AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21993, 30 June 1933, Page 4

AMUSEMENTS

GRAND THEATRE “ The Man They Couldn’t Arrest ” brings to the screen one of the cleverest of “ Seamark’s ” stories. It is a strong drama, which loses none' of its virility from the fact that it contains only one feminine role —and only one death. Its strength resides in the plausible ingenuity with which the successive stages of the hero’s evasion of the police are developed, in the swing of the story movement and utter absence of padding, in the mounting suspense and excitement, and in the unfailingly forceful direction of the producer, T. Hayes Hunter. Its atmosphere is thoroughly British, the scenes in Kingsway, London, striking a pleasantly familiar note, and the picture may fairly be regarded as one of the clearest told, best-knit, and most convincing films of its type that has come to the screen; as well as a distinct score for the Home studios. A brilliant cast enacts the various roles —Hugh Wakefield, as the elegant, monocled, and slightly stammering hero, who avoids arrest in order to present the police with the real murderer they are after; Gordon Harker, in a characteristically rich interpretation of the Cockney type; Nicholas Hannan, in a promising film debut as the double-living Lyall; Gary Marsh, as the police inspector; and Robert Farquharson, in a not too fiendish rendering of the villain they ought to have arrested. Miss Renee Clama, the solitary woman in the play, supplies the love romance engagingly—a part she stepped into almost at a moment’s notice when the artist first selected was laid aside by illness. “ The Man They Couldn’t Arrest ” is the latest of a growing group or successes from the Gainsborough studios, and opens at the Grand Theatre to-day. STRAND . THEATRE “ Payment Deferred,” the kinema version of one of Londqn’s outstanding stage successes, will be the new attraction at the Strand Theatre to-day. Known as the mystery drama with the most startling climax ever devised, “Payment Deferred ” tells the story of a murderer who escapes detection for his own crime only to be convicted later for a crime which he did not commit. The significant feature of the play, both in its London and New York productions, was the sensational performance of Charles Laughton as the middle-class London bank clerk who is driven to murder his rich nephew to save himself and his family from a debtor’s prison. It is this same Charles Laughton who enacts the murderer in the film version. Among the picture’s dramatic highlights are the scene in which the bank clerk poisons his nephew; the tenSe moment when his wife discovers his secret; his constant terror lest the body of his victim, buried in the garden, be discovered; the suicide of his wife, and the bitterly ironic episode in which the authorities seize the bank clerk for a murder of which he is innocent, but which he cannot explain without confessing his real crime. REGENT THEATRE What happens when a charming young woman detective sets out to use her feminine wiles to ensnare a suave gentleman crook is the central theme of “Dangerously Yours,” the new Fox production which will have its first showing at the Regent Theatre to-day. Warner Baxter is starred in the role of the society thief, and the beautiful Miriam Jordan, recent recruit from the Broadway and London stage, has the part of the girl sleuth employed by an insurance company to protect the jewels of its clients. Herbert Mundin, the popular British comedian, as Baxter’s partner in crime, contributes greatly to the hilarity of this fast-mov-ing comedy-drama. Other important roles are beautifully handled by Florence Roberts, Florence Eldridge, Neila Walker, Mischa Auer, Arthur Hoyt, Will Davidson, and Tyrell Davis. The screen play is the work of Horace Jackson, who adapted the popular novel of the same title by Paul Hervey Fox. EMPIRE THEATRE Master detectives, hynotism, abductions, and diabolicallly plotted “accidental” deaths, all spaced at breath-taking tempo, make “ Secrets of the French Police,” it is said, one of the best pictures of its kind ever screened or written. It opens at the Empire Theatre to-day. As taken from the memoirs of H. Ashton-Wolfe, and combined with Samuel Arnitz’s amazing story. “ The Lost Empress,” this RKO-Radio picture is said to offer all the thrills possible tc pack into an hour and a-half of screen entertainment. Gwili Andre, as the lovely Paris flower girl who is abducted by Czarist plotters, hypnotised, and presented as the missing Princess Anastasia of Russia, fulfils all the promise she revealed in her early pictures. Gwili Andre is considered by many to be the most beautiful woman on the screen to-day. A newcomer makes his bow in “ Secrets of the French Police.” He is John Warburton, as handsome and as able a voung leading man as ever came from England to America. Others who come in for high praise are Gregory Ratoff, Arnold Korn, Christian Rub. and Lucien Prival.

. OCTAGON THEATRE A northern critic wrote: “Ro more delightful entertainment could be wished for than that provided by ‘Looking on the Bright Side,' which was screened a few months ago. This film has met with an excellent reception wherever it has been shown; so much so that extended seasons have been the order.” It now comes to the Octagon Theatre to-day for a return season. Its wonderful popularity is not only bemuse of the gaiety which prevails throughout the entire action, but also because of the catchy tunefulness of the musical score which is an integral part of the production. Then there is the charming personality of Grade Fields to add the spice of romance. The theme is not altogether new to pictmc theatre'patrons, but with Gracie Fields to lead the action with her inimitable charm and vivacity, ‘.here is a spirit of frivolity and a flavour of enchantment which invest the story with the full glamour of romance. There will also be shown the second episode of the thrilling serial, “ The Ivory Trail.*'

ST. JAMES THEATRE

Rowland V. Lee, the famous director of some of the most successful Hollywood pictures, is responsible for \* That Night in London,” a Paramount release, which will be shown at the St. James Theatre today. In this picture Leo shows one of the most original cabaret ballet scenes ever devised for a film. It is one of the best photographed pictures of the year, and Rowland Lee devised some original and striking methods of using the camera in this picture. One interesting scene is attained by means of a small scenic railway, on which the camera runs and produces the effect of the dance floor of a restaurant as viewed from the height _of a large crystal chandilier, concentrating on Pearl Argyle and Robert Donat, who are dancing below. This is Miss Argyle’s first appearance on the screen, and those who have seen* her work are convinced that she is a great screen find. She photographs amazingly well and is one of the most graceful leading ladies yet cast for a British picture. In the same' east are Miles Mander, Robert Donat, Roy Emerton, and Graham Soutten. There is an excellent supporting programme. The box plans are aff the Bristol and Jacobs’s. KING EDWARD THEATRE A mystery picture which has many features to commend it is “The Old Dark House,” the present attraction at the King Edward Theatre. The story _ concerns a party of travellers on a vacation who are forced to seek shelter from a storm in an old house where a family is ruled by an insane servant. The whole of the action takes 'place in one night, and there are many exciting events. Boris Karloff has the leading role. Charles/Laughton, an English actor of world-wide fame, also appears in the cast, while Lilian Bond and Melvyn Douglas have important roles. A splendid supporting programme is also screened. The box plans are at the theatre.