AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21569, 15 February 1932, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS

ST. JAMES THEATRE In “Merely Alary Ann,” which is now being screened at the St. James Theatre, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell have scored one of the most notable successes of their career. Farrell is seen as the penniless composer with whom Mary Ann (Janet Gaynor) falls in love. The young composer is a lodger at Mrs Leadbatter’s boarding house, and Alary Ann comes to his rescue with a few shillings that represent all her savings when she hears that he cannot pay for a piano which he has ordered. The two become fast friends and when the composer accepts an offer of £2OO to popularise one of his songs he takes her with him to a cottage on the Devonshire coast. They live blissfully happy together like brother and sister until word comes that Alary Ann has inherited a lot of money. She offers to help him with the money, but he refuses, and their changed circumstances cause them to part. Turning his heartbreak into music the composer writes an opera about their romance, and, though it is a brilliant success, it does not result in an immediate reconciliation. That happens later, when, thoroughly depressed, the successful composer returns to the humble cottage and plays Mary Ann’s favourite song. Looking up from his playing, he finds her standing smiling in the doorway. The supporting programme is suitably varied and amusing, and provides an excellent preface to the main feature. The box plans are at the theatre, Hall’s fruit shop, and the Bristol. “THAT’S CRICKET.” Commencing on Friday next at the St. James Theatre, there will be included on the programme for one week only what is claimed to be the most remarkable and instructive cricket film ever produced. It was made by the Australian Eleven with the idea of fostering the grand old game in the Commonwealth and New Zealand, and it shows all the ■foremost cricketers like Don Bradman, Grimmett, Kippax, Woodfull, Oldfield, ATCabe, etc., in action, while some of these “ giants ” give little talks about varipus aspects of the game. The film will prove intensely entertaining to young and old, particularly to cricket enthusiasts, and is certainly one that should be seen by all young players who aspire to honours on the field. Commenting on the film, Woodfull, the Australian captain, said: “Believing. that by means of the talking screen, with its amazing power so lucidly to demonstrate and explain most things, we can do something to foster cricket, we co-operated in the production of this film. The players you see in action were all members of the victorious eleven that succeeded in wresting the ashes from England last year. If anything that. experience has taught us—the principal points in cricket are shown in this film ■ can be passed on to the younger generation of cricketers then we shall have achieved our object.”

OCTAGON THEATRE Two highly entertaining pictures, “ Murder by the Clock” and “To Oblige a Lady.” are offered to patrons of the Octagon Theatre this week. “Murder by the Clock ” is a genuine thriller. All the best ingredients of a good murder mystery—long hands reaching from the darkness, nerve-shattering shrieks, and suspense which is only relieved with the final fade-out —all these are to be met with in “Murder by the Clock.” In the role of Lieutenant Valcour, who tracks down a woman with a lust for killing, William Boyd gives an especially fine rendering which makes him the dominating figure of the picture. Lilyan Tashman, as the fascinating but terrible Laura Endicott, who sends three people, including her husband and her lover, to death, and Irving Pichel, as Philip Endicott, the maniac who also delights in murder, are also outstanding characters. “ To Oblige a Lady” centres round a newly married couple who wish to impress a very important business magnate with the steadiness of the husband and the domestic capabilities of the wife. ' Things promise well until, in an emergency, Mrs Harris is engaged to cook a dinner which is to reduce the man of millions to a state of well-fed agreeableness. Unfortunately, whatever Mrs Harris’s skill in the art of conversational blundering, she is no culinary artist, and the dinner steadily degenerates into a tragedy of mistakes which are by no means alleviated by Mrs Harris’s well-meant efforts to brighten the situation. Side by side with this a matrimonial tangle develops which adds materially to the hilarity of all but the actual participants. The box plans are at the Bristol. EMPIRE THEATRE The best proof of the merit of “The Keepers of Youth,” which has created something of a sensation at the Empire Theatre, is to he found in the tense absorption and obvious appreciation of the full house that sampled its simple directness and unequivocal candour on Saturday night. It is an impressive film and must be seen. The principal roles are admirably portrayed by Garry Marsh, Robert Irving, and Anne Todd, whose work is to a large extent responsible for the striking success which the picture achieves. The part of the scoundrelly and bullying sports master of the school, who retains his position purely on account of the hold he maintains on the head by reason of his knowledge of his past life, is given remarkably fine treatment by Garry Marsh, whose characterisation is clean cut and forceful, as well as strikingly free from any unnecessary frills and embellishments which might have dulled the sharply defined outlines of the part. It is a strong role, and receives appropriate treatment, with the result that it is the dominating character study of the story. Robert Irvine is excellently cast as the young junior master, fresh from Oxford, with all the illusions of youth unspoiled and an unbounded faith in the sanctity of the calling which he intends to adopt, despite the warning utterances of older men whose whole lives have been given up to the Moloch of an educational system which has nothing to commend it.. Anne Todd is charmingly sedate in her role of assistant matron at the school, and invests her part with a deep sense of dramatic insight which proves that this latest convert to the ranks of the talking film artists has an ability which should make her greatly sought after by British producers. The supporting programme of short subjects is unusually entertaining, and includes an interesting sound gazette, an educational film entitled “Friendly Flies,” showing the lives and habits of several varieties of insects whose whole existence is devoted to the destruction of the pests that plague gardens and humanity as a whole; a delightful musical scenic, “The Dear Little Shamrock,” showing many of the historic places of old Ireland, and a thrilling dramatic production entitled “ The Lame Duck” Mr Paul Cullen again delighted the audience with his presentations at the console of the Christie unit organ, his “ Down the River of Golden Dreame,” followed by “My Canary Has Rings Under Its Eyes,” in which he supplied the vocal refrain, calling forth loud applause. He was also heard in excellent interpretations of selections from Monckton’s “The Arcadians,” and the descriptive novelty “The Forge in the Forest.” The box plans are at the theatre and the Bristol. “EAST OF BORNEO.” “ East of Borneo ” is said to be one of the most remarkable motion pictures yet produced. This unusual drama will open a season at the Empire Theatre next Friday. Tlie story is laid in the wild jungle of the Malay Peninsula, and many of its scenes were actually made there by an expedition which travelled 9000 miles from the studios. The story concerns an Oriental rajah, a white woman, and her former husband. The latter, embittered by his unsuccessful marital venture, has chosen literally to bury himself in the Malay jungles where he is the only white man. and where he acts as personal physician to the rajah of the district. The wife, feeling the return of her love for her former husband, follows him to this tropical outpost, and it is after her arrival that the story takes on an unusual quality of tense drama. With the indignant husband repulsing his former wife, and the rajah casting covetous eyes on her, a situation is created which leads to exciting events and a most thrilling climax. Scenically, “ East of Borneo ” is full of wild charm. Most of the scenes take place in the palace of the rajah, a picturesque ruin situated on the bank of a crocodile-infested river, with an active volcano topping the mountain range in the middle distance. The cast, headed by Rose Hobart and Charles Bickford, is excellent. These two players are ideally suited to their roles, as are also Georges

Renavent, Lupita Tovar, and Noble Johnson. The efforts of these artists are supplemented by several hundred native Malays, who supply the “ finishing touch ” to a screen production -which is in every wal remarkable. Included on the programme will be a special cricket film entitled “ That’s Cricket,” in which such masters of the game as Woodfull, Bradman, Grimmett, Kippax, Oldfield, and M'Cabe demonstrate with the assistance of the slow motion camera the vital points of the game. STRAND THEATRE “My Wife’s Family” is still proving a great attraction at the Strand Theatre, a very large audience witnessing the screening on Saturday evening. The picture, which comes from the Elstree studios, is a typical English farce, but it differs from the usual run of such entertainments in that the story, the acting, and the dialogue are all of a much higher degree of excellence than those of the average picture. The story concerns the troubles of a young couple who are visited by the wife’s parents just at the same time,as the husband decides to present his wife with a baby grand piano. The coincidence which causes the husband’s brother-in-law to place his baby in the summer house where the piano is hidden gives rise to the misapprehensions which follow, -when the mother-in-law, a large, commanding figure with a penchant for seeking out mischief where none exists, sees the child and imagines the worst about her son-in-law. Amy Veness plays the part of Arabella Nagg, the mother-in-law, in a most convincing manner, and the role of Peggy Gay, her daughter, is taken by Muriel Angelus, whose work in the emotional portions of the picture is as good as her comedy. Jack Gay, the carefree young husband who gets himself well into the bad graces of his wife’s parent, is played by Gene Gerrard, who has a splendid foil for his bright and breezy comedy in Jimmy Godden, who is not unknown to Dunedin audiences. The supporting programme is an excellent one. The box plana are at the theatre and the Bristol. REGENT THEATRE “Born to Love” is proving unusually popular at the Regent Theatre, where it was screened to a packed house on Saturday evening. Beautiful Constance Bennett in the leading role is specially attractive, and finds in her part much to suit her particular talents. The story works up to an intensely dramatic conclusion tinged with tragedy. Miss Bennett’s emotional acting holding the audience spellbound. Joel M'Crae is excellent as her lover, and Paul Cavanagh as the husband, gives a polished performance. Frederick Kerr, a character actor of outstanding ability, has an important part, and there are several others who are equally well cast. The acting of Miss Bennett and her supporters alone, however, could not have made this picture such a great attraction. All that is best in motion-picture production has been incorporated in this film, which has many scenes that will remain in the memory. Outstanding among them is the one which describes Armistice Day in London. The reproduction of such a scene in a manner that makes it perfectly convincing alone is sufficient demonstration of the fact that the creators of the film stand in the very front rank of their art. Though the film may not be altogether beyond criticism, there are times when it_ reaches amazing heights, and all who see it during its Dunedin season will feel the richer for the experience. The supporting programme is also an unusually attractive one. The Australian Gazette is crammed with items of exceptional interest, and the travel picture, “The Call of Mohammed,” is a gem of its kind. A comedy, "Bullmania.” is followed by a “sportlight ” entitled “ Ski-pilots,” and a British news reel rounds off the introductory programme. The box plans are at the theatre and tbe Bristol. “THE LAWYER’S SECRET.” Drama, neither stark nor terrifying, but intensely real, human, and emotionally exciting, will be seen at the Regent Theatre on Friday next. It is contained in Paramount’s “ The Lawyer’s Secret,” in which an excellent and all-star cast, headed by Clive Brook, Charles Rogers, and Richard Arlen, brings to life a tense complication of modern-day living. The vividness of “ The Lawyer’s Secret ” is intensified by the intelligent _ presentation of its drama. Its audiences are made to feel its vital significance for each one of them. Its web of circumstances might wind itself around any unthinking individual, just as it winds, in the picture, around Brook, the suave lawyer; Rogers, the weakling playboy; Arlen, the reckless young sailor. Louis Gasnier and Max Marcin, who made “ Shadow of the Law,” put the story on the screen. Brook, a distinguished lawyer, in love with Fay Wray, becomes the confidant of Rogers, Fay’s brother. Rogers is implicated in a murder for which Arlen is being tried for his life. Brook’s legal ethics forbid him to betray Rogers’ confidence, although Fay, unaware of her brother’s danger, yields to the pitiful plea of Arlen’s sweetheart, Jean Arthur, and urges him to defend the accused boy. Rogers refuses to reveal his part in the crime and thus ties Brooks’s hands. Fay despises the man who loves her for letting hip professional ethics stand in the way of his performing his duty as a man. As the day for Arlen’s execution nears, Brook is racked with emotion, and finally decides to act. Then Fay learns the truth about her brother’s part in the killing. What does she do then? Does her attitude change? Can Brook go through with his decision? Will Rogers rise to the occasion? Does Arlen pay the penalty of the crime of which he is innocent? These are the tense and eager questions which project the climax of “ The Lawyer’s Secret.” Because its action and its acting are real, true to life, its questions and their answers become vital things. Into its rousing story, its brilliant cast convincing life. This picture is also significant as an introduction to serious drama of the popular juvenile,_ Charles Rogers. It marks the first time Rogers has had an opportunity to display his real dramatic ability on the talking screen. Nor is the handsome Rogers’s protrayal overshadowed by the forceful acting of Clive Brook and Richard Arlen in the conflicting roles. Brook, as a perplexed lawyer in whom love and duty fight for mastery, carries the motivating role of the drama. In love with Fay Wray, he is forced to conceal from her, as well as the world, his knowledge that Rogers, her brother, is really guilty of a crime for which Arlen is on trial for his life. Jean Arthur, as Arlen’s sweetheart, handles the role with her usual convincing ability. KING EDWARD THEATRE The new programme which was commenced at the King Edward Theatre on Saturday was a double feature one of unusual excellence. The first picture is “ The Secret Six,” in which the most prominent part is taken by Wallace Beery. It is a story of gangsters and the type of civil war which is supposed to exist most of the time in certain of the large American cities. "The Secret Six ” is filled with dramatic incidents, some of which are the night attack of the vigilantes on the gangsters’ stronghold, the gangster funeral, the murder trial, the desperate running battle of gunmen in motor cars, the “putting on the spot ” of Wallace Beery, the murder of Lewis Stone and the grim denouement in the condemned cell. The film gives vivid descriptions of many gangster practices, including third degree methods, the raiding of the bootleggers’ stills and attacks on rival gangsters. The element of romance also enters in the story in which Miss Jean Harlow, who achieved an outstanding success in “Hell’s Angels,” has an important part. John Mack Brown is another player who takes a prominent role. Lewis Stone plays the part of Newton, who is the hidden leader of the unscrupulous gangsters. Other members of the cast are Marjorie Rambeau, Paul Hurst and Clark Gable. The other picture is “ Doctors’ Wives,” an intensely interesting story of a passage in the life of a doctor. Warner Baxter and Joan Bennett, both established favourites, have the principal roles.