AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23501, 16 May 1938, Page 13

AMUSEMENTS

STATE THEATRE Although terrifying and breath-tak-ing in its stark realism, “ Hurricane,” which is being screened this week at the State Theatre, has moments of idyllic peace and beauty. The fdm is unusual in having two newcomers to the screen, Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall, in the leading roles. They combine admirably and give performances of a high standard. The scenes take place on the small island of Manukura and Tahiti, where a native (Jon Hall) is wrongfully imprisoned for a minor offence. After escaping and being re captured several times, which increases his original sentence, he finally succeeds in returning to his island home, but only to be thrown into the fury of a tropical hurricane of unprecedented violence. The film is well balanced with excitement picturesque settings, and romance. Prominent among the remainder of the cast are C Aubrey Smith, who has the role of an old priest; Raymond Massey, the stern but efficient administrator of Manukura: and Mary Astor. wife of Raymond Massey. The supporting programme is excellent and includes newsreels, a technicolour cartoon, and an exceptionally fine film. “ Ski Thrills in Norway.” The box plans arc at the theatre and at Begg’s. REGENT THEATRE tn “ The Merry-go-round of 1938,' which heads the current programme at the Regent Theatre, a delightful admixture of vaudeville, melody, farce, and romance is woven into a story that is much more than a mere background for the performances of the four principal comedians —Mischa Auer, Bert Lahr, Jimmy Savo, and Billy House. The antics of these artists provide hilarious action throughout the production, yet the theme is by no means overshadowed by their burlesques. They appear as four vaudeville artists who raise from infancy the daughter of a fellow player. At the age of 19 she falls in love with the scion of a wealthy American house, but the young man’s choice is not favoured by his aristocratic relatives. The four comedians then impersonate mythical titled family relatives, Auer being an Indian Swami gifted in the art of levitation, which he uses in devastating fashion; Bert Lahr, as a former lumberjack sweetheart of the young man’s haughty aunt: and the others as equally fictitious persons. Their efforts meet with complete success after a series of extraordinarily amusing episodes There is a good supporting programme. The box plans arc at the theatre and the D.I.C. ■‘THE BARRIER' Action and romance suitably cornbine to make a fine picture of “The Barrier," which will be shown at the Regent Theatre on Friday. Filmed against the magnificent background of the rugged and stimulating Canadian North-West, the picture is an admirable blending of powerful action and romantic love. Rex Beach’s grand story of red-blooded life loses nothing in its transcription to the screen. The forbidden love of a young ;;rmy officer, James Ellison, with a half-caste Yukon girl, Jean Parker, is the theme of the story, and how the two solve their problem in the novel is revealed in the picture. Leo Carrillo is the third leading player, and he is cast as Poleon Dorel, the lovable north woods trapper who secretly loves Necia (Jean Parker), supposedly the daughter of an old friend. He Helps the young girl during her difficult moments of indecision, but trouble follows the inrush of gold miners, all in search of strikes.

ST. JAMES THEATRE Presented by Dearholt, Stout and Cohen, filmed in Guatemala by the Ashton Dearholt Expedition, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, “ The New Adventures of Tarzan ” has a newcomer. Herman Brix, in the title role. Like his predecessor in the part, ho is an Olympic champion and is just as skilful as Johnny Weissmuller at swinging through trees, battling with crocodiles, and beating the denizens of the jungle at their own game. The beautiful Guatemala scenery has its place in the production, making an attractive background to a story which is packed full of exciting action. The story has been handled with considerable ingenuity, and provides a stirring climax which is replete with excitement and surprises. The ape-man, now elevated to his rightful position m the British aristocracy, is captured, with his party, by the fearsome and superstitious “ monster men wno inhabit the ancient Mayan ruins which Tarzan’s expedition has reached m search of a fabulous idol, the green goddess. There is a good supporting programme. The box plans are at the theatre, the D.I.C. and at Jacobs s. STRAND THEATRE Two excellent mystery films comprise the major portion of the programme at the Strand Theatre, where “ The Shadow ” and “ White Lilac ’’ are proving deservedly popular. “The Shadow” is a Columbia production which lakes as its background the glamour and romance of the circus ring. Rita Haworth and Charles Quigley have the leading roles in this feature, which has the murder of a rival circus proprietor as its theme and which holds its atmosphere of suspense until the last moment Several nersons are found to have had a motive -for the murder, and matters are further complicated by the appearance of a ghostly, black-clad figure which is seen at night about the circus premises. A second death leads to the discovery of the murderer The second film "White Lilac," comes from the Rox studios, and is another baffling murder story. Basil Sydney and Judy Gunn have the leading roles, and they receive excellent support from the comedian favourite, Claude Dampier, who has been off the screen for too long. The box plans for this enthralling double-feature programme will be found at the theatre and at the D.I.C. OCTAGON THEATRE The entertainment value of Darryl F Zanuck’s latest production, entitled “His Affair,” is indicated by the excellent support being accorded it at the Octagon Theatre. Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor are co-starred in this romantic drama, while Victor McLaglen and Brian Donlevy are the featured players. Lieutenant Richard L. Perry is the central figure of the story. He was an actual character in American history—a fact which lends additional interest to the film. In 1901 a wave of bank robberies swept the Mid-Western States. President McKinley instructed a young naval lieutenant to desert the service, endeavour to find the culprits, gain their confidence, become their partner and furnish the information to lead to their elimination. The plot moves rapidly and with no dearth of incident. There is music and dancing and much of the dialogue is in the vernacular of the 1900 era. Ihe principal characters in the story are enacted by players whose brilliance in former productions is fully maintained, while the unusually large supporting cast provides ample evidence of quality performances. There is an entertaining supporting programme. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. EMPIRE THEATRE Romance, drama and sport have been successfully woven into the theme of “Navy Blue and Gold,’ which is now

being shown at the Empire Theatre. This story illustrates student life at America’s famous Naval Academy with some singularly good sequences. The screen has had a large number of films with Annapolis as their setting, but very few have made as good an impression as “ Navy Blue and Gold. This tells in vigorous dialogue the story of three young students each one diverse in type and character. The casting of these parts has been done particularly well, for Robert Young, James Stewart and Tom Brown interpret their roles so effectively that they add character and colour not only to their portrayals but also to the narrative. The trio brings such realism to this that the action of the story is followed with the keenest interest. Robert Young gives an admirable portrayal as a conceited but able young man who thinks more of his dashing appearance than anything else, and James Stewar. achieves distinction as a shy and sensitive youth who suffers inwardly because of the unjust dismissal of his father from the service a fact whicn forms the basis of one of the most dramatic scenes of the production. Lionel Barrymore. Billie Burke and Florence Rice are also prominent. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. “PARNELL” “ Parnell,” which will be screened on Friday at the Empire Theatre, is, of course, a story of the Irish people primarily, but actually it is a narration of great love and sacrifice that transcends all racial boundaries. It takes the man, Charles Stewart Parnell, as a symbol of all the courageous, reckless men of history, to whom love was a greater thing than fortune or fame or power. It endows him with many of the human weaknesses and some of‘the human virtues that endear a man to his fellow men. The role of Parnell is played by Clark Gable. In the opinion of one reviewer, it provides Hollywood’s leading male star with a part unlike any he has had before and one in which he proves his real artistry. Parnell, the Irishman, speaks with a decidedly American accent, but it must be remembered that he lived in that country and learned, not only the language, but the customs and mannerisms: moreover, his mother was American. GRAND THEATRE The popular Irish-American comedian Will Mahoney and the equally noted Scottish character Will Fyffe take the chief parts in “ Said O’Reilly to McNab.” which is now being shown at the Grand Theatre. The picture is capably directed, and the numerous situations abound in comedy. The mixture of Irish and Scottish naturally gives rise to a great deal of natural humour, and the dialogue throughout the production is exceedingly amusing, particularly when the two principal characters indulge in frequent arguments on the respective merits of the typical products of their two countries. The element of romance is supplied by James Carney, as O’Reilly’s son, and Jean Winstanley as McNab’s daughter. The young people want to marry, but, although O’Reilly is in favour of the match, McNab is not, and one of the most amusing scenes of the production is the golf match between the parents to decide whether their children will wed. The second picture on the programme is “ Big Business,” a fast-moving comedy featuring the Jones Family. The box plans are at the theatre and at Begg’s. “TARZAN’S REVENGE” Tarzan, the jungle king of man and beasts, has another set of adventures in the latest production of this series, “Tarzan’s Revenge,” which will be shown on Wednesday at the Grand Theatre. Playing opposite Tarzan (Glenn Morris) is Eleanor Holm, the famous American swimmer, and naturally the producers have taken full opportunity to include a large amount of trick swimming. The story concerns a safari in Africa which sets out to obtain specimens for a zoo in America,

but which, because of the admiration a powerful chief has for Miss Holm, is waylaid and Miss Holm captured. Tarzan and his faithful chimpanzee come to the rescue, and despite the almost insurmountable obstacles in front of them snatch the girl from under the nose of the guard. As the scene is laid in the jungle throughout there are a number of apimal studies and some “ shots ” of difficult rifle shooting.

MAYFAIR THEATRE

All the drama, the excitement, and the amusement of the American race track is woven into the background of “ Saratoga,” which occupies pride of place on the Mayfair Theatre’s current programme. “ Saratoga ” is the late Jean Harlow’s last motion picture, and it emphasises the fact that Miss Harlow’s untimely death was one of the severest blows the motion-picture world has had during recent years. Based on a story by Anita Loos, the cast includes Clark Gable in a perfect role. Lionel Barrymore, Una Merkel, Walter Pidgeon. Cliff Edwards, and Frank Morgan. The story deals with a wealthy girl, financial troubles, plots to victimise a man through betting, and a romance between a girl and man who started as bitter enemies. In support of “Saratoga” is another of the popular Bulldog Drummond mystery films which is entitled “ Dulldog Drummond Comes Back.” Clues to the mystery Drummond is called upon to solve are left in the form of cryptic messages on gramophone records. The climax is as exciting as anything seen on the screen for some considerable time. The box plans are at the D.I.C, and at Gadd’s.