AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23669, 29 November 1938, Page 6

AMUSEMENTS

REGENT THEATRE Delightful light-hearted romance, In which singing, dancing, adventure and comedy each play a part, is contained in "Rosalie," which is proving highly popular at the Regent Theatre. The production is particularly noteworthy tor the grand scale of its ballets and settings, and for its unusually talented co-starring principals Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell. The experiment of matching the famous baritone with Eleanor Powell's high-speed talent as a tap dancer has proved a complete success. But that is not all—Frank Morgan is up to his usual amusing antics in the supporting cast, others present being Edna May Oliver, Ray Bolger, Billy Gilbert and tona Massey. In the development of the plot a princess from a tiny European kingdom comes to America incognito to receive the finishing touches to her education in the United States A humorous touch is added to her visit, for she has bet her father that she can stay in America for one year without Walter Winchell finding out about it. During her visit she meets a West Point football hero, and the romance blossoms as the film pursues its hilarious course to the accompaniment of some fine new numbers. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. ST. JAMES THEATRE Once more the Bar 20 boys ride to the rescue, this time to the aid of a courageous young woman who is beset by villains who are trying to get possession of her gold mine. The tale is told in "Bar 20 Justice," which heads the current programme at the St. James Theatre. William Boyd is again in the role of Hopalong Cassidy, and his zest for the role is entirely .unimpaired. Others in the cast are Russell'Hayden, George Hayes and Pat O'Brien. The second feature is an entertaining medley of music, comedy and romance, featuring Leo Carillo. Phil Regan, Ann Dvorak, Tamara Deva and Gene Autry. Interest is added to the film by the appearance of several famous bands and a number of wellknown specialty artists. The story is a clever one. and has been lavishly mounted. The box plans are at the theatre, the D.I.C. and Jacobs's. "VARSITY SHOW" Music and stark drama contrast delightfully in the new programme which will be commenced at the St. James . Theatre on Friday. A songstudded musical and variety film, " Varsity Show," heads the programme, and with such a stellar cast as Dick Powell Fred Waring and his internationally famous orchestra, Rosemary Lane. Ted Healy, Lee Dixon, Priscilla Lane and Walter Catlett, the film could not fail but to be an outstanding success. The plot of the picture deals with the efforts of Powell, a Broadway producer temporarily out of work, to stage the annual Quadrangle Club show at Winfield College. What happens when the students go out on strike, when warring professors interfere, and artistic temperaments boil over makes humorout entertainment, while a whole host of melodious numbers are scattered through the production. "Missing Witness" is a rapid-fire exposure of the packing of every level of life in a big city with assorted criminal racketeers all working for one great organisation. The spiriting-away of witnesses brings action from the Department of Justice, and the fastmoving story is interpreted by John Litel, Dick Purcel, Jean Dale, Ben Welden and John Harrow. STRAND THEATRE "The Devil's Party" and "Who's Your Lady Friend? " are the titles of the two films which comprise the current programme at the Strand Theatre. In the first film Victor McLaglen gives another of his virile performances, while he receives good support from Paul Kelly, Beatrice Roberts, William Gargan and Frank Jenks. Briefly the story deals with the lives of a group of slum children who meet years afterwards for a reunion, at which a murder is committed. The climax is unfurled in an exciting manner. Comedy is the keynote of the second attraction, which features Betty Stockfield. Frances Day and Vic Oliver. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C OCTAGON THEATRE " Elephant Boy " Sabu, the darkly attractive young man whose adventures in the land where the elephants dance established him as a new kind of screen star, is back again in "The Drum." the film version of a novel by A. E. W. Mason, which is being shown for another week at the Octagon Theatre. The cast is headed by Raymond Massey, who gives a brilliant performance as the scheming Indian potentate, Roger Livesey, Martin Walker, and Valerie Hobson, who behave with perfect poise and whose calm amidst trying circumstances is all that the most staunch upholder of the British tradition could wish. The film is conclusive evidence of the advance which British films are making under the guiding genius of Alexander Korda. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg's. "THE GOLDWYN FOLLIES" A ventriloquist act in a smart night club was something unheard of, but Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy changed all that a year ago when they became the toast of the Park avenue crowds at the Rainbow Room. Then came a booking for the Rudy Vallee programme, and with it went immediate radio success. From the air lanes it was a natural step to Hollywood and the films. Their current roles in the Octagon Theatre's next feature, "The Goldwyn Follies," in which they share featured honours with Adolphe Menjou. the Ritz Brothers, Zorina. Kenny Baker, Andrea Leeds Helen Jepson. Phil Baker, Ella Logan, Bobby Clark, Jerome Cowan, The American Ballet and the Gorgeous Goldwyn Girls are their first in a feature film, but contracts have already been signed for other starring vehicles. The BergenMcCarthy fan mail is phenomenal today. It is delivered by the truckload and comes from people in all walks of life. Sixty per cent, of it is for Charlie McCarthy, but Bergen is not jealous Dummy though he is, Charlie McCarthy is one of the best protected individuals in America. Bergen has him insured for £SOOO against fire and theft. He has patented his name, copyrighted his likeness, and recently he organised a Charlie McCarthy Corporation. EMPIRE THEATRE "Merrily We Live" continues to draw full houses at the Empire Theatre It is a marathon of wit and merriment, which never falters throughout its length. At a typically large and luxurious American mansion whose mistress is noted for her eccentricities regarding tramps, arrives a dishevelled young stranger. He is welcomed with open arms, but manages to adapt himself to the situation with all the aplomb which a young novelist, such as he really is. is expected to possess Brian Aherne is the young tramp-chauffeur-novelist, Billie Burke the lady of the house, Clarence Kolb her irascible spouse, and Constance Bennett, Tom Brown, and Bonita Granville children of the family of assorted ages. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. " THREE COMRADES " In "Three Comrades," the Empire Theatre's next attraction, Robert Taylor makes his first appearance since his triumphant return from England where he starred in "A Yank at Oxford." Taylor plays one of the three young war veterans who return to their homes to build a new life and find themselves engulfed in revolution Margaret Sullavan plays the orphan firl, formerly wealthy, with whom aylor falls in love and to whom she brings a needed happiness. Franchot Tone has the role of serious-minded Koster. The third member of the comrade trio is Robert Young playing the patriotic youth who later is slain in revolutionary battle. Other important

plavers include Guy Kibbee as the jovial cafe owner, Lionel Atwill as the profiteer, Henry Hull as the patriot, Charley Grapewin and Monty Woolle-y. "Three Comrades" is adapted from one of the greatest books written by Erich Maria Remarque, author of "All Quiet on the Western Front" and " The Road Back," which also were adapted to the screen. It is the story of three young veterans who survive the World War and pledge their friendships to battle life together in the newer fight to rehabilitate themselves. During their struggle in the town where they live revolution constantly surrounds them, thwarting their struggles to gather together the shreds of their lives that the war so abruptly interrupted. Their fight is made easier when a beautiful girl becomes one of them and marches along with them until her death. The supporting programme will include a Pete Smith specialty, a Robert Benchley comedy, a cartoon, and newsreels. GRAND THEATRE Two highly entertaining films are being shown to-day at the Grand Theatre. They are "Super Sleuth," with the inimitable Jack Oakie, and " Meet the Missus," featuring the popular team of Victor Moore and Helen Broderick. "Super Sleuth" is an unusual mixture of comedy and thrills, for Oakie has the role of a film actor whose strong suit is mysteries, and when he tries out his theories in practice with a real villain things happen in lively style. " Meet the Missus" tells of the complications which pursue a couple who are fortunate in a popularity contest. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg's. "DOUBLE DANGER" Enhancing the ever-popular story of a gentleman crook by providing him with a clever feminine rival, RKO Radio's new mystery offering "Double Danger" comes to the Grand Theatre to-morrow with Preston Foster and Whitney Bourne as stars. Foster plays a writer of detective stories dealing with the exploits of " The Gentleman," a former" cracksman whom the New York police have been vainly pursuing for years. Miss Bourne, as an adventuress, opens the proceedings by cleverly making off with a notable collection of diamonds. The stones in turn are taken from her by Foster and his valet, posing as a pair of police officers, and from this point the action gains speed. A police commissioner has narrowed his search down to just two people—Foster and Miss Bourne—and he invites them both to his home as guests. There the various complications rise to intriguing heights, with an ingenious scheme of the commissioner's to trap the long-sought criminal getting itself mixed up with a romance between the two principals. The anomalous situation of a big crime wave without a victim forms a plot for the new detective thriller "One Wild Night," the second film. The most indifferent student of criminology will insist that " violence without benefit of victim" cannot happen. Yet truth is stranger than fiction, for only recently in a New York courtroom, a " mobster " broke down when he faced the judge on a charge of taking a man for a "ride." This man had been shot twice and left for dead in a City park. When the " corpse" appeared to substantiate the charges, the " mobster" pleaded guilty to a charge of armed assault in the first degree. In " One Wild Night," three prominent citizens vanish into thin air, and June Lang, Dick Baldwin and Lyle Talbot become entangled in a strange mystery. The "crime wave" builds up to an exciting climax in the story originated by Edwin Torgerson and prepared for the screen by Charles Belden and Jerry Cady. STATE THEATRE "Breaking the Ice," the current attraction at the State Theatre, combines all the best ingredients which make excellent entertainment. Comedy, romance, spectacle and catchy music are all embodied in the picture which introduces a captivating little personality in Irene Dare, a child who displays remarkable agility as a skater. Then there is the celebrated boy singer, Bobby Breen, who sings in his delightful style, and the inimitable Charles Ruggles. Others in the cast are Dolores Costello, Robert. Barrat, Dorothy Peterson and Billy Gilbert. An interesting story ■ is unfolded and relates how Bobby Breen and Irene Dare become the centre of attraction in a skating rink in which both are employed. The supporting programme includes a Walt Disney cartoon entftled "The Fox Hunt." The box plans are at the theatre and Begg's. "ALF'S BUTTON AFLOAT" A farcical English production, "Alf's Button Afloat," which stars the celebrated "Crazy Gang," will be the State Theatre's next feature. The Cranzy Gang is comprised of three favourite comedy teams—Flanagan and Allen, Naughton and Gold, and Nervo and Knox. In this film they are seen as street musicians who join the navy by accident. On being issued with their uniforms, one of their number discovers that his tunic has a button made from the metal of the original "Aladdin's Lamp," and containing most of the lamp's famous attributes. The way in which the six members endeavour to use the magic button for their own purposes provides hilarious entertainment. MAYFAIR THEATRE The drolleries and unaffected humour of Roland Young, who plays the principal role in "Topper," the main attraction at the Mayfair Theatre, make the film exceedingly fine entertainment. When Topper sets out on a series of adventures he is accompanied by Cary Grant and Constance Bennett, both of whom are subsequently killed in a motor smash. It is from that stage that the film gets properly under way and the fun really begins. Topper is still accompanied by his two friends in the spirit everywhere he goes—and he finds himself in some very queer places. The second film is "Adventure's End," a thrilling story of the old whaling days. The leading roles are played bv Wayne Morris and Diana Gibson. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. •'DINNER AT THE RITZ " Annabella, the sensational star discovery of two continents, whose activities have been important news to moviegoers everywhere since she arrived in Hollywood to make her starring debut in the film capital, is seen in " Dinner at the Ritz." the next film at the Mayfair Theatre. In a story as tensely exciting as its star is excitingly lovely, the most dangerous intrigue that ever involved a beautiful woman in love whirls Annabella from the brilliant salons of Paris through the fabulous gaming rooms of Monte Carlo to a luxurious private yacht on the Mediterranean. Paul Lukas, David Niven and Romney Brent are featured in the cast. With Preston Foster .heading an all-star cast, Universal's thrilling production of "The Westland Case," a prize winning Crime Club mystery drama, will also be screened. Beginning at that high point of excitement where most mystery stones leave off. the picture is chareed with SDine chilling suspense, fast action and hilarious laughter brought on by the whimsical humour of the super-sleuth Detective Crane.