be screened at the Empress Theatre to-day. . PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE. "Jenny Lind" ("A Lady's Morals"), in which Grace Moore's glorious voice is heard to perfection, and "The Big House," a prison drama, are the main films at the Prince Edward Theatre today. • > • TUDOR THEATRE. A special children's programme will be shown at the Tudor Theatre this afternoon, when comedies arid the serial "Thf Indians are Coming" will be shown. In the evening the film will be '.'Those Three French Girls," with Reginald Denny, Fifi Dorsay and Cliff. Edwards.

MAJESTIC THEATRE.

Two breezy English comedies from the British International Studios balance each other at the Majestic Theatre this week to make delightful entertainment. Ihey are based on society life and their humour arises out of the complexities of husbands and wives who somehow contrive to compromise their happiness in a brisk series of third parly " misunderstandings. First,. there is all the subtlety of Bernard Shaw's brilliance in his satire OH the social conventions in ( his wellknown stage masterpiece " Ilow lie Lied to Her Husband," ail excellent thing interpreted to perfection by an &U" English cast of three. Herein,is treated a tangle set in a London dr&wingroom of the nineties, the plot running merrily through the amorous advances of a poranientnl poet toward the beautiful wife of a rather ponderous city magnate. The snap fire wit of Shaw allows of no tedium and the method which the husband adopts in playing up to_ the situation created by the poet's philandering provides firsl-rato entertainment. uneasy Virtue," the major part of the programme, is ultra-modern comedy portraying marriage's lighter moments through the eyes of upper middle-class England in 1931. Set in the atmosphere of a week-end house party Uneasy Mituo " is the film adaptation of tlio comedy of the same title by Harrison Owen, Australian playwright. Fay Compton admirably plays the part of a long-suffering wife believed by her husband, Edmun 15roon, the timorous foil of loin Walls in " On Approval," to be incapable of anything but prayer book fidelity. Weaned of his taking her very much for granted the woman seeks diversion in an atfair with a member of the party. -As the iriesponsible wooer Francis Lister gives an airy portraval of a by no means easy role. There Is a scene which 'ntetrupted by the entry of a burglar Donald Calthorp, a series of , misunderstandings as to the identity of Ihe woman in the case, suspicions, recriminations and heartburnings among the rest of the husbands, rt is good, racy comedy which moves easily to an unforeseen conclusion. f"C programme is completed with a topical gazette.

NATIONAL. THEATRE. Splendid entertainment is provided .in the screen version of Captain Fra ™ Shaw's naval story Hie Call of the Sea " which commenced a season at the National Theatre yesterday. Henry Edwards, of " Flag Lieutenant has a typical role as Lieutenant Good, Chrissie White, as the charming English wife of a villainous half-caste deputy- ■ governor of a tropic island, brings all her ; cultured English charm, whicjr made. her ■ such a favourite in the " silent days, to | the talking screen, while Bernard Nedell, as the deputy-governor, Ramon Torres, ' adds another briliant portrayal to his gallery of successes. The story deals ' with 'the mysterious happenings on Pablo 1 Island, which prompt the naval authori- ' ties to send Lieutenant Good to inyesti- ' gate, and the interest of the audience - is held throughout the picture. The snp--5 porting film is " Eve's Fall," a fast-mov- • ing comedy-drama. 1 LONDON THEATRE. "Mr. Lemon of Orange," a clever comedy, heads the current programme at the London Theatre. El who acted so well in "Sunny Side Up" and " Just Imagine," has the leading role in this farce, which was written by a famous New York comedian, Eddie Canj tor. The story is full of action, and Mr. ! Brendel, who is supported by a vivacious , French actress, Fifi Dorsay, and an ex- ; ceptionally strong cast; gives his best . performance. The supporting programme { includes an amusing comedy and a comj prehensivo newsreel. TIVOLI THEATRE. > "City Lights" is enjoying a remarkably ; successful season at the Tivoli Theatre. Chaplin is at his best in this film in his ' famuus characterisation as a pathetic and • disreputable tramp. He is supported • principally by Harry Myers, an eccentric ' millionaire, and Virginia Cherrill, t who 3 acts impressively as a blind flower girl. It is an appealing story and Chaplin re* *' veals his art thoroughly in the way "he J , delicately brings about a humorous angle • to a scene dominated by pathos. "City 0 Lights" is not a talking picture. It is e synchronised wonderfully well with music which was created mostly by Chaplin him- , a "" _ h d COSTUME CONCERT PARTY. D " The Carnival Follies," a costume '■ concert party which includes artists who s have appeared in London and the English e Provinces, will make its first appearance n in Auckland at the Lewis Eady Hall on d Tuesday evening. Presented by Miss a Betty Weldon, who is also one of the st chief performers, the entertainment is y' described as a " musical melange of mirth is and melody." The other artists in the ff party ' are Jack Bradshaw, a popular enterit tainer, Thelma Brian, soprano singer and dancer, Minnie Parker, soprano and 3 ". pianiste, Al. Gracie, violinist, and Harry Y Barton, baritone. :h ORGAN RECITAL. The programme for the organ recital by s - the city organist, Mr. Maughan Barnett, in the Town Hall to-morrow afternoon will includo works by Tombelle, Bach a - and Rheinberger, a concert piece in valse x- form by Hollins and Grieg's "Peer Gvnt" suite.

COMMUNITY SINGING. Another successful community -sinking gathering was held in the Lewis Eady Hall last evening, when old favourites xnd new melodies were sung. " Uncle rom," of IZR, was song-leader. The usual community singing will be held in the Town Hall during the luncheon-hour on Wednesday. BOHEMIAN ORCHESTRA. A well-choseii variety of items will be presented at I,he second concert of the season of the Bohemian Orchestra in the Town Hall on Thursday evening July 23. The programme will include Rubenstein's piano concerto, with Mr. Cyril Towsey at the piano. SUNDAY ENTERTAINMENTS. A massed Polynesian choir and orchestra, comprising Walter Smith's Samoans, Maoris and Hawaiians, will take part in the entertainment at tho Civic Theatre to-morrow evening. There will be 53 performers. Splendid films will also be shown. At the Rialto Theatre to-morrow evening the principal talking picture will bo "Rich People," in which Constance Bennet, of "Common Clay," has the part of a temperamental society girl to whom riches do not bring happiness. PUCCINI MUSICAL SOCIETY. A grand classical concert will bo given by the Puccini Musical Society in conjunction with the Musicians' Union in the Town Hall next month. The programme will include one of Perosi's oratorios, accompanied by tho grand organ and an orchestra under the baton of Mr. G. Poore. A number of talented soloists will take part.