AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23109, 8 February 1937, Page 5

AMUSEMENTS

REGENT THEATRE ’ An intriguing murder mystery, together with a strong romantic interest, makes "Accused," the new feature at the Regent Theatre, an entertaining picture. It is an unusual type of murder story, and interest is kept alive from start to finish. The stars are Dolores Del Rio and Douglas Fairbanks, jun., and they are supported by a strong cast, which includes Florence Desmond and Basil Sydney. Dolores and Douglas play the parts of Mr and Mrs Tony Seymour,' specialty dancers, and trouble comes their way when they join a well-known revue company in Paris. The leading lady, played by Florence Desmond, becomes enamoured of Tony, and as her advances are not returned she takes it out of his wife during rehearsals by making fun of her dancing. This leads to' a scene and, in an endeavour to remedy matters, Tony agrees, against his wife’s wishes, to visit the leading lady in her flat. Prompted by .jealousy,, the wife visits her rival in her dressing room for an explanation, and it is shortly after this visit that the leading lady is found dead with a dagger, used by the dancer in her act, through her heart. Suspicion naturally ..rests on the wife, and there then follows a sensational murder trial in which French legal procedure, which unlike the British custom, holds a person guilty until proved innocent, is well reproduced. The mystery is solved and the real murderer brought to book Jn an exciting climax. The film is well acted and well presented. In the chief role, Fairbanks, who made a big success with his first English picture, “ The Amateur Gentleman,” again gives a vivid interpretation. Dolores Del Rio also finds English direction to her taste and gives a dramatic piece of work. The supporting programme include, amusing cartoons and topical newsreels. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. "FORGOTTEN FACES" Tense drama is said to be provided in Paramount’s “Forgotten Faces,” which will be screened at the Regent Theatre on Friday. The two principals are Herbert Marshall and Gertrude 'Michael, who appeared together so successfully in "Till We Meet Again.’ The two films are quite different, However, . Herbert Marshall is said to give a. Splendid, performance as a superstitious owner of a fashionable gambling resort-, He shoots his wife’s lover. Before he, is arrested he takes ,his , baby daughter and arranges for her adoption where she will not know of her parents’ unhappy lot. After a long term in prison he is x’eleased on parole to find that his wife is seeking his daughter to blackmail hexfoster parents. He is unable to touch her, as he has given his word to the warden of the prison, and the battle of wits which follows leads the story to a clever and dramatic conclusion. A special feature in the first half of the programme is a “ Popeye ” featurette entitled "When Popeye the jailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor.” The box plans are at the D.I.C. and the theatre. ST. JAMES THEATRE * ' ■ A tale of the tragic Sinn Fein, rebellion in Ix-eland some 20 years ago is the theme of “ Ourselves Alone,” the 8.1. P. production which heads the cux-rent bill at the St. James Theatre. It is a particularly vivid reconstruction of the period, and the incidents, which are based on facts, are presented with an effect which is at times poignant in its intensity. It is one of those completely satisfying productions which has been competently handled from all points of view, and there is a general high standard of acting which leaves a more profound impression than that which, can be produced by flawless acting on the part of two principals in a film. The ghastly horror of those days of “ the trouble,” when civil war set brother 'in arms against brother, is brought fully home. The story is concerned with the effofts of the Irish Constabulary to run down a Sinn Fein '“ Scarlet Pimpernel,” Michael O’Dey, whose personality is one of the main inspirations of the rebels. The paths of love and duty cross and recross and conflicting loyalties to family and to country add to the confusion. The chief roles are taken by John Lodge, John Loder, Antionette Cellier. and Niall M’Ginnis. The peaceful charm of the Irish villages contrasted with the ruthlessness of the war which sweeps through them at a moment’s notice makes a background which could hardly be improved upon for the setting of such a tale. The supporting programme is a varied and interesting one. The box plans are at the theatx’e. the, D.1.C.; and Jacobs’s. OCTAGON THEATRE The story of k princess who fell in love with a band-leader is the plot of “ Everything is Rhythm,” which is the main feature at the, Octagon Theatre this v/eek. The interest of the film, however, really centres round Harry Roy and England’s finest dance band, playing music with all the “punch" and rhythm of the best American combinations. In essentials, the film is an actual account of Roy’s career. By hard work and a certain degree of native genius, the attractive little Cockney built up his band; but it played unrecognised until, by means of q trick, it was given its chance of a Contract in a large hotel. Wealth and honours followed quickly, but Harry Rov had meanwhile fallen in love with a girl,who at first mistook him for a waiter. Although she was the princess of a small European kingdom, the romance prospered until a prying maid-in-wbiting reported to the princess’s uncle. The uncle' hurriedly recalled her. and, through a misunderstanding. Roy was led to believe she had jilted him. Re went on a world tour to mend his broken heart. The musical theme of the tour is one of the. finest parts of the film, and a triumph for the band The tour ended, not unexpectedly, in the Kingdom of Monrovia, where the band leader and the princess, played by charming Mrs Harry Roy. daughter of the only white rajah in Borneo, solved their problem happily._ “The Preview Murder Mystery” is in support. The plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. GRAND THEATRE A thrilling story of a new form of “ racket ” that has the police guessing is contained in “ Human Cargo,” which heads the present double-feature programme at the Grand Theatre. It is a tale of the activities of gangsters who make a great deal of money by smuggling aliens into the United States and then blackmailing them when they have them at their mercy. The police have a good deal of difficulty in exposing the operations of the gang, and

it is left to an enterprising newspaper to bring them to justice. Claire Trevor and Brian Donlevy have the parts of two reporters who are assigned to get a story about the gang, and they visit a night club where they expect to secure some information from a certain man. While they are there, however, a gun battle breaks out, and this man is killed. The girl reporter is arrested, but her companion escapes v/ith a dancer who is herself an illegal alien, and from this source comes the story so eagerly sought after. There is not a dull moment in “ Human Cargo,” and it can be recommended to any class of picturegoer. The other film on the programme is “Dark Worlds,” in which Tamara Desni and Leon Quartermain have the leading parts. The box plans are at the theatre and at Begg’s. EMPIRE THEATRE There will be many who will welcome the reappearance on the screen of Richard Tauber, undoubtedly one of the most popular tenors in the world to-day. and, in “.Land Without Music, which is now being shown at the Empire Theatre, anticipations are not likely to be disappointed since the story is a delightfully light one with a pleasing blend of fantasy, and. it affords the singer many opportunities to use his beautiful voice which is clearly and faithfully reproduced. Tauber has made full use of the experience gained in his previous films, and here he displays a greater degree of acting ability than he has yet shown He enters with an infectious verve into his role as a singer who returns to his own country only to be banished as a public menace since the Princess of this principality has decided, after finding her advisers forming a chamber orchestra rather than attending to matters of royal business, that music i< 3 a dangerous influence and must be abolished. Diana Napier, who last year became Tauber’s bride,, appears in the leading feminine role as the imperious ruler who is eventually brought to a realisation of the error of her ways, chiefly through the attractive charm of Tauber’s voice, which even prison walls cannot silence. It requires something of an effort for admirers of Jimmy Durante’s peculiar style of humour to picture him in such an airy costume drama, but he does not fail to surprise and to delxgnt. Another American player who is seen in unaccustomed company is June Clyde. “ Land Without Music is based on an operetta by Oscar Strauss, .and the music is characterised by the lightness, infectious melody, and swingingi tunefulness which is associated withi-the name of Strauss. Tauber’s songs, some of which have already been heard on recordings, include Simple Little Melody,” “ Smile for Me, Heaven is a Song.” and “You Must Have Music the effect of some of which is enhanced by some admirably-balanced chorus singing. The short features on the supporting programme include vanishing Sails,” a depiction of the barges on the Thames, newsreels, and a variety film. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. STRAND THEATRE “ Big Brown Eyes,” which is at present at the Strand Theatre, is a very much livelier film than its title implies. It is a gangster story jo expertly fitted together and acted with such unfaltering zest that in spite of some not very novel material and the usual array of stock types it supplies unquestionable entertainment. Hollywood apparently has the monopoly of this sort of picture. Where it shines is that there are no dull moments to give time to ask whether the story is really convincing, if . characters as ceaselessly “ wisecracking as Cary Grant and Joan Bennett really exist, ahd whether the introduction of a murdered baby into what had hitherto been hilarious comedy of the crosS-taiK variety really is artistically suitable. Cary Grant is well cast as the ironside detective whose most valuable accomplishment is the art of ventnloquisrm Joan Bennett is better than she has been. There is a tartness, a weary sophistication about her performances which contrast finely with her delicate beauty and the occasional feminine tenderness shining through her pose. Altogether it is a film which will bore nobody old enough—or young enough—to enjoy a murder, .and the neat manner in which the villains ar finally pinned down will satisfy tne most ’ austere moralists and the mos. exacting critics of melodrama. Trailin West,” which stars the singing cowboy,” Dick Foran, is the associate picture The plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. __ STATE THEATRE # / Shirley Temple, the popular child star, has the best role ■pi .her career in “ Poor Little Rich Girl,” which is being shown at the State Theatre. As Barbara Barry, the. only child of a widowed merchant (Jack Haley), Shirley is seen as the central figure ot the wealthy Barry household, with as many clothes, dolls, and toys as she could wish for. Yet. Barbara is a very lonely little girl, and has a secret longing for adventure like Betsy Ware, a story book child, who runs away and meets an organ-grinder and his monkey. It is when Barbara is being taken away to school that the longedfor adventure begins. Her nurse meets with an accident during the journey, and Barbara, left alone in the city, pretends she is the Betsy Ware of her story book. She almost believes the truth of it herself when she sees an organ grinder and his monkey. >-<he follows him to his home and tells him that her name is Betsy Ware and that she has run away from-an orphanage. The Italian family keep her there, and it is in the same house that the Dolans, radio artists, meet her and discover her talent for singing and tap-dancing. They teach her to fit in with their own act, and take her with them to the radio station, where they are an immediate success. Strangely enough, they are engaged to advertise through the radio a brand of products made by rivals of Mr Barry, and when listening : in he is amazed to recognise his small daughter’s voice. Shirley is her own adorable self, and has made even greater progress in her singing and dancing numbers. The cast includes Alice Faye, Sarah Haden, Jane Harwell, Gloria Stuart, and Michael Whalen. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. MAYFAIR THEATRE “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine,” one of the first natural-colour motion pictures of the outdoors, is now at the Mayfair Theatre, with Sylvia Sidney, Fred Mac Murray, Henry Fonda, and Fred Stone in the starring roles. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine,” produced by Walter Wanger for Paramount, is the first picture in which the colour element is taken as a matter of course and subordinated to the story interest. Filmed at Big Bear, California, where the scenery almost duplicates that ot the Cumberland Mountain region, where the original novel is set, “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine ” tells how an ancient hill feud involving two families, and resulting in dozens of deaths, is affected by the inroads of civilisation, in the person of a young engineer who arrives to construct a railroad line through the region. Colour is handled in an entirely new fashion in the film. Henry Hathaway, who won recognition through direction ot “The Lives of a Bengal Lancer,” revolutionised accepted technique in his direction of “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine” by insisting that bright colours be eliminated because they detract from the story and characters. He accentuated the realism of the setting by employing only natural shades, with mountaineers’ cabins of weatherbeaten lumber and rough-hewn logs; costumes of dull shades, and make-up of the players reduced to a minimum. The battle between the hill folk and the three-cornered romance involving Miss Sidney, Mac Murray, and Fonda are stressed above tricky colour effects. The picture was made by the new technicolour process. On the same programme is “You May Be Next,” a crime drama. The plans are at the theatre sweet shop and the D.I.C.