AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23350, 16 November 1937, Page 18

AMUSEMENTS

OCTAGON THEATRE Heading an excellent double programme at the Octagon Theatre is “ The Great Gambini,” which features Akim Tamiroff in the title role. Tamiroil is the star attraction at a night club, where he and his beautiful blindfolded assistant “ read ” sealed messages sent him by the audience. When Tamiroff prophesies that Marian Marsh, planning to be married the next day, will not marry her fiance, it is first considered merely a bad joke; but when the fiance is found murdered the next morning, the case takes on a more serious aspect. Everybody in the film is under suspicion—Tamiroff, Miss Marsh, her disappointed suitor, John Trent, her father, Reginald Denny, and her stepmother, Genevieve Tobin. The sequences leading up to the excellent climax are thrilling in the extreme. The second attraction is “ Blazing Sixes,” featuring Dick Foran, the singing cowboy. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. “THUNDER IN THE CITY” Comedy, drama, and romance are all combined in “ Thunder in the City,” which will be shown at the Octagon Theatre on Friday. This production stars Edward G. Robinson as a highpressure American salesman who goes to England in search of new pastures. Mistaken by distant relatives for a millionaire, he is introduced to a duke in straitened circumstances and uses his ballyhoo to float a company to develop a miracle metal, mined on the duke’s property. Then, in quick succession. follow a glorious series of fastpaced adventures, full of commercial and romantic pitfalls for Edward G. Robinson, ending in a smashing climax packed with excitement. A brilliant supporting cast is featured in this Atlantic film, including Luli Deste, Nigel Bruce, and Constance Collier. The supporting film is “ Night of Mystery,” a Paramount picture introducing Philo Vance. The theme of the story is based on the novel by S. S. Van Dine, “ The Greene Murder Case.” STRAND THEATRE Two attractively-presented films, “ The Man in Blue ” and “ Dancing Feet,” comprise the current programme at the Strand Theatre. “The Man in Blue ” is a sincere and gripping screen play in which Robert Wilcox and Edward Ellis give excellent characterisations. The story concerns a policeman who adopts the son of a man he has killed in the course of his duty. “ Dancing Feet ” is a pleasingly inconsequential comedy concerning a piqued heiress and her , attempt to become independent. Ben Lyon, Joan Marsh, Eddie Nugent, and Isabel Jewell have the leading roles. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. EMPIRE THEATRE Witty dialogue and sophisticated situations distinguish “Man in Possession,” now at the Empire Theatre, from the usual comedy. Leading roles are taken by Robert Taylor and Jean Harlow. Posing as a wealthy Afnerican widow. Miss Harlow attempts to attach herself to Reginald Owen, whom she believes to be financially substantial. Taylor, who had served a term in prison for a minor offence, returns home to find that neither his father nor his brother (Reginald Owen) want to have much to do with him. He falls in love with Miss Harlow, and so. as to be near her takes a position in her house as- bailiff’s clerk. The story then moves to an hilarious climax. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. “AFTER THE THIN MAN” It is a long time since “The Thin Man ” first impressed the theatregoing public with the fact that William Powell and Myrna Loy made an excellent married couple on the screen. Now they reappear in “After the Thin Man,” which records their further marital adventures while engaged in the problem of solving crime mysteries, and will be shown on Friday at the Empire Theatre, This M-G-M picture features in its large cast of players such favourites as James Stewart, Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia, Jessie Ralph, Alan Marshall, and Teddy Hart. “After the Thin Man ” is more than just another sequel. It picks up in high where “ The Thin Man ” left off. Nick and Nora, having conquered New York, are on their way home to bustling, cosmopolitan San Francisco with its colourful, eerie Chinatown, its energetic ferries, and its magnificent bridges. Nick has put his sleuthing career in moth balls for good. He and Nora want nothing but lots of peace, quiet, and relaxation, which is anything but what fate has in store for them when they arrive on New Year’s Eve at the door of their stylish home. GRAND THEATRE

Featuring John Beal and Anne Dvorak in the leading roles. “ We Who Are About to Die ” heads an entertaining double-feature programme at the Grand Theatre. It is a highly dramatic tale of condemned men, awaiting death, with a touching romance running through the film. The second attraction is “ Hollywood Cowboy,” featuring George O’Brien as a movie cowboy who becomes entangled in real range waffare. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. "NORTH OF THE RIO GRANDE” William Boyd comes to the screen for the eleventh time in the role of the hard-riding, square-shooting Hopalong Cassidy in “ North of the Rio Grande,” which will head the programme to be shown to-morrow at the Grand Theatre. With him ride “Windy," played by George Hayes, and “ Lucky ” Jenkins, portrayed by the handsome newcomer Russell Hayden. Taken from the Clarence E. Mulford novel “ Cottonwood Gulch,” the story is concerned with the manner in which Cassidy rids a wildcat frontier town of its crook-officials, and in the same sweep annihilates a band of train robbers. Besides the hard riding which characterises these stories, there are a number of exciting railroad sequences which provide many thrills. The cast also includes Stephen Morris, in a dual role; the charming Bernadene Hayes, John Rutherford, Walter Long, Lee Cobb, John Beach, and Lorraine Randall. The picture upholds the fine standards for photography set by the previous " Hoppy ” stones. It was directed by Nate Watt. An unusual romance of the California mining camps of the fifties forms the theme of “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” RKO Radio’s film version of the famous story by Bret Harte, which will be the associate feature. STATE THEATRE Charming Jessie Matthews, as piquant and sprigthly as ever, finds a role greatly to her taste in the GaumontBritish musical and romantic drama “ Head Over Heels,” which is the current attraction at the State Theatre. Directed by her famous husband, Sonnie Hale, she sings and dances her way through a delightful entertainment, brisk in tempo, tuneful in character, and bright with passages of gentle humour and broad farce. Miss Matthews lakes the part of Jeanne, a Paris cabaret dancer, who hopes to achieve the fame and notability of a great screen star, but in the meantime must rest content with the plaudits of cxtremly bourgeoise audiences. The box plans will be found at the theatre and at Begg’s. “SEVENTH HEAVEN" One of the famed French taxi cabs that took an important part in the World War makes its appearance in “ Seventh Heaven,” the Twentieth Century-Fox romance starring Simone Simon and James Stewart, which will be screened on Friday at the State Theatre. The cab, dubbed “ Eloise,’’ saw war service in 1914 when, with the German Army under von Kluck but 25 miles from the city’s gates, General Gallieni commandeered the taxis of Paris to carry the 62nd

Division to the front. The general’s swift action saved the city. At the close of the war, the cab, now one of the few remaining in the world and therefore a valuable museum piece, was brought to Hollywood. When authentic war-time Montmartre atmosphere was required for scenes in “ Seventh Heaven,” Twentieth Cen-tury-Fox property men rolled the famed taxi—a Renault —out of its garage and tuned it up for its important role. REGENT THEATRE How a mere mongrel dog nearly wrecked a career and brought about the romance of two charming young people is the story of the hilarious London Films comedy “ Storm in a Teacup,” which is now at the Regent Theatre. Cecil Parker appears as the Provost of a small town on the west coast of Scotland, who sets out to make himself dictator of the north. Traditionally ruthless, one of his first actions is to order the destruction of the dog because his owner has failed to pay his licence. A young reporter’s article exposing the Provost's methods creates the storm which gives the film its title. It sets the town by the' ears, reveals the intrigue between the Provost and the local editor's wife, and finally causes a national scandal, which, after hilarious complications, ends in the rout of the dictator and the triumphant marriage of the dog’s owner to the bailiff sent to confiscate Patsy. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. ‘‘THE GO-GETTER “ Cappy Ricks,” that irascible but lovable old seafaring character created by Peter B. Kyne comes to life on the screen in the comedy-drama, “ The GoGetter,” which will be commenced at the Regent Theatre on Friday. Charles Winninger plays Cappy in this delightful film. He is not the “ gogetter.” That individual is George Brent, who is in love with Cappy's daughter, portrayed by the lovely blonde star, Anita Louise. George and Anita carry the romantic interest of the show. But neither can steal away the audience’s affection for old Cappy. It is an exceptionally well-balanced cast that portrays this famous yarn of Mr Kyne’s. Apart from the starring trio, there are such players as Henry O’Neill, John Eldridge, Joseph Crehan, Gordon Oliver, Eddie Acuff, Herbert Rawlinson, Mary Treen, Helen Lowell, Helen Valkis. and Minerva ' Urecal. Bill Austin—the character played by Brent—loses a leg in an accident to a naval airship, is mustered out of the navy, and must find himself a job in civil life. That is how he meets Cappy Ricks and Cappy’s daughter. He is put through all sorts of tests by Cappy and the girl before he wins them both over. ST. JAMES THEATRE Another home-spun story that outdoes “ Old Hutch ” and even rivals that outstanding picture, “Ah, Wilderness,” is at present being screened at the St. James Theatre, where its homely characters and dialogue delights all types of audiences. It is “The Good Old Soak,” in which Wallace Beery and Eric Linden again appear as father and son. There are other familiar figures in the cast, including Margaret Hamilton (one of the “ pixilated ” sisters, as a crabbed, wise-cracking maidseniant), Ted Healy as a bootlegger, Una Merkel as a slatternly kitchen girl, and Robert Me Wade as a scroundi’elly banker. The story concerns the bibulous father of a family and his irresponsible son, who stoops so low as to steal his mother’s railway bonds. The tale is well handled and an excellent climax is reached. The supporting films are highly entertaining. The box plans are at the theatre, Jacobs's, and the D.I.C. “LOVE IN A BUNGALOW” “As pleasant as a spring breeze and as gay and sparkling as rare champagne ” was the description given in a notice in an Australian paper of “ Love in a Bungalow,” a comedy drama produced by Universal, which will be screened at the St. James Theatre next Friday. “Love in a Bungalow ” is not only light-hearted entertainment for all. with romance cleverly blended with action and comedy always predominant, but is a picture which brings into prominence Nan Grey and Kent Taylor, who team with delightful ease and naturalness in a story of simple charm. There is all the materia] for a rollicking gay story when the beautiful hostess in a model house —her dream bungalow—comes to work one morning to find a young stranger, handsome and athletic, at ease and perfectly at home in the master’s bedroom; and Universal ha,s exploited the potentialities of ‘he romance to the utmost. Miss Grey and Taylor have recently come into the front rank, and in this picture they are assisted by a particularly strong cast of comedy favourites, including Richard Carle, Margaret McWade, Hobart Cavanagh, Jack Smart. Minerva Urecal, and Louise Beavers. MAYFAIR THEATRE Two excellent films. “ The Road Back ” and “ Oh, Doctor,” will conclude a successful season at the Mayfair Theatre to-night. The former is a remarkable screen version of Erick Maria Remarque’s much-discussed book depicting the rebuilding of Germany after the war. Barbara Read, Slim Summerville, John King, and Andy Devine figure in the cast. The supporting film features Edward Everett Horton in an hilarious comedy. The box plans are at the D.I.C. and the theatre sweetshop. “ SMARTEST GIRL IN TOWN ” “ Smartest Girl in Town,” the new comedy romance starring Gene Raymond and Ann Sothern, will be shown at the Mayfair Theatre to-morrow. Enacted against the background of an up-to-date advertising agency where a bevy of beautiful models pose for the cigarette and tooth paste advertisements in modern magazines the hilarity of “Smartest Girl in Town” starts when the two principals meet aboard a yacht for professional purposes. Miss Sothern mistakes Raymond, the yacht’s owner, for an agency model. Carefully maintaining his incognito, Raymond begins a long campaign to capture Miss Sothern’s heart —a campaign which speedily turns into a series of gay adventures as the story unfolds, and finally reaches a climax that makes it one of the most entertaining films of the season. “The Man Who Lived Twice.” a blood-chill-ing drama of a killer resurrected and transformed into a reputable, eminent surgeon, will be the second offering. Ralph Bellamy appears in the title role with Marian Marsh, Isabel Jewell, and Thurston Hall in the other principal parts. This sensational motion picture steps one step ahead of science to dramatise the power of surgery to change completely a person’s characteristics, appearance, and personality-