AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21977, 12 June 1933, Page 14

AMUSEMENTS

GRAND THEATRE " Marry Me ” has commenced its season at the Grand Theatre well and packed houses enjoyed its tuneful melodies, its gay variety, and its humour over the week-end. The film is one of the best that the Gainsborough studios have yet offered Dunedirj audiences, and it cannot fail to be very'popular during the next few days. The star is Renate Muller, the popular principal of “ Sunshine Susie,” and she is supported by a strikingly good cast which includes the famous London music hall star, George-Robey. Others in the cast are Harry Green, a well-known and popular comedian, lan Hunter, Charles Hawtrey, jun., and Maurice Evans, and all of them are well selected for the various parts which they take. There is plenty of pleasing and catchy melody in “Marry Me,” and the song numbers are all well sung and excellently reproduced. “Early Bird” and “Will Somebody Marry Me?” and “A Little Sunshine" will please almost as many people. The production has been produced to the very best advantage by a director who understands his story and the players selected to interpret it. Played througout at a brisk pace, it sparkles with humorous colour and gay variety. Renate Muller appears in the role of a recordist at a gramophone factory, and. George Robey is admirably cast as a shaggy, rough, beetlebrowed Hungarian farmer. The part suits him perfectly, and in,the strange character which he presents are endless opportunities for his particular style of humour. Harry Green has the role of a shrewd but very excitable and temperamental Jewish marriage broker, and he makes an excellent impression in a part which he handles well. George Robey and Renate Muller, however, contrive to attract to themselves most of the laurels in connection with this delightful production. It is to their respective talents that the director* owes much of the success of the film. “Marry Mo” has much in common with “Sunshine Susie,” and will be enthusiastically received by all who enjoyed the former film, as Renate Muller reaches an even higher standard of performance on this occasion than she did in her first appearance in Dunedin. There is an excellent supporting film this week entitled “ Northern Lights,” which is a graphic and interesting pictorial record of the work of the British Arctic Air Expedition which recently carried out scientific and meteorological investigations in Greenland and other parts of the arctic circle. The photography is excellent and the film includes some of the finest shots of polar conditions that have yet been screened. The box plans are at the theatre and at Messrs Charles Begg and Co.’s. EMPIRE THEATRE Comedy teams still attract a large following, and that probably accounts for the popularity of “ The Cohens and Kellys In Trouble,” which is now being screened at the Empire Theatre. George Sidney and Charlie Murray are again in their, best form in this new adventure of the happy-go-lucky Americans whose travels have taken them over thousands of feet of film with laughs in every foot. In this filrn they again find that their flair for getting into trouble of all sorts is with them, and they look danger in the face every few minutes. Rum-runners are the source of their worst troubles this time, and their adventure in a runaway speed boat is a marvel of acting and photography. No'one who enjoys a good laugh should miss this picture. The supports are equally entertaining. The box plans are at the theatre and the Bristol. “THE BIG BROADCAST.” “The Big Broadcast,” which will be screened for the first time at the Empire Theatre on Friday, will linger longer in the memory. It has drama, romance and comedy. For its music alone it is worth feeing and hearing. >Six ( new musical numbers were composed for “The Big Broadcast ” —“ Please,” “ Here Lies Love,” “ Okay, Colonel,” “ Calloway Calling,” “ Stop the Traffic,” and “ Soliloquy.” The production introduces to the Dunedin public a galaxy of radio musical talent, some of the artists well known, _ others not so prominent, although their performances merit their inclusion. Bing Crosby, the singer, needs no introduction, and in “The Big Broadcast.” he acts splendidly and sings delightfully as an irresponsible radio announcer, who is never punctual. Lelia Hyams supplies the romantic interest. Among the artists who appear in the film are Burns and Allen, Kate Smith, the Mills Brothers, the Boswell Sisters, Vincent Lopez and bis orchestra, Cab Calloway and his orchestra, and Arthur Tracy. OCTAGON THEATRE A maguifient picture produced on a magnifient scale. “ The Sign of the Cross,” at the Octagon Theatre, now in its second week in Dunedin, provides entertainment of a sort all too seldom seen. Dealing with the days of Nero, when the chief sport of the Romans was the persecution of the Christians in their midst, the picture is claimed to present the manners and customs of the times in an authoritative manner. A huge cast of extras was gathered for the crowd scenes, and the cast of principals includes such names as Frederic March, Elissa Landi, Claudette Colbert, and Charles Laughton. There is nothing in the film to offend the susceptibilites of any, and it may be said with truth that better entertainment has not been seen at this theatre for a long time. The box plains are at. the theatre and the Bristol. STRAND THEATRE The talking film adaptation of the, stage success, “The Face at the WhiTj clow,” which is being shown at the Strand Theatre this week, is proving to be even more thrilling than the original. The producers have taken advantage of the greater facilities for the introduction of effective backgrounds which the screen offers as compared with the stage, with the result that the atmosphere of tense expectancy which characterised the stage play has been brought out with /still stronger force. The story is interpreted by a cast which includes Raymond Massey. A. Bromley Davenport, and Claude Halbert, the last of whom, is responsibly for some clever comedy work which does much to relieve the grim nature of the picture. In addition to the principal picture, a strong supporting programme is shown. The box plans arc ■at the theatre and the Bristol. “ HOT FERRER.” A new Quirt and a new Flagg in gorgeous night club settings in which the colourful, vivacious Lupe Velez “makes whoopee” with Edmund Lowe, Victor MXaglen. and El Brendcl, are featured in “Hot Pepper.” the uproarious new comedy coming to the Strand Theatre next week. Beautiful girls and catchy music add incidental entertainment in this fastmoving, uproarious offering, depicting the latest adventures of the fighting _ devildogs ” who cast aside their marine uniforms, appear in conventional evening clothes, ami ride in bar-equipped limousines. As Quirt and Flagg, Lowe and M'Laglon have become ono of the most famous teams of the screen. I hey scored in “ The Cock Eyed World, 1 M hat 1 rice •Glory,” and “Women of all Nations. In “'Hot Pepper ” they reach new heights of hilarity. ST. JAMES THEATRE , “Men of Steel,” which is being shown this week at the St. James Theatre, is a Him of the type that should not be missed bv those who like an interesting story told in .such a way that they aie also enabled to widen their outlook on and knowledge of life in other countries. Hie story is played against the background of one of the great British steel mills, and in the course of the picture fasematintf scenes are shown of the by which the molten metal is converted into (dialers and plates. The audience is enabled also to gain some insight into the lives of the men whose technical skill, industry, and perseverance have placed Britain in the forefront of the manufacturing countries of the world. The cast to which the interpretation of the story has been entrusted is a strong one, among the leading, players being John Stiiart,Benita Hume, and Heather Angel. There

is an interesting supporting programme. The box plans are at the theatre* Jacobs's, and the Bristol. REGENT THEATRE Heading the current bill at the Regent Theatre is “ Madame Butterfly,” in which the part of Gho-ChopSan is played _ by that very charming little actress Syivia Sydney.. The story is an old one and requires no recounting, but it must be said that the original play has been greatly enhanced by its transfer to the screen. The work of Miss Sydney stands out as something well worth remembering as she takes the audience with her in her short life of happiness and pain to its tragic ending, which is presented in an unforgetable manner. Cary Grant has the leading rtfle, and he is well supported by Charles Buggies and the other members of -the cast. ’ The supporting programme is a strong one. The box plans are at the theatre and the Bristol. KING EDWARD THEATRE A comedian who has been seen on Dunedin screens in a number of highly successful productions. Joe E. Brown, has the leading vole in “The Tenderfoot.” which is shown for the first time at the King Edward Theatre on Saturday. Brown is cast as a somewhat simple young man who goes to New York from a ranch in Texas in an endeavour to raise money to lift the mortgage on his ranch. He finds that the path of high finance is beset with difficulties, and he is plunged into one series of complications after another, managing, however, to extract a large aniouht of amusement from them for the benefit of the audience. After being entangled in a number of riotously funny incidents, he succeeds in raising the money and in marrying the girl with whom he has fallen in love. The second picture on. the programme, “Bachelor's Affairs,” has a strong cast which includes Adolphe Mcnjou, Joan Marsh, and Allan Dinehart.