AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22711, 25 October 1935, Page 18

AMUSEMENTS

. REGENT THEATRE The theme of “ The Scoundrel,” which will be presented for a season at the Regent Theatre, commencing this afternoon, is so unusual that in that respect alone it compels interest; but in addition it is an intensely human story. The production is excellent and the various parts are cleverly sustained. “ The Scoundrel ” brings to the screen in the chief role Mr Noel Coward. Noel C°ward plays the part of Anthony Mallare, a New York publisher, who has a thoroughly cynical outlook on life, and an extraordinary fascination for women. He is suddenly arrested in his career of conquest by a naive and unaffected young girl, Cora Moore (Julie Hayden), who, although only attracted to him in a friendly way at first, later develops a deeper interest in him and ultimately quarrels with her girlhood sweetheart, Paul Decker (Stanley Ridges). As the plot thickens Decker tries unsuccessfully to shoot Mallare. Cora is quite happy in her new choice until she finds that Mallare is no longer fond of her and that another woman is the object of his affection. Later she denounces him, expressing a wish that the plane he is about to take to Bermuda will crash. When the plane is reported missing and Mallare is among the passengers none of his former acquaintances expresses the slightest regret at his demise, and when, several days later, Mallare returns, he finds his erstwhile friends jokingly discussing his death. Mallare, a changed and altered man whom people shun, begins a search for Cora, the only person who had really loved him. Superlatives have been used so frequently in praise of pictures, good, bad and indifferent, that it has become necessary to weigh words in praising films of real merit. Much could be writen in praise of “ The Scoundrel.” Among many pretended screen commentaries on life and manners it shines like an unbelievably good deed in a very naughty world. It can be said to act as a criterion for its class, and the imagination and discrimination of filmgoers will be judged by their ability to appreciate it. Noel Coward acts and speaks with grace, wit and discernment. His part, it is said, was created for him. and, it should have been added, “created by him.” He is “The Scoundrel ” himself, a cynic whose success as a publisher is only equalled by his success as a philanderer. There is a “bitter-sweet” in the fascination of his acting. Time after time Anthony Mallare shows himself to be inhumanly cruel, cowardly and deceitful. But the cruelty, cowardice and deception are not those of an idealised villain —they are those of humanity itself. It is the mirror held up to nature again, but it is a mirror which reflects more than appearances. Then there is the element of the miracle play. Before the genius of the producers and Coward is shown by the accomplished fact, one is inclined to think this cannot be done. But it is done, and with incredible success. Tremendous demands are made on other members of the cast, especially Julie Haydon, who has an extremely difficult role to portray. There is also exceptional acting by Ernest Cossart, Martha Sleeper, Everly Gregg, and Stanley Ridges. “ The Scoundrel ” is supported by an outstanding programme which includes a Regent Gazette of world events, Paramount Pictorial, Broadway Highr lights and a colour cartoon, “ The Kids in the Shoe.” The box plans are at the D.I.C. and the theatre. STATE THEATRE “ Roberta,” which has been drawing large audiences to the State Theatre since it commenced a season there last Friday, will enter its second week to-day. This film, virtually a musical comedy, is a notable one in almost every way. The plot concerns an American who inherits a fashionable gown shop in Paris from his aunt, and there falls in love with an exiled Russian princess, Who is employed in the shop as a dress designer. Accompanying him to Paris is his friend, the leader of a famous American dance band. These three decide to conduct the business along their own lines, and they make a sensational success. This plot makes opportunity for some very lavish and beautiful frocking and a number of |pectacular dances. The musical score is by Jerome Kern, and contains several new numbers. Of these the best are perhaps “ Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” with a Russian balalaika band accompaniment, “ Lovely to Look At,” “ Touch of the Hand,” “ Let’s Begin ” and “ I’ll Be Hard to Handle.” Much of the success of the film is due to the wonderful dancing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, both of whom earned popularity for similar ability in “The Gay Divorcee.” In the chief singing role is the popular Irene Dunne, while the other central characters are taken by Claire Dodd, Helen Westley and Randolph Scott. The dialogue, which contains much real wit, is always good. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. OCTAGON THEATRE “ The House of Rothschild,” probably the best of George Arliss’s historical films, will be presented for a return season in Dunedin at the Octagon Theatre to-day. The picture has been described as an historical document, recreating one of the most significant epochs in European history—from the late 1790’s to Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. Centring around the House of Rothschild, and tracing the sensational rise of this famous European banking family from the obscurity of the ghetto to international fame and power, the film contains many sequences that have a definite modern parallel. Many previous films have perhaps included larger numbers of “ extras,” but none comes readily to mind that has included 75 principals. George Arliss himself plays a dual role. He is seen first as Mayer Rothschild, the founder of the banking dynasty; and later, as Nathan Rothschild, most illustrious of the five brothers and the British representative of the family, who became England’s most powerful banker, and enabled its forces to conquer Napoleon. Among those in the excellent supporting cast are Boris Karloff, as Baron Ledrantz, Loretta Young. Robert Young, G. Aubrey Smith as the Duke of Wellington, Alan Mowbray as Metternich, George Renavent as Talleyrand, Helen Westley, Gilbert Emery as the Prime Minister, Arthur Byron as Baring the banker, Ivau Simpson, Holmes Herbert, Reginald Owen, Lumsden Hare, Charles Evans, and Florence Arliss. Mrs Arliss appears as Mrs Nathan Rothschild. STRAND THEATRE “Front Pago Woman” and “It Happened in New York” comprise the new programme at the Strand Theatre. “ Woman’s place is in the home,” declares George Brent, “wisecracking” American newspaper reporter, to Bette Davis, “ sohsister” on an opposition sheet, as they return from the electrocution of a Broadway night club queen. The remainder of “Front'Page Woman,” shows Brent’s efforts to persuade his rival that matrimony would offer her more chance ot success than a newspaper career. Try as ho does, Brent never gains a point without a similar triumph by Miss Davis, and it is only when she beats him for the last possible line of news on the case that she begins to agree with the remark he made after the electrocution. “It Happened in New York,” a fine romantic comedy representing capital light entertainment, will be the second feature on the new programme. The story, which blossoms out, on original linos, is smartly planned, while its bright satire is clearly interpreted by an attractive cast headed by Gertrude Michael, Lyle Talbot, and Heather Angel. Fun, excitement, and romance are expertly blended in a story which touches on the “eternal triangle” theme and then draws skilfully away. Lyle Talbot has the role of a taxiraan who is forced to choose between a glamorous movie star and a shop girl. However, while lie is making up his mind, there is plenty of time for smart repartee and exciting situations to develop. Painstaking direction is apparent throughout, and much of the charm of a good film lies in the way the sequences are varied. Comedy predominates, however, and the lighter side is introduced at the most unexpected moments. GRAND THEATRE “Under the Pampas Moon,” which is at present being screened at the Grand Theatre, provides entertainment of a highly diversified character. Warner Baxter is in the leading role as a dashing gaucho of the wide, open pampas, who later pays a visit to the city of Buenos

p Aires. Baxter is perfectly at home on horesback in some exciting racing sequences, but the film is by no means of the “ western ” type. The greater part of the action takes place in Buenos Aires, where Baxter and his mother, on their first visit to a city, cause much amusement in a fashionable hotel and cafe. Baxter’s presence in the city is due to his quest for his stolen horse and, incidentally, the presence of a French singer, Yvonne, in the capital is another explanation. He had met Yvonne on the rolling pampas when her aeroplane had been forced down miles from a town, and all the senoritas of the neighbourhood are forgotten by the dashing gaucho as he strives to win the heart of the French blonde. Despite his ignorance of city ways, his bizarre town dress, and the ridicule which his mother’s actions bring upon him, his self-assurance and determination carry him through. He regains his horse, wins the heart of the attractive Yvonne, and returns to the life of the estancia with a fortune. Entertaining numbers are introduced into the story, the outstanding one being the efiective “ Cobra Tango,” danced by a famous team, Veloz aud Yolanda. Baxter and his quaint mother also dance a version of the tango, and a special number, the “ Zamba,” is performed by Rita Cansino. Miss Yvonne is heard in a charming French song, and a young tenor sings pleasingly. The part of Yvonne is played by the brilliant French actress, Ketti Gallian, and John Miljan plays an important role. The film is undoubtedly bright entertainment. A very hilarious comedy, featuring the popular Buster Keaton, a cartoon, and two newsreels comprise an excellent supporting programme. The box plana are at Begg’s and the theatre. EMPIRE THEATRE As the art of the talking picture develops and the standard keeps on rising, producers conduct an ever-widening search for books of real worth from which to make pictures. Many famous novels have lately been picturised with the happiest results, and one of the most impressive of modern novels, Alice Hobart’s “ Oil for the Lamps of China,” has been made the basis of a brilliant picture produced by Warner Brothers. This picture comes to the Empire Theatre to-day, and audiences are assured of a dramatic story, superb acting, and settings that are something right out of the ordinary, even in these days of ambitious and spectacular effects. This is no superficial story. The theme is one not lightly forgotten. Like all stories of real value, it can be enjoyed purely as an exciting tale of love and adventure in the Far East or through the moral lesson so vividly pointed. The experiences of this handful of Americans in a strange and savage land, fanatically loyal to the great company whose employees they are, and subordinating their own problems to the welfare of the company, provide material of great possibilities. No praise can be too high for the splendid acting of the cas’t. Pat O’Brien, as the young American oil man, gives another of those brilliant characterisations that have raised him so high in the talking picture world. He is ably supported by Josephine Hutchinson and Jean Muir. ST. JAMES THEATRE Mystery films have proved most popular of late on the Dunedin screen, and “ The Casino Murder Case,” which comes .to the St. Jamas Theatre to-day, should be no exception. It combines all the elements of S. S. Van Dyke’s well-read thriller mystery. The producer has skilfully blended into the story a great deal of excellent humour, with the pleasing result that laughs follow thrills in quick succession, but in such a way to accentuate the dramatic effect rather than to cause the slightest suspicion of an anti-climax. The mystery element should baffle the sharpest of audiences. The murder around which the story is woven is committed and plotted with diabolical ingenuity, and it takes all the acumen of Philo Vance to solve the mystery. Naturally he succeeds in his usual forceful style. An atmosphere of suspense is kept up by the author, and altogether the film is very good entertainment. The role of Philo Vance, the celebrated detective, is taken by Paul Lukaa with great effect. The role was previously portrayed by William -Powell, but Lukas loses nothing by comparison. Paul gives a polished performance, showing admirable restraint, and although others in the picture add colour to the film, it must be admitted that Paul Lukas is the centre of attraction. Rosalind Russell is a particularly attractive newcomer to the screen who is likely to prove a decided acquisition to the number of actresses in America Alison Skipworth is at her usual best as the eccentric mother of the Llewellyn family, her performance being really good. Donald Cook is quite at home in his characterisation, while Ted Healy creates a lot of amusement as the foolish policeman. A bright Metro supporting pro gramme will be offered, headed by a Pete Smith oddity on Rugby football, with sidelights in slow motion, a Kelly-Todd comedy, and an entertaining Metrotone News. The box plans are at the D.1.C., M'Cracken and Walls’s, and Jacobs’s. MAYFAIR THEATRE Two popular stars, Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier, make a welcome reappearance in “ The Merry Widow,” which is at present being shown at the Mayfair Theatre. Jeanette MacDonald is regarded as one of the most popular stars of the modern kineraa, aud her brilliant performance in “Naughty Marietta ” will long be remembered. She is equally as captivating in “ The Merry Widow.” Maurice Chevalier also gives a creditable performance in support. All the beautiful melodies of Lehar_ have been preserved in the screen version of this popular musical comedy, aud the stage presentation has even been improved upon by the well-known producer, Ernst Lubitsch. The film is lavishly staged, and an excellent orchestra of over 100 pieces brilliantly interprets the haunting numbers of the production. The dancing is also a feature, and the “ Merry Widow ” waltz number is attractively performed. Miss MacDonald is heard to advantage in the numerous songs of the production, and Chevalier is also well suited to his part. Much comedy is introduced by a popular pair, Una Merkel and Edward Everett Horton. Ah interesting supporting programme is being screened. The box plans are at the D.I.C. DOUBLE-FEATURE PROGRAMME. For genuine thrills, few pictures can equal “Murder in the Clouds,” which will open to-morrow at the Mayfair Theatre with Lyle Talbot, Ann Dvorak, and Gordon Westcott heading the all-star cast. The picture is a melodramatic and baffling mystery thriller in which a band of international spies stop at nothing to steal a chemical formula for a high explosive which the U.S. Government is sending by plane from the west coast to the War Department in Washington. Thrill follows thrill in the subsequent battles of army planes with the fleeing robbers in which planes are shot to the ground. The picture also carries a stirring romance in which two air pilots fight for love. Lyle Talbot and Westcott are the two aviators who battle for the love of an air hostess, a part played by Ann Dvorak. The climax is indeed thrilling, and is said to satisfy any lover of good entertainment. People who never have been to Paris are due for a veritable Cook’s tour of the smart places of the French capital, and those who know the city are due for a vicarious thrill from close-ups of familiar landmarks in “Fashion Gaieties of 1934,” which also comes to the Mayfair Theatre to-morrow, with William Powell in the stellar role. “ Fashion Gaieties of 1934,” a comedy romance, contains some unusual spectacles in a gigantic fashion show and a fan dance in which 200 beautiful girls take part. Busby Berkeley, famous musical comedy director, staged the fan dance number. There is a large supporting cast which includes such outstanding players as Frank M'Hugh, Verree Teasdale, Reginald Owen, Henry O’Neill, Hugh Herbert, Phillip Reed, Gordon Westcott. and Dorothy Burgess.