AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22204, 6 March 1934, Page 12

AMUSEMENTS

GRAND THEATRE Grade Fields’* latest comedy, “ This Week of Grace,” which is still attracting large audiences to the Grand Theatre, is a musical production of the most pleasing variety, and by virtue of the high standard of the musical side of the entertainment, it does not require ft rely on the plot to any great extent for its success. Miss Fields sings her way through the production in her own happy and tuneful style, the audience being treated to suen gems as “ My Lucky Day,” “ Happy Endxngs," “ Heaven Will Protect an Honest Girl,” “Mary Rose,” “When Cupid Calls,” and “ Melody Rose.” The reproduction of these songs and the dialogue throughout leaves nothing to be desired, while the scenic effects introduced into the film, enhance its entertainment value. • The story concerns; the struggles of a poor working girl who has lived all her lifein the slum* to adapt herself to a sphere of life to which she has hitherto been ’a complete stranger. Grace Fields is admirably suited to the interpretation of this role and gives • delightful characterisation as the somewhat uncouth factory girl who later becomes Sure of herself in any company. Her family has been living in the slums, but one day Grade accidentally meets the Duchess of Swinford. At that time the duchess is heartily, disgusted with the heir to the title, Clive, and his mother, who has allowed, a fine old castle in their charge to run ‘to ruin, and as a grim jest the duchess places Grade in charge of the estate. Clive has always been a somewhat reckless young man, but things soon change when Grade seizes the reins. The castle and estate are run like clockwork, the tenants become more contented, and a noticeable change for the better is apparent in Clive's behaviour. There, is later a misunderstanding between Clive and Grade, and the duchess sends the family back to the slums and puts Clive to work. The supporting artists include Frank Pettingell, Douglas Wakefield, and Henry Baird. There is an excellent programme of short subjects, including two travelogues, a newsreel and a Grantland Rice sportlight. The box plans are at the theatre and Messrs Charles Begg and Co.’s. . EMPIRE THEATRE Those who like their entertainment spiced with thrills of the “ creepy ” sort are well catered for at the Empire Theatre this week, where “ The Mystery of the Wax Museum " is attracting considerable interest. Dealing with the activities of a strange mono-maniac, and the mysterious disappearance of corpses as well as of living people, the picture is never Jacking in incident. The suspense is well maintained throughout, and it is not until the final scenes that the audience is made aware of the terrible secret that lies behind the doors of the museum. The story opens with the destruction by fire of a wax museum owned by two Russians, one of whom, in order to secure the insurance money, has set fire to the building. The other partner is severely burned in his efforts to save some of his beloved images. He goes to New York, where he opens a similar establishment and there he appears to be a helpless cripple. About this time, several people disappear, and corpses are stolen from the morgue. A newspaper woman takes it upon herself to solve the mystery, and the audience is conducted through n gallery of startling experiences before the final denouement is reached. Lionel Atwill has the role of the Russian sculptor who is the leading figure in the mysteries of the story, and he is ably supported by Fay Wray, Allen Vincent, Gavin Gordon, and Arthur Edmund Carewe. The producers have made the most of the story to introduce weird effects which go a long way towards making the mystery as startling as it is. The supporting pictures are all of a high standard, the most notable being an extremely clever cartoon. An enjoyable musical interlude is supplied by Miss Iris Mason at the Christie organ. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. “ANOTHER LANGUAGE.” Helen Hayes and Robert Montgomery are co-starred in “ Another Language,” filmed by Metro-Gnldwyn-Mayer from the stage success which ran for more than a year on Broadway. The picture will be shown, starting at the Empire Theatre, on Friday. As a play, “Another Language” proved to bo the most popular comedydrama to reach the stage in several years.

It* story concern* the oppressive effect of a middle-clas* family upon the happiness of a young girl who marries into it, a stranger to the .customs of the household, Edward H. Griffith, who directed the screen version, is noted for such, successes as “ Holiday,” “ Rebound," and “ The Animal Kingdom.” Miss Hayes as Stella, the young bride who is more interested m sculpture than in family dinners, has a role strikingly different from her recent portrayal in “ The White. Sister.” Montgomery, why comes to this picture direct from his success in “ When Ladies Meet,, plays the young husband who i* unable to shake off the influence of his selfishlyadoring mother., The difficult mother role is played by Louise Closser Hale. REGENT THEATRE Theatre-goers who appreciate good, clean comedy could not do better than pay a visit this week to the Regent Theatre, where “Heads We Go,”' the latest product of the British studios, is attracting large audiences. With four leading players, in Constance Cummings, Frank Lawton, Gus M'Naughton, and Clande Hulbert, the entertainment is of a hi<ih order throughout. The story is one of a mannequin, Betty Smith, who falls in love with one Toby Tyrell, whom she imagines to be a wealthy young man about town. Learning that he is going to Deauville for a holiday she decides to follow him. On the Channel crossing she suffers a certain amount of disappointment in his appearance as a cabin steward. Arriving in Deauville, on a very wet night, she finds herself the unwilling party to a deception in which she impersonates a leading screen actress. The .popularity which she enjoys in her new role makes her and her friend the guests of two gay holiday-makers who take her on board a palatial yacht, which she, to her dismay, discovers is the property of Toby. Things go well until the publicity manager of the real screen artist arrives on the scene, bent on revenge and as much publicity as he can get from the situation. He imagines he ha« persuaded Toby to hand Betty Smith over to the police. However, the tables are turned and the police arrest the genuine actress and her agent. Misunderstandings drive Betty tc run away to London, but matters are.straightened out in the end and the story comes to the usual happy ending. Constance Cummings plays her part with great charm and her dresses throughout are a feature of the film. Frank Lawton, who will be remembered in “Cavalcade, w an unqualified success as the wealthy young man. The supporting programme is excellent. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C.

“THE SONG OF SONGS.” A new Marlene Dietrich will be seen in “ The Song of Songs,” her new Paramount picture, coming to the Regent Theatre on Friday next. Miss Dietrich, who hitherto has appeared as a sophisticated, worldly woman, is revealed in her new production as an innocent young country girl of rare beauty, who goes to Berlin, and, jilted by a handsome young sculptor, runs the gamut of tragic experience. She marries a rich and elderly baron, whom she does not love, and, following their divorce, she becomes bitter and disillusioned, and a notorious woman in the gay German city * night me. “The Song of Songs" directed by Rouben Mamaulian, is the first Dietrich film which has not been directed by her discoverer, Josef von Sternberg. An distending cast of actors appears in support of the star. Brian Aherne, referred to by critics as the most romantic actor of. the New xork stage, following his work in The Barretts of Wimpole Street,” makes his screen debut as Miss Dietrich’s leading man. Lionel Atwill, who has been an American stage star for 10 years, appears as her husband. Alison Skipwortb. Hardie Albright, and Helen Freeman also have good vole*.

Sr JAMES THEATRE “ Hi* Grace Give* Notice," one of the most refreshingly original stories to be seen on , the screen or a long time, is at present proving a popular attraction at the St. James Theatre. It. is an intriguing and amusing narrative of the complication* which ensue when a footmail in an aristocratic English family falls heir to a dukedom, and the unfolding of the plot by the capable cast headed by Arthur Margetson and Viola Keats adds, if anything, to it* inherent worth. A feature of the production ia the bright and sparkling comedy with which it abounds, although the opportunities for good dramatic work are by no means overlooked. ■ ■ On his unexpected inheritance of the dukedom his, grace gives notice a footman end undergoes a course of expert tutelage to fit him for his new walk in life. He is not altogether comfortable at first, hut everything goes smoothly until he discover* that his former employer’s daughter i* considering eloping with a man-about-town who bears a somewhat unsavoury reputation, and is also encumbered with a wife. His grace has fallen in love with the girl, and the methods he adopts to frustrate the other man’s scheme provide endless amusement and bring form some first-class acting.. There is a. good programme of supporting short subjects, headed by a Charlie Chaplin film, ‘ the Pawnshop,” and two screen cartoons, the box plans are at the theatre, Jacobs s, M'Cracken and Walls’s, and the D.I.C. “ WALTZING MATILDA.” Australia has never produced a more exhilarating or uproarious comedy than “Waltzing Matilda.” Of its kind it is a gem of a production. The opening scenes are set in Melbourne, and shift rapidly from there to an outback sheep station. If there are any sequences that fix themselves in the memory more vividly than the rest they are the comedy scenes between Joe Valii, who plays excellently the part of the station overseer, and Pat Hanna, the latter enacting the role of a down-and-out “ digger,” who takes to the road with his swap on his back. The production takes its title from the swagman’s “ bluey,” or “ Matilda,” as it is known in the vernacular. Until recently Australian features had two failings—they were not planned and pruned with sufficient care, and the intrusion of stage technique tended to make them somewhatstiff. 7 ‘ Waltzing Matilda ” is entirely devoid of these defects. Particularly arc the camera work and editing enterprising and efficient. At a time, when the fun involved in ’mime is at a discount, because the screen is still busy transcribing stage successes, and thus has to place emphasis on dialogue instead of action, the comedians in “Waltzing Matilda” are true to the type of comedy which depends upon the eye rather than the ear. Acting honours are said to go to Joe yam, who plays M’Tavish. This diminutive artist, although really Scottish, was known as the Italian comedian with the Scotch accent. Valli was an original member of the famous “ Diggers ” Revue Company, and was brought across from Western Australia to Melbourne studios to play his leading part. Norman French, the man who wins the “ girl in the baby car, is a New Zealander by birth. Pat Hanna, who sponsored “Waltzing Matilda, is a versatile man, and his activities coyer a wide range. Author, actor, and producer, he yields a facile brush. Although an Australian by adoption, Hanna was born in New Zealand, where, before the Great War, he ran a large poster and advertising company. OCTAGON THEATRE Joan Blondell is the featured artist in “Broadway Bad,” which is the principal attraction at the Octagon Theatre. tins week. In addition to telling a highly dramatic story, the picture contains all the music, dancing, and gaiety of Broadway and is notable for some very fine acting. Miss Blondell plays the role of

Tony Landers, an actress who, despitethe secrets of her inner life, never fails _to smile when she appears before her public. After her divorce from Bob North, the son of one of Broadway’s leading families, she capitalises the ensuing pupbcity ■ in order that she may lavish her devotion on the baby boy who is born subsequent to the divorce, and unknown to her former, husband. The climax is reached in a court scene where mother love triumph* over all else. The first half of- the programme is occupied by an episode of'the thrilling serial, .‘Clancy of the Mounted" and "The Mari \Vbo Dared,” from the stage play* by Dudley Nicholl* and Lamar Trotti. The story tells of the rise of a man from the occupation of a, miner to the office;’ of mayor of Chicago. Jan Novak came to America in 1871 with his father, who found work in a mine. His father, loses his life in an accident, and Jan is forced to go to work to support the remainder of, the family. He is later dismissed, but he climbs, step by step up the ladder of success. Preston Foster arid Zita Johann are the principal artists. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. i . ,

DOUBLE-FEATURE PROGRAMME.. “The Billion Dollar Scandal/’featuring Robert Armstrong, Constance Cummings Olga Baclanova, Frank Morgan, James Gleason, Irving Pichel, and Warren Hymer, cornea to the Octagon Theatre on Friday. The story, briefly, deals with the sensational exposure of a gigantic dwindle, brought about by a masseur named Partog as an act of vengeance against a powerful financier. The events which happen, as a| result of this exposure, bring the picture to a startling climax. “One Precious Year,” the screen, version of the famous play entitled “ Driven,” by Temple Thurston, has been brought to the screen by Paramount British, and will be shown at the Octagon Theatre on the ; same programme. Owen Nares plays the role of Stephen Carton, a Foreign Office official. Anne Grey is in the role of Diedrc. bis wife. Others in the cast include Basil Rathbone as Derek Nagel, and Flora Robson as Julia Skene. The story concerns the life of Stephen Carton and his wife, who is informed by her medical advisers that she has only one year to live. . STRAND THEATRE A picture with an unusual story is at present being shown at the Strand Theatre in “Walls of Gold,” the screen adaptation of Kathleen Norris’s wellknown novel of the same name, it tells* of Jeanie Saterlee, a successful young business woman, who falls, in love withBarneg Ritchie, a rising engineer. All goes well until the young man introduces Jeanie to hie millionaire uncle, who is a confirmed v philanderer. ' The last-, named commences to pay marked attention to the girl, and when she makes the mistake of accepting an expensive present from him her fiance leaves her in the lurch and marries her younger sister. Desperate, Jeanie marries the millionaire for the security bis waaith

offers, hut sobs finds, that'his affection for her had been of-;the most shallow kind, arid'a-aeriesof interesting developments ensues beloro thefUm ia’bpHMt ! to a satisfactory . conclusion. BaHy Filers, in the principal female role, give* a highly enjoyable characterisation, while frank Morgan and Norman Foster atao have important' role*. - There is.-aar - *** tractive supporting programme. Tae box jplana are at the theatre and th* ; D.I.C. V.,; 1 - The romance of- an 'obscure lawyer ;Wh6 sprang ! to fame because of hi* magnetic power to away juries arid then- fourhe* cause' ha thought he knew as much about women ta about law, is unfolded in, the Strand Theatre’s next attraction, "Lawyer Man," starring William Powell god J*a» - Blondell. The story, it'said to be filled with the quaint humoUr. of ’ a succeesful Bust Side lawyer who'egnaot resist tba smiles of pretty \v Bitw j he/Sa brought to hie senses eventually through the love of hisaecretowtorichea oabbth humour and romance. There arealsoeaid to .be intensely .dramatic scenes staged in the criminal courts which'are tiriaea with the intrigues of metropolitan political life. Joan Blondell play* the pole of the jlangy, sophisticated secretary opposite PewcH, while others ’ iri the cast include Helen Vinson, Alan Dinehartj, Allin Jenkins, \ David Landau,' Clair* Dodd, arid Sheila Terry.- 1 •:?<;:■:[ .-Jr v--~ -.Vv . j-' KING EDWARD THEATRE One of thcmoat eritertainiriig film*, that have , been seep at fW* King Edward Theatrc for some time is ‘f Sailor** Luck." which beads the present double-feature programme. James ’Dunn' apd/ Sglbr Filers, in- the leading rolea, ensure tit* success of the picture by the.- joyous mariner in which they romp: thvoiighiri ago* cession of ' diverting situations, andthey extract the maximum amount of humour from the adventure* of * girl with ». sailor on shore leave. A romance'which Has its genesis, in .* casual introduction shows, however, that their capabilities do not stop at comedy, and when tfee occasion warrants it they display gp undoubted ability to temper their humour with dig* nified drama. There is an unusually, good supporting crist. The second featnW- ir "Street of -Wpmeri." m Francis' has the principal 'vam-'r v.-