AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21578, 25 February 1932, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS

OCTAGON THEATRE Two judiciously-chosen pictures comprise the present bill at the Octagon Theatre. In “Laughter,” Nancy Carroll, whose appearances on the screen of late have been all too few, has the part of Peggy Gibson, who marries an elderly millionaire, chiefly for the luxury and ease his money will afford her. When a younger man who is an ardent admirer of hers tries to convince her that she has been very foolish she will not listen to him, but, later, she comes to realise that she has made a mistake, and forsakes her loveless life for one of a more congenial nature. The second picture, “ Secret Service,” deals with the American Civil War, and Richard Dix handles the leading role with notable success. The box plans are at the theatre and the Bristol. “ DIGGERS.” The Octagon Theatre to-morrow, it is claimed, will be the first theatre in New Zealand to screen an all-Australian talking picture programme. It will probably be thought that, because the programme is the first full-length bill to be produced for the audible''screen by Australian enterprise, the quality will not come up to the excellent standard set by England and America, but it is stated that this is by no means the case. Several criticisms from leading Australian papers definitely state that not only in acting, comedy, and production, but also in the actual recording and sound this wonderful Australian programme even excelled the American product. The leading feature, appropriately enough, bears the title of “ Diggers, ’ and stars Pat Hanna, George Moon, Ed Warrington, Cecil Scott, Nell Fleming, etc. It is,, a six-reel comedy production personally directed by F. W. Thring, who must be feeling a very happy man to-day, seeing that he is responsible, or mtunly so, for the Australian product being placed upon the map of the screen world. Undaunted by difficulties which would have depressed any but the strongest personality, he struggled gamely until it was possible to place before the public “ talkie ” entertainment. made in Australia by Australians which rivalled any output produced by America and Lpndon. “ Diggers,” as the name implies, is the story of the Australian soldier, a lovable chap, who has justly earned the plaudits of the world, not only for his bravery on the field, but for his remarkable sense of humour. But the action of this picture centres mainly about the lighter side of things. In our most tragic moments there is always a fine streak of wholesome comedy. This has been ably extended by the director of this production and the result is a work of wonderful. comedy, with occasional pathos. In addition, the supports include Jack O’Hagan, the celebrated Australian composer of “On the Road to Gundagai,” etc., in some songs at the piano in a short featurette, and to round off a wonderful bill there is a splendid sound scenic of the beautiful city of Melbourne. As an added attraction the Paramount “Honour Among Lovers” will be screened, starring Claudette Colbert and Frederic March, who will be remembered for their delightful acting together in “Manslaughter.’ ST. JAMES THEATRE \ ' Janet Gayuor and Charles Farrell have one of their best co-starring vehicles to date in “Merely Mary Ann,” which will be shown for the last time at the St. James Theatre to-night. The story tells of a\ poverty-stricken composer and the boarding house drudge, Mary Ann,' who puts her small savings at his disposal in order that he may be able to set his foot on the road to fame. Later, when Mary Ann inherits a large amount of money, she offers to help the composer still further, but he refuses, and they part. . The composer writes an opera about their romance, and it is an instant success, so that the lovers are reunited, and everything ends as it should. There is a fine supporting programme. The box plans are at the theatre ap,d the Bristol, “WICKED.” "No matter,what the title might suggest, ‘Wicked’* has proved itself everywhere a splendid picture, with a particularly wide appeal . to all types of audience,” wrote a critic of the sensational Fox attraction that will commence tomorrow' afternoon at the St. James Theatre. No picture that has come .to Dunedin in months has had such lavish £ raise as “Wicked,” which stars Elissa andi. Not alone because Elissa Landi, the beautiful young English actress is the toast of fllmdom to-day, but because in “ Wicked,” she has a vehicle ideal for the dramatic ability she possesses, and also because of the excellence of the story, the sensitive direction and the all star cast with which she is surrounded. Victor M'Laglen, famed for hie remarkable portrayal of Captain Flagg . in “What Price Glory,” enacts the leading male role. Una Merkel, Dixie’s own little star, is also -featured as is Allan Dine; hjW’t and Theodore Von Eltz. Miss Landi has vast opportunity for a display of her, exceptional emotional talent in the role of Margot Rande, a hapless and valiant young wife, who is not alone disillusioned and widowed, but also sent to prison as an accomplice of her bank robber husband. Her mother love, which prompts her later to kidnap her own child on he r release from prison, brings about the highly, dramatic climax. The story is an original one from the pen of Gordon Rigby and was adapted for the talking screen by Adela Rogers St. John, The directorial reins were handled by that noted screen director, Allen Dwan, There wall be an excellent supporting programme. The box plans are at the Bristol. ' STRAND THEATRE “ Riders of the Purple Sage,” the thrilling Western picture which has proved a popular attraction at the Strand Theatre during the past week, will have its final screening to-night. .George O’Brien is seen in the role of Lassiter, while Marguerite Churchill portrays Jane Withersteen, the girl who- fights singlehanded against land grabbers and rustlers unijil Lassiter arrives and helps her. The story abounds with exciting incidents, which culminate in a happy climax. A strong supporting programme is shown. The box plans are at the theatre and the Bristol. DOUBLE-FEATURE PROGRAMME. A double-feature programme will be screened at the Strand Theatre to-mor-row. The first picture is entitled “ Captain Applejack,” with John Halliday in the leading role. “Captain Applejack took Broadway by stprm. The whitecollar crowds who saw it —and beheld the timid Ambrose Applejohn suddenly, whisked into the midst of a nightmare, in which his desires to be like his fierce grandfather, the pirate “ Captain Applejack/' are realised —shook with laughter. John Halliday plays the title role in “ Captain Applejack.” Lovely Mary Brian as his American, ward and Kay Strozzi as an adventuress, ; also appear in the pirate sequences. Louise Glosser Hale is in the cast together with Julia Swayno Gordon, Alec B. Francis, Claude Allister, Arthur Edmund Carew, Otto Hoffman, and William Davidson. The picture is an adaptation of the stage success of Walter Hackett. The screen version is by Maude Fulton. Hobart Henly directed. “ Captain Applejack ” is outstanding among comedies, by reason of the fact that the pirate interludes are made of the stuff of dreams and the thrills and the final discovery of the hidden treasure of old sea-raider —are reality. “His Friend’s Wife,’ the other film, is a gripping melodrama of railroads and the men and women who run them. Grant Withers, Mary Astor, and Regis Toomey share the leading roles in this Warner Brothers’ special. His Friend’# Wife,” is adapted from a dramatic story by Maude Fulton. It concerns the love of two men for ° ne woman —two friends of the engine cab who become deadly rivals for the same girl. All the thrill of a railroading is added to the power of a gripping love story to make “His Friend’s Wife one of the most interesting pictures of the season. James Cagney, Fred Kohler J. Farrell MacDonald, and Joan Blondell complete the cast. EMPIRE THEATRE Rose Hobart and Charles Bickford play their parts with extraordinary skill in “East of Borneo,” which will have its final screening at the Empire Theatre to-night. Miss Hobart plays the part ot the wife to perfection, and not only gives an exceedingly impressive account of herself, but also wears her clothes as to the manner born. Charles Bickford .acquits himself with his usual distinction.

He is a man of great personality, an actor of merit, and a player who has a rare and valuable sense of drama. He finds in the role of Dr Allan Clark a part specially suited to his particular talents, and not one of the many opportunities his part affords him is lost. He has frequently impressed Dunedin audiences in the past, but nothing he has ever done on the sound screen before can compare with his work in “ East of Borneo, I here is a particularly interesting supporting programme. The box plans are at the theatre and the Bristol. “ WAITING FOR THE BRIDE.” There are several reasons why the allcolour “ talkie” “Waiting for the Bride,’ which will commence to-morrow at the Empire Theatre, is. a notable and very entertaining Any one of these reasons would be sufficient excuse ioi calling it a fine picture; together they mean a film which is truly delightful to see and hear. “Waiting for the Brule is a film which catches that elusive quality known as “ human interest and .it strikes just the right note of sparkling laughter and lively drama tinged slightly with pathos. The story is simple, but many fine films have already proved that simplicity is an advantage rather than a disadvantage, and it is shot through with lively wit, sophisticated but unusual situations, and romance that rings true. It is essentially a comedy, however, and great care has been taken in selecting a east that would do it justice. The film is specially notable for being made throughout in technicolour. There have already been many films in colour, but they have either been musical films or something spectacular, and “ Waiting fop the Bride ’ is claimed to be the first ordinary drama to be made entirely in this medium. This does not mean, however, that there are no big scenes in it, as witness the beautiful wedding sequence of the finale. The cast is as bright as the wit and the colour. Lovely Mary Brian, who looks as if she were made to be photographed by the new process, has the leading role of the little chorus girl who wants a certain rich young man for a husband and adopts a most amusing and unusual method of getting him. This young bachelor, whose . intentions gradually become matrimonial, is played by the clever London actor, Goffrey Kerr, and his characterisation is in every way successful. The comedy is in the hands of a tried and trusted band of. comedians. There is Joseph Cawthorn rollicking along as a sort of old “ Dutch Uncle ” who takes a hand in securing the husband for the heroine; Johnny Hines,’ former favourite comedian of .the Silent days* who returns to the talking screen in the part of the bachelor hero’s bosom companion; and there is Marie Prevost, who needs no introduction, in another of her mirth-provoking characterisations. The box plans are at the Bristol. REGENT THEATRE To-night will be the final opportunity of witnessing “The Lawyer’s Secret,” the powerful drama which has occupied pride of place on the bill at the Regent Theatre. Clive Brook has the leading role in the production, and he scores a 1 distinct triumph as Drake Norris, the attorney who is faced with the problem of letting an innocent man die or betraying the confidence of one of his clients. A first-class cast supports the star, and among those who figure prominently in it are Richard Arlen, Jean Arthur, and Fay Wray, all of whom handle their respective parts with an artistry that goes far towards, enhancing the value of the picture as a whole. An entertaining programme of short subjects is also shown. The box plans are at the theatre and the Bristol. “ WATERLOO BRIDGE.” What is clainfed to be one of the greatest productions which have emanated from the Universal studios will be shown at the Regent Theatre to-morrow. A review of the pictures states: — ‘“Waterloo Bridge’ is tremendous in dramatic power! It is subtly alluring in its beauty and its infinite variety. It is heartbreaking in its emotional appeal, and has a happy ending-! It has a great love story, one of the most unusual in modern drama, between a girl who wanted desperately to love decently,. when it was too late for her to deserve it, and a boy who knew all and still would surrender the world to his heart’s cry. For the last six months the picture has been heralded far and wide from Hollywood as. the screen’s most pretentious and satisfying entertainment. Such prior publicity often results disastrously. Anticipation can be built up too far. However, after seeing ‘Waterloo Bridge” a few days ago, we can honestly say. that nothing which had appeared in print about ‘ Waterloo Bridge ’ has overstated the truth. It is grown-up entertainment, not sophisticated, but mature. It is a story full of courageous intelligence. At the opening, Myra is a chorus girl in a London musical, comedy. It is the first year of the war. Soon we find her as a model to a dqwn-at-the-heel artist, and gradually she sinks lower in the scale, nflt because she is bad, but from moral cowardice, and because the war, with its new code of morals,_ has forced her down. On London Bridge, Myra meets a young Canadian soldier on his first leave from the trenches, and a friendship springs up between them —a decent one. The boy does not know and the girl does not tell. The boy worships her. Myro fights herself and her love for him, knowing that it cannot last. He tricks her into a visit to his people in their countryside home. Their kindness and acceptance of her make her tell the boy’s mother the truth. The next morning Myra runs away to London and her place on Waterloo Bridge. Kitty, a neighbour whose finer traits have been blunted by life, pleads with her to marry the boy and collect his insurance, should he be killed in the war. Myra refuses, and takes up her life on the streets. Roy finds her again and wins her consent to marry him, but while he is waitin'.: ’ take her away she realises she cannot spoil his life, and leaves again. From this moment the drama is tense arid thrilling, and it would spoil your pleasure to divulge the denouement. Carl Laemmle, jun., must be given credit for this selection of story, director, and cast. Whale has done a ‘ whale of a job ’ with the direction, which is a great piece of craftsmanship, and shows the same ability he evinced with ‘Journey’s End.’ Mae Clarke is responsible for great work as Myra, and proves that with the right stories Universal has star material in her. Kent Douglas as the boy is fine, Frederic Kerr and the entire supporting cast are excellent. There is definite honesty in ‘ Waterloo Bridge.’ It is so moving and believable that it will send the audience out. talking and raving in appreciation. It is an answer for the ‘something different’ that the public always wants.” KING EDWARD THEATRE "The Sleeping Cardinal,” which opened at the King Edward Theatre last night, should please all lovers of a picture which combines with a clever plot a touch of the weird and mysterious. The late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, whose exploits have thrilled so many readers, is presented in the mystery of “The Sleeping Cardinal,” which is based on two of Sir Arthur’s most famous short stories, “ The Empty House ” and “ The Final Problem.” Holmes is presented in this production just as Sir Arthur must have visualised him when writing of his exploits. Unfortunately, the great author did not survive to see his brainchild on the talking picture screen, but passed away a few weeks prior to the completion of the production. A trifle bent with years of study, cynical, witty, in fact, the perfect Holmes is synonymous with Arthur Wontner’s characterisation in “ The Sleeping Cardinal.” Dr Watson, the detective’s close friend, is also remarkably well done by the London stage star, lan Fleming. “ The Sleeping Cardinal” has its share of romance, and the feminine lead is thrust 1 on Jane Welsh.