AMUSEMENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20963, 28 February 1930, Page 13

AMUSEMENTS.

EMPIRE THEATRE. An- unusually high standard of entertainment, is being offered this week at the Empire Theatre. In addition to a varied and interesting. selection of short Matures, including news,. educational; novelty, and comedy items, * there is the ™ ain .Ipmture, “ Embarrassing Moments,’’ in which Reginald. Denny, the popular comedian, has the principal role. Mr Meslie V. Harvey offers a speciallyselected programme of musical numbers ° n the organ and piano, the stage being very effectively decorated for the latter portion of the programme. Hia organ items are Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody e l-’ .» m Eemting the Clouds With kunshme, and the Hawaiian farewell, Aloha. Oe.’ The piano solos are “ Rustle 01 Sjjnng ’ (Sinding!', a medley of popular ams. .and “ Softly A akes My Heart ( bamson and. Delilah ”). “ Embarrassing Moments ” is pun, farce, and, as su . should not be taken too seriously. Briefly, the story ■ concerns a girl who comes to her home town after attendingan art school in New. York, to be met by the whole township, including her father, her fiance, and the latter’s mother During the evening when her homecoming is being celebrated, her friend. Mae, whom she has brought home with her, tunes in to a New York orchestra on the wireless. and, hearing the familiar strains, she commences a modern dance. The father, the fiance, and all the villagers are thoroughly shocked at her antics, and the result, is that she hands back to the young man his ring. Her father is furious, especially when he demands an explanation, and she tel.a him, on the spur of the moment, that there is someone else in New York, and that she has ■ entered into a trial marriage. Pressed for the name of her husband, she says the first thing that enters her head—Thaddeus Cruickshank. Her father hunts for the name in the directory, -and, curiously enough,. finds it. He immediately telefirapns to the young man to come to Fulerville. and “ take what is coming to him.” Nothing loath, though completely at sea as to the meaning of it all, Thaddeus duly arrives at the’ Fuller mansion. He finally gets an explanation from the girl, who is immediately sent to her room by her father. When they all go to bed, she sends a note to Thaddeus saying that she will meet him downstairs, and from that there arises indescribable confusion. Every time the young man tries to get downstairs he is foiled by somemone. and is caught in the bedrooms of three different women. After the third time the girl’s father' orders him to-sleep down-' stairs, and matters then begin to straighten' themselves out. ■ “ SUNNY SIDE UP.” Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, perhaps the most popular of all screen sweethearts, not only talk in “ Sunny Side Up,” original Fox Movietone musical comedy' by De Sylva, Brown, and .Henderson, but also sing and dance in'a manner which marks them as outstanding performers in this field as they were in silent pictures. Miss Gaynor has studied voice culture ever since she first entered pictures, a little over three years ago. To sing always has been' one of her greatest ambitions, she confessed recently, and ever since signing a long term contract with Fox she has filled in much of her spare time studying voice Consequently, when the development of audible pictures attained their tremendous popularity, the little star was well equipped to step before a microphone and . talk or sing with the best, of them. Unlike so many of the .former silent screen favourites, who have passed into /oblivion with the new era. Miss' Gaynor has attained even greater, heights through the use of her voice. Farrell, who was on the. stage before pictures reached out and claimed him for their own, has a highly pleasing baritone voice which he has developed during the, last. two years under the tutelage of the-best teachers. money could employ. Consequently, it will be lan entirely different ■ Janet Gaynor -and Charles Farrell who-make their debut here,soon in “Sunny Side Up.” They are surrounded by a cast; that includes Sharon Lynn, Marjorie White, Frank ; Richardson, and ;El Erendel, as well ; as a chorus of 100. “‘MARRIED IN HOLLYWOOD;’’ ■A philandering son of .-royalty, “Prince Nicholai,” young; handsome, polished, and brilliant,, is the role played by J. Harold Murray in the Fox Movietone production • tb® song romance. “ Married jP Hpllywnqd,” which will commence, at the. Empire Theatre next, Wednesday. Prince Nicholas attends the opera in Vienna on a night when the star is ill and her understudy. Mary Lou Hopkins, an American girl, sings the role. Norma lerris- plays this role, and the prince is : intrigued with her.' He sends his adjutant Poetically' to command heir to take supper with him, but she refuses. Later he comes to meet Mary Lou again, and a romance develops.. On the eve of their betrothal a revolution occurs, and royalty is wiped out. But before the revolution" the princes mother had arranged with- an adjutant to have a note sent to Mary Lou ' breaking the engagement.- She flees to America, and the prince, follows. - Joe Glitner (Walter .Catlett), a movie' producer, hears Mary, Lou sing oa, shipboard, and'sees stellar qualities in her! He takes her Hollywood under another name, and she becomes a star. In her big Production a call is sent out for foreign extras, and the one-time prince is in the group. In. a strange way they come together again, and are married in Hollywood. ■ STRAND THEATRE, <At the Strand Theatre to-day the film 'lnterference .will be shown, with Clive Brook in one. of the leading roles. Another featured player is William Powell the part of, a care-free rake, yetTns role is one which earns the syrn nathy of the audience before the r film is vpTiiofiTi er ’ j 3 E re ®t is cast as a revengeful young lady who resorts to blackmail when thwarted in the game of love. M ' SB Kenyon has the difficult role of the wife of two husbands—Powell and Brook r-rand who is finally saved, and her happiness restored, by the working A her first husband, Powell. Lothar Mendes, famous of”the e film dlreCt ° r ’ !andled the dire ction OCTAGON THEATRE. n ***?£? the picture , "Wight" came to hsh e d d Mr OV i?Li? week a S°.it had established tor itself R reputation as a enectacular drama.'of the air, and one of the crme P d Ct Then°L itS 8 tha * has been created, ihe picture-going public Of Dunfilm endorsed this of thd capacity housee have attended ,DR c at the Octagon Theatre. ■i-he patronage of the public has been so IheatreliTfl . mana E ement of the tcmL° f f the aeria l evolutions ™ B i° rC ? ln the film outdoes that of rion flvfnp l a P ?f ettntS ' The close formauiingmg about a disastrous collision Thp spectacular wondpr tuZ C X, e,< ? n ' xne terest L 'i 1 ita ] ove inhands ofHolfWVkfh r pablc ■liL*to O Lf “ifi* S £iV > B.‘d p \&n e ’- •'p*Sfes ways into Horn kls un ®nsuming ce]lont. ra feo \ love, and the nTni ti i-u 1 'overheads in sta ei*r.t£ -SSfvS cerned. There - Vln g to all con- & it “Show's! ject ' a interesting scenic sub-

REGENT THEATRE. foi Gl t°hi a fifsT tt^e ,S in V he Wi Tre 6 hCa^ talkg C [n I f|i' IS '^^ S effeerive

for a silent picture, into which dialogue lias been injected. Her singing likewise is expected to be more highly appreciated, because the two songs she offers interpret the mood of the story and sustain its tempo, instead of disrupting .its trend of thought. In addition to serving as the medium of her vocal debut. “The Trespasser presents Miss Swanson once again as a woman of fashion, with a wardrpbe of gowns, wraps, and negligees which are ultra modern in every detail.' “ The Trespasser, which will be the attraction at the Regent Tneatre to-day, is a drama ot the moment. Its setting is Chicago; its environment the “smart set.” And through its intimate study of a girl who becomes a trespasser in this restricted social sphere and in the lives of its peo le the story delves into the vital affairs ot M.iss Swanson, in her portrayal of Marion Donnell,” is supported by established players of both /stage and screen, ihe leading man is Robert Ames, who has been extremely popular on Broadway. Me portrays “Jack Merrick,” whose romance with “ Marion Donnell ” indelibly stamps her as “ The Trespasser.” Purnell Pratt, who has appeared on the talking screen in “Alibi,” plays “ Hector Ferguson, wealthy corporation lawyer, and the other man ” in Marion Donnell’s involved scheme of things. Henry B. Walthall, one of the screen’s earliest figures, has a strong character role. Wally Albright, three years and a-ha If old, who appears as “ Marion Donnell’s ” son, is regarded as one of the most promising of all the child actors in dialogue pictures. Blanche Priderici, who appeared «• successfully with Miss Swanson in Sadie Thompson,” again plays in her support. Other assisting players are William Holden. Kay Hammond Mary Forbes, and Margaret Corday. “RIO RITA.” “ Rio Rita,” aptly .described as '• the miracle picture,” is said to hold the blue ribbon of the motion picture industry It has been acknowledged by critics and the him industry generally as the biggest finest production the studios, have given picture patrons. That it has proved more than a personal triumph For Bebe Daniels is quite insignificant beside the success of the production itself. If there were any wen-k points in it onp could forgive them -one would be more than compensated by the colour, the lavishness, the melody, and the acting. But there are said to be no weak points. The stage ■show of Rio Rita ” was enriched a hundredfold—epriched with: new songs, new dresses, new colouring, new staging, and ii™ Production was Transformed to the audible screen with masterly technique; photographed in natural colours; performed by a cast that lived .their parts, directed by tbe hands of a master' craftsman Bebe Daniels reveals herself in entirely new glory, a veritable prima donna of the screen, as well as a dramatic actress of outstanding ability; in fact, Bebe, always popular, • perhaps not now the same wildcat bundle mischief she was, proves herself a real genius. John poles, the famous tenor, excels his performance in “The Desert Song,” "Rio Kxta is an all-night show;it‘is the first complete operetta to be presented on the screen. _ Commencing with- it 3 own overture, the first part is followed bv a short interval. Then comes the wild, fascinating ent’racte, and ‘as the curtain rises one is said to gasp at the dazzling, glittering beauty of the colouring, l for. the whole of the second half is photographed in colour.