AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23054, 3 December 1936, Page 12

AMUSEMENTS

OCTAGON THEATRE Two bright and entertaining pictures comprise the current programme at the Octagon Theatre. For Here Comes the Navy,” a breezy story of the sea and sailors, one of the largest casts ever assembled for a single picture is seen. James Cagney, Pat OBnen. and Gloria Stuart are the principal players. Cagney has the part of a wharf labourer who enlists in the navy in order to “get even” with a junior officer (Pat O’Brien), who had stolen his job from him. Complications arise when he falls in love with OBnen s sister and there are many comical situations before the conclusion is reached. The second picture is “ Bright Lights,” in which Joe E. Brown adds further to his reputation as a humorist. It is a story of the rise of two people from playing in small vaudeville to Broadway success. There are difficulties to contend with, however, and Brown encounters a good deal of trouble before a satisfactory conclusion is reached. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. “ THE LITTLEST REBEL ” In a story that gives her the greatest opportunity for display of dramatic talent in her two years of screen stardom, Shirley Temple is to come to the Octagon Theatre to-morrow as the star of “The Littlest Rebel”, As the tiny Confederate who dances and sings her way into the hearts of the Yanks and the Johnny Rebs, Shirley Temple appears v/ith a supporting cast that includes John Boles, Jack Holt, Karen Morley, and Bill Robinson. ' The story of the picture, adapted from the play, has many strong dramatic moments and one that verges on tragedy, and it is in these scenes that America’s favourite child actress demonstrates her dramatic ability. For the rest, Shirley Temple is her usual, bubbling, happy self, with song surprises and dance innovations performed with her old friend Bill Robinson. Another picture on the programme will be “ Everybody's Old Man,” featuring the comedian, Irvin S. Cobb. GRAND THEATRE For those who like their films to be musical, gay and spectacular, and yet not too bewildering, “ She Shall Have Music,” which commenced a season at the Grand Theatre yesterday, should be the end of a long quest. In this production, which moves to the lilt and rhythm of Jack Hylton’s famous band, the entertainment is so complex and varied that were it not skilfully ordered it would become almost cloying; yet throughout there is not the slightest suggestion that the audience’s appreciation slumps through an oversupply. Not only is the picture an hour and a-half’s enjoyment, but it is also a milestone in the British film industry, as showing that British producers have mastered the technique of musical comedy. Some may regret that the British approach has been mainly an adaptation of American methods rather than an original development, but the success of “She Shall Have Music” should be a sufficient answer. Efficient adaptation is preferable to inefficient originality. Gay and catchy tunes, irreproachably played by Jack Hylton’s band, are the background for some of the prettiest and most spectacular scenes to have been produced in British studios. Many types of dancing, ranging from the polkas of old Vienna to modern tap dances, are included, and talent is shown by the most unsuspected persons. As well as the song which gives the film its name, other popular airs are “ Moanm Minnie” and “My First Thrill.” The story opens with Hylton’s band about to embark upon a cruise in the South Seas, where it is to give a world-wide broadcast as publicity for the shipping company which owns the vessel. But before the yacht sets sail for the South Seas, a stop is made at Paris, where the band entertains with an opera, in which typical scenes of life in several European capitals are presented, the theme song providing the connecting link. The plans for the broadcast from the Pacific'are upset by men in the employ of a rival shipping company, and the band finds itself stranded in mid-ocean. However, fortune again favours the brave and in the final scene Jack Hylton is back in London with his band, making audiences happv with his music. Woven into the story Is a romance between June Clyde and Brian Lawrence, both of whom arc new and sprightly stars. But the real star is Hylton himself. He is more subdued and acts as if he were oblivious of the cameras and merely doing another day’s work. The supporting film, First Baby,” is a domestic comedy with many attractive moments. Dealing with the trials of a young married couple who arc continually badgered by an interfering mother-in-law, it provides bright entertainment from start to finish. Johnny Downs and Shirley Deane are excellent as the young couple, and Jane Darwell as the homely, outspoken mother-in-law, and Marjorie Gateson as the selfish one, are outstanding in support. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. EMPIRE THEATRE

The crowds that have thronged to the Empire Theatre to witness the screening of “San Francisco,” now drawing to the close of its second successful week, are unanimous in classing this Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production as one of the biggest achievements ever undertaken in the history of the film industry. The picture has so much to offer. Jeanette MacDonald, known to thousands as the goldenvoiced soprano, is heard in several delightful numbers ranging from opera-

tic airs to jazz, but perhaps her singing of “The Holy City” and “Nearer My God to Thee” will linger longest in the memory of those who hear her. Clark Gable, too, is outstanding, and Spencer Tracy, in the role of Father Mullin, a priest, gives a moving and human characterisation. The terrifying and realistic scenes of the San Francisco earthquake in 1905, followed by the ravaging fire, are spectacles which also will not easily be forgotten. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. “EARTHWORM TRACTORS” The next change at the Empire Theatre will be a Joe E. Brown comedy entitled “ Earthworm Tractors.” STRAND THEATRE With the cryptic title of “ Blackmailer,” the film which is the principal attraction on the current programme at the Strand Theatre is an exciting mystery drama dealing with the mur-, der of a notorious criminal during a dinner party. As most of the guests have very good reasons for desiring the death of this unsavoury specimen, there are plenty of clues for the audience to work upon; but it is doubtful if anyone will pick the person responsible for the crime. Excellent performances are given by Wil-, liam Gargan, Florence Rice, Drue Leyten, and H. B. Warner. The second film is “ Man of Iron,” a comedy drama which tells of the rise to a high business and social position of an untutored steel worker. The principal players are Barton Mac Lane, Dorothy Peterson, and Mary Astor. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. - “TOO MANY PARENTS” A notable release in Dunedin is that of the Paramount picture “Too Many Parents,” which is to be the main feature at the Strand Theatre to-mor-row. The love of a son for a father whom he has never seen and his pathetic attempts to make the world believe that his father loves him equally is the theme of this moving picture. “Too Many Parents,” with Frances Farmer and Lester Matthews playing the adult leads, features Buster Phelps, Billy Lee, George. Ernest, and Sherwood Bailey as the juvenile stars in this story of boys “ without parents ” —thrown together in a military boarding school. Phil’s eagerness for love shows itself in his writing himself long, affectionate, chatty letters, purporting to come from his dad, filled with tales of adventure. All the boys are terribly envious of Phil for having such a marvellous father, until one of the professors, overhearing the reading of a letter, recognises the adventure as having been copied from a magazine story. Phil is called before the entire company and publicly broken, reduced from his rank of student lieutenant to that of private. There is a dramatic climax. The second feature will be a crime thriller, “Meet Nero Wolfe.”

STATE THEATRE “Rhodes of Africa,” which is being shown at the State Theatre, is a vivid portrayal of the life and achievements of Cecil Rhodes. Walter Huston plays the role of the “ Empire Builder ” with outstanding ability. The picture shows how Rhodes, a firm believer in the destiny of the English race' and impressed by the boundless possibilities of the undeveloped country of Africa, becomes fired with the ambition to bring as much as possible of the “ Dark Continent ” into the British Empire. Rhodes’s underlying motive was the stupendous task of having from the Cape to Cairo, and throughout the picture his efforts towards this end are well illustrated. Incessant labour eventually undermined his health, and brought about his death, and his burial on the Matoppo Hills, which was attended by thousands of native warriors as a token of love and esteem, is vividly portrayed. There is a good supporting programme. The box plans are at the theatre and at Begg’s. “ THE EX-MRS BRADFORD ” , Not one murder, but three, form the basis of the plot of the new William Powell film, “The Ex-Mrs Bradford,” which is scheduled as the next State Theatre attraction. William Powell, suave and debonair as ever, is well suited to the part he is called upon to play in this production. It is that of a talented and popular surgeon with a flair for detective work. An opportunity occurs for him to put his powers of sleuthing into practice, and, seizing it, he becomes involved in a series of murders . which requires all his ingenuity to solve. Following close upon the first murder that confronts the would-be solver comes a chain of them in exasperating fashion to test the logic which he is building up around them. Jean Arthur brings to the film a delightful addition of misplaced zeal in her endeavours, as the wife of Powell, to elucidate the mysteries. REGENT THEATRE Margaret Sullavan, an actress who has never given an indifferent performance, and Henry Fonda, her former husband, appear as husband and wife in “The Moon’s Our Home,” at the Regent Theatre. The two principal characters are each wilful, obstinate. yet at times unmistakably tender, and their marired life, as might be expected, is not all roses. From the moment when the heroine promises to marry her suitor if she loses a wager—-and loses—there is something of interest in this film. The pointed dialogue is not the least appealing feature, and well-designed settings are another outstanding quality. There is an attractively-varied supporting programme, and the Regent Orchestra, under M. de Rose, provides an enjoyable series of musical selections. The box plans arc at the theatre and at the D.I.C.

“CHINA CLIPPBR” Woven round the inauguration of Pan-American Airways’ service . between San Francisco and the Orient, “China Clipper,” the Warner Bros, picture which opens to-morrow at the Regent Theatre, is a story which is as timely as it is entertaining and exciting, for commercial aviation is the topic of the hour; and, with the possibility of Pan-American Airways extending their service to Auckland, “ China Clipper ” holds an interest for New Zealanders. The story traces the growth of the project of spanning the Pacific ion wings of steel from its birth in the mind of a far-sighted pioneer (after Lindbergh had proved that long ocean flights were a practical possibility) to the triumphant day when the great China Clipper plane first roared its way over thousands of miles of sea between San Francisco and Manila. To-day the China Clipper planes come and go on a regular schedule, following the trail blazed by Kingsford Smith and Ulm—the modern counterparts of . the stately clipper ships which, in the nineteenth centurv, raced to capture the rich China trade. Pat O’Brien, in the'leading role, provides a blend of doggedness and romantic appeal. Beverley Roberts plays the important role of his wife, and others of note in the cast are Ross Alexander, H. B. Walthall, and Humphrey Bogart. Plans are at the D.I.C. and theatre. ST. JAMES THEATRE

The current attraction at the St. Janies Theatre is “Living Dangerously,” with Otto Kruger in the leading role. His dignity, talent, and sympathetic appreciation of the light and shade of drama, which could be ruined so easily by over-acting, bring to this production the deft touches that made him famous. He is a doctor in partnership in a fashionable London practice. Success is his, but his world starts to rock when he finds that nis partner is engaged in trafficking drugs. A threat to terminate the partnership causes the partner to send Otto Kruger (Dr Norton) before the medical council on a trumped-up charge of unprofessional conduct, in which the partner’s wife is concerned. Then start years of struggle in a new country: the ultimate success, and a climax that is brilliant in its drama, make a splen-. did production. The box plans are at the theatre, the D.1.C., M’Cracken and Walls’s, and Jacobs’s. “PUBLIC ENEMY’S WIFE” “ Public Enemy’s Wife.” to-morrow’s attraction at the St. James Theatre, tells how Margaret Lindsay, is released from prison after serving a sentence for complicity in a crime committed by a gang headed by her husband.' Cesar Romero, whom she married unaware that he was a criminal. Pat O’Brien and Robert Armstrong are cast as G-men. The picture is said to be crammed with thrills, including the overpowering of guards on a train and the escape of a gangster killer; the attempted murder of the bridegroom of the divorced wife of the killler; the kidnapping of the bride; a gun battle between G-men and the criminal band in their hide-out: the seizing of a ship chartered by the gangsters in which they plan to flee the country, taking the bride and captured secret service operatives with them. In this scene there is another and fiercer gun fight, with the chief of the crooks meeting his death. There will also be an interesting supporting programme, combining newsreels, comedy, and educative films. HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE Clark Gable gives one of his most compelling performances in “ Manhattan Melodrama,” which is now being shown at His Majesty’s Theatre. No less prominent in the production are Myrna Loy and William Powell, who are also responsible for brilliant performances. The story begins with the burning of the pleasure-steamer General Slocum in New York Harbour in 1904, and the rescue of two boys who are brought up in a slum. Gable plays the young man who has grown up high-spirited, reckless, an underworld gambler, but very likeable and—to the ladies—fascinating. Powell, studious in his youth, rises to be a brilliant barrister. Gable has a lady friend, played by Myrna Loy, who leaves him for Powell. Although the three still remain comrades, Powell fast climbs the ladder of fame, and becomes State Attorney with another short step to Governor. It is at this stage that Gable shoots a blackmailer

who might have prevented Powell’s election and lands himself in a position from which only Powell and his wife can save him,;. From here on the audience has many surprises awaiting it. The box plans are at the D.I.C. MAYFAIR THEATRE The ability of Eddie Cantor to keep an audience amused for the duration of a film without a break is nowhere more apparent than in “Strike Me Pink,” which is now being screened at the Mayfair Theatre. This film, which has had a previous successful screening in Dunedin, has in it all that audiences found so entertaining in “The Kid From Spain,” " Roman Scandals," and “ Whoopee,” coupled with improved technique in production and recording. Cantor has the most suitable role he has had and he makes full use of it, From a somewhat nervous little tailor he becomes, with the aid of a correspondence course, the manager of a big amusement park. It is then that he is faced With some of the difficulties of responsibility and, among others, he comes up against a gang of racketeers "who are anxious to place crooked gambling machines in his amusement park. The backgrounds of the picture are lavishly arranged and the ballets are entrancing. The musical score is as appropriate and merry as could be desired. Sally Eilers has the feminine lead. The box plans are at the theatre sweet shop, and the D.I.C.