AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21829, 16 December 1932, Page 6

AMUSEMENTS

REGENT THEATRE All the fascinations of the Pacific Islands, with their wondrous natural beauty and sharp contrasts of gaiety, music, and laughter switched into sudden tragedy by lightning strokes of savagery and natural cataclysm, are admirably mirrored in “ Bird of Paradise,” which is opening at the Regent Theatre today. The story i s kept interesting by the glorious island surroundings in which it has been made under the camera, the very fine acting of Dolores del Rio and Joel M'Crea in an exceptionally romantic setting, the thrills of natives simulating the savagery, sacrificial, rites, and barbaric customs of their ancestors, and the comedies of the primitive mind wrestling with advanced ideas of civilisation. The play is a simple story of a love that transcends all religions and laws. There is an intangible something to this tragic story of Luana who falls hopelessly in love with a white man, and as hopelessly sacrifices that love, that demands a setting in sympathy with the sublime character of her sacrifice. I EMPIRE THEATRE Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante form an irresistibly funny team in " Speak Easily,” the hilarious comedy which opened its season at the Empire Theatre yesterday. The action of the production is extremely fast, and laughs follow one another in very rapid succession as the two comedians perform mad-cap > antics during a wild theatrical venture in New York city. Keaton portrays the millionaire college professor who finances the show, and Durante is Jimmy, the eccentric piano player who is his companion through the venture. The two comedians are assisted in their antics by Ruth Selwyn and Thelma Todd. An excellent programme of short subjects has been chosen to accompany the big picture, and Mr Cullen provides an enjoyable musical interlude. Attention is called to the special Saturday morning matinee for the children. Arrangements have been made whereby a suitable programme will be screened headed by Colonel Tim M‘Coy in “ The Western Code.” The box plans are at the theatre and the Bristol. "BRING ’EM BACK ALIVE.” An unusual motion picture of savage beasts in action will be shown at the Empire Theatre next Friday. It is “ Bring ’Em Back Alive,” visualising the adventures of Frank Buck in fetching the largest and most ferocious wild beasts from the jungle to the zoos of the world. The picture shows, among other events, a stalking, preying, frothing female tiger Ant. a tiny baby elephant off from its mother. The baby pachyderm is no higher from the ground than a medium-sized police dog. Still whimpering for its mother’s milk, it senses danger. Its miniature trunk trumpets an S.O.S. for mamma. The tiger relentless, tireless, intent on the kill, lopes along. The wee elephant runs this way and that. It turns, it scampers to the brush wild with terror while the tiger enemy trails it with drooling tongue and bared fangs. But Frank Buck is there with a long-barrelled rifle. A careful, easy, well-timed shot brings the tiger down. The more dynamic portions of “ Bring ’Em Back Alive ” snow actual combats between tigers and pythons, crocodiles, panther and water buffalo.

STRAND THEATRE The unusual characteristic of “ Sinners in the Sun,” which will appeal to audiences at the Strand Theatre during the coming week, is the fact that it relies for its appeal on no single quality or attraction. It has many sides to its merit, and each will commend itself to different audiences. The story of a girl who married for money because she wanted to, and a man who made the same blunder to spite the girl he loved, is an absorbing and excellently conceived narrative which must hold the interest, but it finds additional value and quality in the excellence of the portrayals of the two principals, Carole Lombard and Chester Morris, a pair of players who have talent, appearance, and personality to assist them in the handjjng of roles that suit them perfectly. Moreover, they are supported by a cast of players suitably competent _to assist them, the chief of these being Adrienne Ames and Allison Skipworth. OCTAGON THEATRE “ The Bargain,” which opens at the Octagon Theatre to-day is an adaptation of “You and I,” which was a Harvard prize play and ran for a year on Broadway. The people who interpret Mr Barry’s characters are so well-chosen that they fit the parts like the proverbial glove. The story is that of Maitland and Nancy White, who have a grown son, Ricky, who shows leanings toward architecture, just as his father had shown toward painting, before marriage put an end to dreams and set him at a prosaic job in a soap factory. How the pretty wife succeeds in making father leave his job, fit up the attic as a studio, impress the maid as model, and paint to his heart’s content — how the job vanishes, the painting fails and succeeds —how the White’s copper stock goes down —and how everything gets on the move again—taking Ricky's sweetheart into the bargain—makes the story. ST. JAMES THEATRE Coming to the St. James Theatre today, “ Frail Women ” is not for the sentimentalist; it has no- happy ending, no moral, only an unusual degree of courage and some fine character portrayals. The best of these is given by M.ary Newcomb, as the deserted sweetheart of a 1914 officer who turns up again at the wrong moment in her career. Between the sticky sweetness of most Hollywood actresses and the tang of Mary Newcomb there is a great gulf. This is her first screen appearance here except for a brief glimpse in the heavily censored, therefore unsuccessful, “ Water Gipsies.” Edmund Gwenn (who was last seen in “The Skin Game”), as a rough-diamond English bookmaker, gets the northern critics wannest commendations. “ Frail Women is a play without misfits. The cast title names the characters simply the man, the woman, the boy, the sister, and the bookmaker. It is strong drama, but expert direction has relieved it with natural comedy. There is an excellent supporting programme. The box plan is at the Bristol and Jacobs’s.

KING EDWARD THEATRE George O’Brien has the leading role in “ The Rainbow Trail ” at the King Edward Theatre. The story affords 0 Brian ample opportunities for the display of his amazing equestrian powers, and or these he takes the fullest advantage The exteriors of “The Rainbow Trail,’ filmed in the most inaccessible spots the Gland Canyon, where the usual visitors do not dare to go, bring to the screen the full breath-taking beauty of one of the world s most famous scenic spots. Supporting George O’Brien is a fine cast, including Cecilia Parker, Minna Gombcll, Roscoe \tes J. M. Kerrigan, James Kirkwood, Robert Frazer. W. L Thorne Niles Welch, Ruth Donnelly, Laska AA inters, Landers Stevens, Alice Ward, and Edward Hearn. In addition to “ The Rainbow Trail ” a strong supporting programme is shown. Two shopkeepers who were summoned by the London County Council recently under the Shop Hours Act were, at AVestmiuster, fined one penny each. In one case a small quantity of cheese was sold at 8 p.m., and in the other case a purchase was made of a small quantity of peas and mint. The magistrate, Air Hopkin Morris, in imposing Id fines, saul he did not like to slop people earning a living. Mr Griffiths, for the London County Council, said the council’s view was (hat the law had to be administered. Mr Morris; “I have administered it.” It is reported from Falkirk, in Scotland, that a number of unemployed men have determined to help each other by performing work directly for each other without the use of money. It is a most interesting experiment in barter. An old building has been taken, and the men, by common agreement, are to work for each other for a stated time. The shoemaker mends shoes, the carpenter makes wooden articles, and so on. By ihis means these enterprising men hope to che out their subsistence on unemployment pay, while making a real addition to their incomes by work which they could not afford to command with money.