AMUSEMENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20867, 6 November 1929, Page 5

AMUSEMENTS.

EMPIRE THEATRE,

Tins week’s principal picture at the Empire Theatre is Through Different Eves," an all-talking drama, in which Warner Baxter. Florence Lake, and Edmund Lowe are seen in the leading roles. The initial sequences depict the interior of an American court of justice, during a murder trial, and the scene then shifts to the locale of the murder, and the audience is shown the events which happened on the night of the murder reconstructed in three different ways. The climax is a strong one. and is provided by the true account of the murder as told by. an eye-witneas. The picture is, exceedingly well acted, and the manner in which the characters present the various opposing attributes contained in all three versions is very convincing. The short section of the programme provides excellent entertainment, including as it does a well-acted three-reel play entitled “ Napoleon’s Barber," and as a comedy an hilarious comedy, “ Beneath the Law,” which deals in humorous fashion with the administration of justice in an American lower court of law. ' An interesting news reel and a local gazette are also screened. The musical programme, as usual, is a particularly fine one.

“ CONQUEST."

Anticipating, the tremendous interest which is focused upon polar exploration flights, Warner Bros, have produced a' lavish motion picture special with the aerial conquest of the Antarctic as its central theme. ■ This ■, is “ Conquest,” which will be commenced at tlie Empire Theatre on Friday. Monte Blue is in the starring- role; H. B. Warner featured Lois Wilson in the lead1DK i -f® lll ' ll ' ll6 part and Edmund Breese and Tuily Marshall prominently cast. Two flights similar to that delineated in Conquest ” are at present under way, one under Commander Byrd and a second under the command of Captain Wilkins. •Conquest” actually details two attempts to master the baffling Antarctic, Us plot exposing the perils of the sufazero zone and its effect upon the mental nbre of the daring adventurers who seek to conquer it. Blue has a heroic role '■he pilot of the ill-fated attempts and Warner acts as Lis navigator. The giant tn-motored Albatross, which attracted international attention on two occasions by Us attempts to_ set sustained flight records, was used in filming flying scenes in Conquest. To ensure accuracy in all technical details Warner Bros, engaged Lieutenant James E. Dyer, as supervisor. This navy flyer last year won the national trophy for the total number of hours in iol, a i r ’ hls for th ® year being 1251 hours “Conquest" i 8 based on Candles in the Wind,” the popular novel by Mary Imlay Taylor.

OCTAGON THEATRE,

i 4, v . a, 'i e 4 and entertaining programme headed by a unique talking, Irama, “ Gdnatentbe n.t the P £l ss 4 is l einK Presented at the Octagon Theatre this week. The principal picture tells of a New York journalist, Wickland Snell, who is so mmersed m his profession that he takes little interest in anything else, unless, perfnrm. 1 !- 18 p fu et i y fF 1 ®; His daughter informs him that she has married a re“amed Ted Hanley, and Snell determines to abandon newspaper work and pay more attention to his daughter He becomes a publicity agent, and falls in love withvhis. secretary, who he discovers is friendly with Hanley. Snell goes back to the newsroom, buries himself in work, and a, tragedy enters into his life. Another ls „ t . l ? e , °ffenng by Dale Smith and the Salisbury Singers. The entertainers are costumed in the vestments of last century, and to a harp, violin, and cello accompaniment the company sings fe, old T in “John Peel" and Who Is That A-calling?" A very fine xt S a , J>lc . ture dealing with the vy u4 unng .manoeuvres, which is splendidly photographed, and treats the subject with wonderful fidelity.

COMING ATTRACTION.

i A really good talking comedy is always PA'S, exceptionally pleasing, aid Cohens and the Kellys in Atlantic Uty, the picture to be presented at the Octagon Theatre on Friday, is said to be an-exceptionally pleasing example of this, fn the leads of the two Cohens and the two Kellys are George Sidney and Vera Gordon. Mack Swain and Kate Price, and the juvenile leads are played by Nora Dane and Cornelius Keefe. The Cohens and the Kellys have become famous in recent years, the Three Musketeers of modern American light fiction. The stones always concern business, disruptions, reconciliations, furious bickerings and everything made up at the end to allow of the, son and daughter to effect a romantic ending. But while these quarrela and friendships proceed on the screen the audience is set for an evening of wholehearted enjoyment. All the characters speak, and they have particularly lines. In this realm, George Sidney is said to be really funny, what with accent, gestures, despair, and all. The part of his wife is played by Vera Gordon. Opposed to these are the Kellys, belligerent and likeable, Mack Swain and Kate Price, Not less humorous more airy and_ irresponsible, they also quarrel and rejoice with the Cohens to the advantage of the story as a comedy. In contrast to this are the two youngsters, Ijora Lane and Cornelius Keefe. What they do and say is what ah romantic young people do and say under given circumstances. The story the picture tells is of the venture of the Cohens and the Kellys, when they decide to boost their failing business by going to Atlantic City and staging a bathing beauty parade there for their own line of surf costumes. From then on everything goes as gloriously wrong as it should, much to the discomfiture of the partners, and much to the glee of the audience.

REGENT THEATRE

The featured picture at. the Regent Theatre this week is “Dr Fu Manchu, in •which this amazing character, created by Sax Rohmer, is brought to the screen, and made the medium of a picture which abounds in thrilling incidents and in which the interest is sustained throughout. The cast chosen for this picture is a particularly strong one, and includes such players as Warner Gland, O. P. Heggie, Neil Hamilton, Jean Arthur, and William Austin, and the enjoyment of the production is enhanced by the fact that the principals use faultless English spoken perfectly. From Peking, during the Boxer rebellion, the audience ia transEorted in a flash to the East End of ondon, where Fu Manchu’s lair is seen on the screen, with all its magnificence, and secret workings. There is a mysterious murder of General Petrie, who had been in charge of the British troops during the Boxer rising, and then follows in rapid succession incident after incident of a most thrilling kind that form a chain in the bringing to an end of the awful work of an arch fiend. Naturally Scotland Yard looms largely in the story during this stage, and is represented by Inspector Nayland Smith. There is a succession of hairbreadth escapes, murders skilfully and devilishly manoeuvred by the wily Fu Manchu, and hazardous risks taken by the men of Scotland Yard. From all this emerges a love episode such as moving picture habitues delight in. Entertaining supports and an excellent musical programme are added.

STRAND THEATRE,

Heading the current bill at the Strand Theatre is “The Iron Mask,” a thrilling and adventurous story of those four gay soldiers of fortune, D’Artagnan, Athos, Pqrthos, and Aramis. The portrayal of this quartet of adventurers is in. the hands of Douglas Fairbanks, Leon Barry. Stanley Sandford, and Cino Carrado, and there can be no doubt that this choice of cast is a particularly happy one. The picture presents in a wonderfully faithful manner the stately ceremony and complicated intrigue of the French court iu the days of Louis XIV, and one sees the famous Cardinal Richelieu and his henchmen, engaged in their multifarious schemes for the glorification of France. The acting in the production is on equally ns high a level as in the first picture of this type, in which Fairbanks was featured, “ The Three Musketeers.” A strong supporting programme is also featured.

EVERYBODY’S THEATRE. Starring Anna May Wong. Gilda Gray, and Jamieson Thomas, “Piccadilly,' which heads the bill at Everybody’s Theatre this week, deals with a little scullery maid, who, through her clever dancing, reaches the top of the tree in the th<?9, f jvvxl «acU. How she loses all through the jealousy of a professional rival, and how tbs rival has to fight

against a charge of having murdered her, make a thrilling and entertaining picture. The supporting picture is “The Girl-shy Cowboy, which tells the story of a bashful cowboy who, when occasion arises, sheds his shyness and proves to the girl he loves that he can take care of himself and her also.

PLAZA AND GRAND THEATRES

The “Alley Cat” holds pride of place on the current bill at the Plaza and Grand Theatres. The picture is a unique production, which deals in most realistic fashion with a romance amongst the squalid and wretched slums of the East End of London, and at the head of the cast are such well-known stars as Mabel Poulton. Clifford M'Lagen, and Jack Trevor, The story is a film version of a novel by Anthony Carlyle, and through- a series of _ exciting and cleverly-acted sequences it follows the adventures of a noted young composer, who, wrongfully accused of murder, fiees for refuge to the slums of the East End. A love romance enters into the plot, and eventually a satisfactory climax is reached. A strong supporting programme is screened, and at the Plaza Theatre an additipnal attraction is the amateur theatrical trials, which last night were advanced another stage.

KING EDWARD J.HEATRE-.

Heading an excellent double bill which had its initial presentation at the King Edward Theatre last night is “ Eileen,'' which tells in dramatic fashion of a young scion of nobility who, attracted by the miseries of a pretty maid, rescues her from her trouble, only to find that his efforts on her behalf cannot end by merely placing her in charge of his friends. A romantic series of incidents follows, and amongst the more thrilling sequences is a motor chase in which the young man, although he does not emerge victorious, has every reason to be satisfied with the ultimate result. The second feature is “ Piccadilly,” the plot of which is laid in London, and centres round a series of sensational happenings in a night club. Anna May Wog, Gilda Gray, ad Jameson Thomas are the featured players.