SCREEN AND STAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22773, 8 January 1936, Page 5

SCREEN AND STAGE

BY HARLEQUIN

FROM GREEN ROOM AND STUDIO

" Boyi Will Be Boy* " "Boys Will Be Boys," starring Will Hay -will begin at the Regent Theatre on Friday. The story is based on "Beachcomber's" famous skits on English public school life at Narkover. Will Hay is in his element as Ur Alec Smart, the bewildered headmaster of a school where all the boys are embryo criminals. His dubious grimaces, his muttered admonitions, his embarrassed gestures—all make him the living eoncep- ' tion of "Beachcomber's" famous character. When he arrives at the school, to which he has been appointed on a referonce "faked" by an ex-convict; Brown, he is welcomed by the boys in. truly hilarious fashion —with a bomb, a ride ou a carpet behind his taxi, and a merry toss in a blanket which leaves him suspended ,on a hook over the front entrance. But the fun is only beginning. Horace, another master, who now appears on the fecene, turns out to be one of the most lugubrious of all Claude Dampier's "silly asses." He puts his foot into every amazing situation as it crops up. Dr Smart is harassed on all sides—by Horace, by the boys, by Brown (the ex-convict), and by Davy Burnaby, as the jhead of the board of governors. I It all ends on the football field, where an (extraordinary Rugby match between past and present pupils is made all the crazier by the "fact that the ball contains a valuable stolen necklace which every . player seems to have designs on. There is no subtlety about this comedy. It is a swift succession of delightfully absurd situations, and every member of the cast enters into the spirit of the thing and acts with great gusto. Gordon Harker is ideally cast as " Faker " Brown; Jimmy Hanley is his pick-pocketing son; and Norma Varden is equally amusing as-. Lady Dorking, vice-chairman of the school board, who loses her necklace to Brown and her heart to Dr Smart.

"The Thirty-nine Stepi" " The Thirty-nine Steps " which opens on Friday at'the State Theatre, » an ingenious adaptation of JohnVߣ*"«: vril-known story of the machinations oi an international spy organisation and the exciting adventures that befell a man in his efforts to outwit the. gang. . There is not a moment -when one is not.in a state of suspense for one reason or anothera very difficult atmosphere for any film director.to create but one which Alfred Hitchcock has achieved with that sure iieeV of touch that has justly won foi K world fame. Each detail, almost eZy word, appears to have been weired and fitted in so, perfectly as to ensure a smooth sequence of incident, replete with drama or brilliantly touched with comedy and romance, but invariably laden- with a sense of something hovering and about to strike. There is no striving for .effect and no infusion of sensationalism for its own sake. , . In a range of settings notable for their great variety of locale the magnificence of exteriors taken in Scotland is especially remarkable and one of the exciting moments of'the drama is a man-hunt among precipitous valleys and heather-clothed Robert Donat, who will be remembered for his powerful interpretation of Monte Cristo," proves an admirable Richard Hannay, his personality being particularly well suited to the role of the adventurous voung Canadian whose daring not only cast him falsely under police suspicion as r murderer and brought the officers ot the law upon his heels, but also involved him in a life-and-death struggle with a criminal organisation. Donat makes ot the character a man in the best sense of the term—a red-blooded, chivalrous, charming fellow whose sense of humour is never far from the surface and whose love of adventure is in direct proportion to ite degree of danger. Madeleine Carroll has, in Pamela, a

type of role new to her. She has hitherto been seen in dignified types of characters. In " The Thirty-nine Steps she is rushed here, dragged there, and carried yonder by the very energetic, purposeful young man whose urgent prayer to be rid ot her cannot be answered because they happen to be handcuffed together. To him, she is a prig or bonehead, and a nuisance, and he does not hesitate to tell j ler so—until they come to understand each other better. In a part that gives no more than a taste of her quality, Lucy Mannheim shows great dramatic power; Godfrey Tearle as Professor Jordan gives another of his distinctive studies of villainy; John Laurie as a greedy, hypocritical Scotch crofter and Peggy Ashcroft as his young, unhappy wife are splendidly cast.

Birthday of Motion Pictures An important birthday was celebrated in France and throughout the world on November. 6. It was the fortieth birthday of the kinema. In 1895 Louis Lumiere and his brother Auguste crowned their experiments by producing their nrs L films. t, , They took out a patent on February 13 and gave their first demonstration on March 22 before the Society for the Encouragement of National Industry.. Ihe first public showing was on Christmas Dav. The reels, only 75ft in length, showed familiar scenes. The first shot of all was of workers leaving the Lumiere factory at Lyons, while the first comic film was "The Waterer Watered," in which a gardener was squirted at by a naughty boy. ~, , , j . j On November 6, which has been adopted ac the Lumiere jubilee, these memories were revived throughout France, for the Minister for National Education gave instructions that' a lecture on Lumiere should be delivered in every school. Ihe Minister, in a circular, said, The in-

vention of the kinematograph marked the date of an important modification in the way of living of humanity. Lumiere enriched mankind.,at the same time as he shed further glory on France. " Our young people must know to what patient laboratory research the marvels of technique are due, and they could have no finer example or nobler incentive to research than the life and work of this fi-eat- savant." Lumiere, who was born in 1864 i s still inventing. - He recently showed a film in realistic relief, to appreciate which the audience had to wear glasses with one. blue and one yellow Fens.

" Stealing " Scenes " I hate, scene stealers," said that fine character actor, Donald Calthrop, interviewed over a hasty cup of tea at the Twickenham Studios recently, where he is playing an important part in "Broken Blossoms," with Emlyn Williams and Dolly Haas. This strong sentiment was evoked by a remark of the interviewer s to the effect that Calthrop had definitely stolen the picture from the star in a recent film. He insists,, however, that no good actor- ever consciously steals a scene from another, and went on to tell stories of the most persistent breakers of this unwritten law among actors. " I could mention," he said, " one very famous actor in British films who will not even let another player enjoy the limelight in a scene written round the character he is playing. He keeps moving about the set, and will do anything to attract the audience to himself and away from the other actor. In one picture the rest of the cast decided to teach him a lesson, and we arranged ourselves in one scene so that he was jammed against a door and could not move at all, nor could he distract attention from usl' If I ever steal a scene'from a fellow-actor, believe me, it is not intentional.'"'

" One New York Night " A mystery story spiced with comedy and delightful romance, is Metro-Goldwyn-Maverts comedy-drama, ' One New York Night," the feature film for the St. James Theatre on Friday. " One New York Night" introduces a new team to tne public. Franchot Tone, romantic leading man, and Una Merkel, pretty comedienne, are co-featured in this film. lhe stow revolves around a mysterious murder'which takes place in a cosmopolitan hotel, where a' cross-section of life is shown in the various guests who become involved in the crime. -Mystery enters when the body of a wealthy broker disappears under unusual circumstances, thus involving several people in a scandal. A cowman from Wyoming,, beset on finding a brunette to marry m the big city, joins a. blonde telephone operator iu endeavouring to clear the name of a beautiful Russian countess. His ultimate success is crowned by falling m love with his pretty assistant despite her light Franchot Tone is cast as the man from Wyoming, Una Merkel as the blonde telephone girl, who "gets her man, Conrad Nagel as the private secretary to the deceased broker, and Steffi Duna as the Rus-, sian countess. Also prominent in the cast are Harvey Stephens, Charles Starrett, and Louise Henry. .lack Conway who was responsible for "Grand Hotel and "Viva Villa," directed "One New York Night," from the story by Edward Charles Carpenter.

A New Operatic Film Star The name of Lily Pong! is hnown to millions of people all over the world. She, is perhaps the most popular operatic star in Europe and the United States. When the tiny French diya makes her motion picture debut under the auspices of RMJRadio Pictures in the film entitled i Dream Too Much," the great Picturegoing'public should take Lily Pons to its heart—not only as the possessor of a >*reat coloratura soprano voice, but as one of the loveliest of persons and most charm ing of personalities. . ■ . , Lily Pons is the direct antithesis o» the billowing opera star of popular legend Weighing little more than 100 pounds, the French mite wins all hearts with her brunette beauty, her dainty figure and quenchless vivacity. Music lovers have never ceased to be amazed that a voice of such great power and beauty can issue from such a doll-like creature. Lily Pons began her musical lite as a pianist in her native town of Cannes, on the French Riviera. Her music-loving parents, happy to foster her ambitions, sent her to the Paris Conservatoire, where she graduated with highest honours. \\ lien she was taken ill, her doctor ordered her to abandon music for two years. Returning to Cannes to resume her career as a piano virtuoso, she met and . married August Mesritz, a former music critic. One day, after hearing her emg, he realised her vocal possibilities, and the teacher to whom he brought her decided that Lily Pons had at last found her true vocation.. . . , , After three years of intensive study Miss Pons made her debut at the attle opera house at Mulhouse, in Alsace lhe opera was " Lakme." Engagements in France and Italy followed, always at minor opera houses. Thus when she was recommended to Director Gatti-Oasazza for New York's Metropolitan Opera she was almost unknown in the world s great opera centres. Gatti gave her a five-year contract, and she made her Metropolitan debut on the memorable night of January 3- 1931. The great audience gasped as she sans' flawless high E's and FB. The next morning the world knew that anotner great star of opera had been found. Since that memorable evening Lily Pons has passed from triumph to triumph. Hei evenings at the Metropolitan are. booked out. Difficult coloratura roles, such as those in Bellini's "La Sonnambula and Delibes's "Lakme," seldom sung because few voices can handle them, have been revived for her. She is as rapturously received in Paris, London, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires as she is in New York. She cannot begin to fill the demands tor concert appearances all over the world. It is this amazing little artist, young and lovely, who will come to the screen in "I Dream Too Much." In this production, not only will she sing new songs written for her.by Jerome Kern of Roberta " and " Show Boat fame, but she will also sing the " Cara Nome " aria from Verdi's " Rigoletto" together with the "Bell Song" from Delibes's opera "Lakme" —the opera in which she made her debut in the little opera house in Alsace.

Another Grace Moore Picture Michael Bartlett, the famous tenor, who was Grace Moore's leading man in " Love Me Forever," will again be seen opposite the Columbia star in her third starring production for the company, which is entitled " Cissy," with music by Fritz Kreisler. , „ This will be Miss Moore s first production since her successful summer European trip, in the course of which she sang a command performance of " La Boheme " at Covcnt Garden, in connection with King George's silver jubilee. Mr Bartlett, who is under long-term contract to Columbia, studied for an operatic career in Milan. Under the name of Eduardo Bartelli he. won European successes achieved by few Americans. He has sung at the famous La Scala in Milan and in the leading opera houses of France and Belgium. During the last few years he has appeared in several musical productions, including "The Cat and the Fiddle," "School for Husbands," and "Thru the Years."

Charlie Chan's Latest Egypt is the scene of Charlie Chau"s latest exploits, which are the subject of " Charlie Chan in Egypt,", the Warner Oland picture which opens to-day at the Grand Theatre.

Priceless gold and jewelled treasures from the tomb of Anieti, an ancient high priest, are stolen from among those brought to light by the French Historical Society's expedition, near Luxor on the Nile, the great river and land over which Cleopatra once ruled. Charlie Chan ia hired by the society to trace the thefts and to apprehend the thieves. Three murders occur, and everybody wonders whether it was Sekmet, the cat-headed Egyptian goddess of vengeance who struck down those disturbing the monarchs in

their final slumber. Death casts its shadow over the entire family of the expedition's leader, and Charlie Chan's skill and courage are tested to their _ limit, but he finally solves the crimes in one of the most thrilling sequences ever filmed. " Pat" Paterson, as the daughter of the expedition's leader, gives unusual support to Warner Oland, and Stepin Fetchit, as a native of the desert sands who becomes Charlie Chan's strange and frightened aide, creates many comic situations. The bewitching Rita Cansino displays her charms and ability to good advantage, while Thomas Beck holds up his role with some good manly acting. Edward T. Lowe produced " Charlie Chan in Egypt" for Fox Film, and Louis King directed the film, which is based on the character, " Charlie Chan," created by Earl Derr Biggers.

Spivakovsky-Kurtz Trio Lovers of music throughout the Dominion will welcome the announcement that the Spivakovsky-Kurtz trio of instrumentalists will give a series of concerts in the principal New Zealand towns, commencing at Wellington on January 20. The Dunedin concerts will be given in the Concert Chamber on January 30 and 31. These line artists made a very successful concert tour of New Zealand in 1933, creating a profound impression by the remarkable unanmity and verve of their ensemble playing, in addition to their brilliance as soloists. They have recently been attached to the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music, conducting the master classes in their respective spheres. The programmes to be presented on the forthcoming tour will contain trios by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Ravel, and new solo items by each player. The tour is under the direction of Mr j). U. O'Connor.

" In Spite of Danger "

Columbia has chosen the life of the ordinary truck driver and transformed it into an exciting story. In "In Spite of Danger," which opens on Friday at the Strand Theatre. Wallace Ford is cast as an ex-racetrack driver who allies himself with the father of the girl he loves in a trucking business. Marian Marsh, the girl, runs a lunch counter to support her father and young brother. The romance between Ford and Miss Marsh is convincing, and the obstacles, which they must overcome before attaining their ultimate success and hapipness, provide plenty of suspense and breath-taking thrills. The climax of the story is reached when Ford is forced to drive a dynamite-laden truck, on which the brakes have been creased, down a treacherous mountain road. Arthur Hohl plays a believable villain. The father is expertly portrayed by Charles Grapewiu, and there is a splendid supporting cast. Fred Mac Murray. star of " The Gilded Lily," and Madge Evans, arc coupled in the leads of Paramount's secret service film "Men Without Names," which will be shown on the same programme. These are the men in the American Government's Department' of Justice, whose bravery and skill have stemmed the wave of crime in that country. In the picture, secret service agent Mac Murray is put on the trail of the gang who committed an armed truck robbery. By keeping track on the stolen money passed by the gang, he trails it to an isolated township. Then, posing as a visiting business man, he tracks the criminals to their lair, and later falls in love with a local beauty, Madge Evans. Just as Mac Murray thinks he has the gang cornered, they kill a fellow agent. Lynne Overman, and flee. In a thrilling "climax, Mac Murray and Miss Evans combine with secret service agents to trail down the gangsters and give them their dues.

Film Topics lluth Chatterton's starring vehicle on Columbia's 1935-36 programme will be entitled "No More Yesterdays," according to an announcement made by the company recently. "No More Yesterdays" is now' in production under the direction of Marion Gering. Otto Kruger is Miss Chatterton's leading man, with Elizabeth Kisdon, Lionel Atwill, Marian Marsh, Lloyd Nolan, Robert Allen, and Nana Brvant in featured roles. Based on the life of the late Dr Louis Pasteur, the eminent scientist, Warner Brothers have starred Paul Muni in " Enemy of Man," Also in this production are Josephine Hutchinson fas Madame Pasteur) and Anita Louise (as the daughter Annette), Henry O'Neill, Porter Hall, and Donald Woods are also prominently cast. Harry Baur, the famous Continental star featured in the London Film Production, "Moscow Nights," was engaged by Alexander Korda to play the role of Brioukowin the film. For years Baur' has been the idol of French picture-lovers, end now the English-speaking world can share him too. He played the same role in the French version, " Les Nuits Mosco-I vitcs," which is enormously popular on the Continent. The premiere screening of

this film recently at the Leicester Square Theatre was a social event. A distinguished audience included the Duke and Duchess of Kent.

Because of his work in making "Oil for the Lamps of China" and more recently " Page Miss Glory," which is proving very successful, Mervyn Leroy, who is now directing Kay Francis in " I Found Stella Parrish," has been rewarded by the assignment to direct "Anthony Adverse," which goes into production within the next two months. Leroy was the first director in Hollywood to have read the novel, and immediately saw in it an outstanding motion picture story. Warner Brothers will conduct a series of exhaustive tests lasting over a period of many weeks. From these teste the cast will be selected, although no definite decision will be given to any character until all prospects have been thoroughly tested.

Suiting Music to Story

" She Married Her Boss " The problems of a private secretary are briskly dealt with in Claudette Colbert's new Columbia picture, " She Married Her Boss," which opens at the Empire Theatre on Friday. Produced by the same company that featured Miss Colbert in "It Happened One Night," the new film has the same buoyance and freshness. Miss Colbert herself is delightful, and it is said that her inherent charm and vivacity have never been shown to better advantage. As a very efficient secretary, who carelessly falls in love with her " boss," she sees to it that he takes time off one clay to buy her a wedding ring. That proves a costly mistake, for the marriage turns out to be one of the maddest things one can imagine. The fun continues fast and furious, with Miss Colbert as the storm centre. Melvyn Douglas gives a fine performance, as the frantic " boss," and Michael Bartlett, last seen in Grace Moore's " Love Me Forever," is thoroughly engaging as a devil-may-care chap who tries to manage the secretary's affairs for her.

Paramount believes that in its new feature, " Roso of the Rancho," it has solved a production problem which has perplexed the greater film industry since it brought talk and music to theatre screens. " By the method we have adopted," explained Ralph Rainger, who, with Leo Robin, composed much of the music for this picture, which will introduce Gladys Swarthout, Metropolitan opera star, to the screen, " the story advances through song. When a song is finished the audience has seen some of the plot unfold. The trouble in the past has been that the unfolding of the plot comes to a dead stop whenever a character starts to sing. "There is no such thing as a 'song cue' in 'Rose of the Rancho.' Miss Swarthout, John Boles, Willie Howard, and the others seem to be singing at opportune moments, and Binging about things they have been talking about. " Never before has a screen musical, to my knowledge, had 12 different songs. Eleven are sung by the players and the other is a Spanish dance. But they are so much a part of the story that the number of songs does not seem large. Our biggest technical problem, of course, was fitting the music to the picture's background—the early days of California when miners and pioneers were crowding out the old Spanish dons. ' "There is a rowdy kind of music for the pioneers—a drinking song called 'There's Gold in Monterey,' and a number for the miners, 'I Met Her on the Prairie.' For Willie Howard and Herb Williams, the two comedians, we supplied ' Got a Gal in Californ-i-a' and \ The Lone Cowboy,' both comical songs with a western flavour. But that was only part of the required music. For the romance and the Spanish background,' an entirely different kind of song was needed. Miss Swarthout, in the title role, is given music of a semi-popular type as exemplified by 'Don't Tell a Secret to a Rose and ' The Padre and the Bride.' " But the third type, sung by Miss Swarthout and Boles, is one new to the screen —we call it popular classical music. It is not primarily dance music, but it is written in dance time and can be used by dance orchestras. 'Little Rose of the Rancho,' 'Where Is My Love?' and 'lf I Should Lose You' are all in this class. So is ' Soliloquy,' another of Miss Swarthout's numbers."

When Cooper Was An Extra Gary Cooper has two new souvenirs of his march to motion picture fame and fortune hanging on the walls of his ranch home in the San Fernando Valley, near Hollywood. He strode into the office of Samuel Goldwyn recent'y to report for work with Anna Sten in "The Wedding Night," which comes to the Mayfair Theatre to-day. "First time I've worked for you since I began eight years and a-half ago," Cooper drawled, smiling. "Remember when you gave a tall, rawboned young cowboy that job? " "I certainly do," Goldwyn replied, "but I didn't say anything because some of you big stars don't like to be reminded that you once weren't so very important." Goldwyn dug into his desk and produced the application and biography Cooper had submitted on June 13, 1926. A call for tall young men had gone out and Cooper was one of the 100 or so who paraded before Goldwyn's scrutinising eyes. The producer liked his looks and selected him to play • the role of "Abe Lee" in " The Winning of Barbara Worth." The salary was £75 a week.

A Film Fleet

"That was my second part," Cooper recalled. "The first was in 'Lightning Justice,' supporting a dog star, and I was mighty glad to get that job, too."

In bringing to the screen Kafael Sabatini's celebrated adventure story, " Captain Blood," Warner Brothers have devoted some two years to initial preparation before actual production. A complete fleet of fighting frigates was constructed in a secluded bay on the California coast line, where the company hais bsen may months shooting the pirate scenes and the adventurous happenings of Sabatini's story in the slave colony at Jamaica. This settlement has been entirely reconstructed from old data. A Railroad Drama

* Amongst British Dominions forthcoming releases is a subject of unusual interest entitled "The Last Journey." The written by Jefferson Farjeon, centres round an engine driver who has to retire. He is broken-hearted at_ the thought of leaving his beloved engines, and on the day he is to make his last trip is led to believe that his wife is unfaithful to him. The double shock affects his reason, and he takes out the 3.27 determined to hurtle the train to destruction.

The part affords Julien Mitchell many opportunities, and his insane rage in the engine cabin is said to be an'amazing piece of screen histrionics. Supporting him in leading roles will be Hugh Williams and Judy Gunn, and also in the cast are Godfrey Tearle, Eliot Makeham, Frank Pettingell, Eve Grey, Nelson Keys, Olga Lindo, and Michael Hogan.