AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24345, 9 July 1940, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS

THE CURRENT PROGRAMMES OCTAGON THEATRE Although now in the second week of Us Dunedin season, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” the film version of Victor Hugo’s great novel, continues to attract crowded houses to the Octagon Theatre. With Charles Laughton in the leading role, the film is presented in a particularly capable manner, and working from old woodcuts the studio has succeded in recreating the Paris of the closing years of the reign of Louis XL In those days Paris was not the City of Light. It was a grim age, peopled with a tough crowd. In costume and atmosphere the screen reproduces the conditions ruling with satisfying accuracy. I admit I did not live in Paris at the close of the 15th century, but the film exhibits it much as one would expect it to be. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. “ RAFFLES” Friday's new feature at the Octagon is a Samuel Goldwyn production, starring David Niven, Olivia de Havilland and Dame May Whltty. The picture should provide all the excitement that the most exacting patron could wish and in it burglary and romance are cleverly interwoven GRAND THEATRE There is good entertainment at the Grand Theatre this week. Heading the bill is “ Slightly Honourable,” a Walter Wanger picture starring Pat O’Brien and Ruth Terry in a sophisticated comedy melodrama. It is in the Thin Man tradition with murders and merriment hard on each other’s heels. The strong cast includes Alan Dinehart, Claire Dodd, Douglas Dumbrille. and Phyllis Brooks. The second film is " The Stranger from Texas,” a typical Western vehicle of the new musical type. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. “Cin IN DARKNESS” The first recent motion picture to show the blackout of war is City In Darkness,” the new 20th Century-Fox film, featuring Sidney Toler as “ Charlie Chan,” which is thfc next attraction at the Grand Theatre. The story shows the famous detective caught amid the terror and thrills that beset Paris during the days of crisis, when the entire city was ordered blacked-out as a precaution against air raids. The film shows the almost incredible spectacle of a great metropolis minus all its glittering lights and shows how under cover (of this awful darkness a daring crime was committed. Lynn Bari, Richard Clarke. Harold Huber, Pedro de Cordoba, and others form the supporting cast. REGENT THEATRE Enjoyed to the full already by thousands of Dunedin adults and children, " Gulliver’s Travels,” the full-length cartoon of Swift’s Immortal story, is practically filling the large Regent Theatre at every performance. Dave and Max Fleischer, famous as the producers of “ Popeye and scores of other cartoon features over the past dozen years or more, are the people responsible for this latest success. Their beautiful fantasy (it is entirely minus the somewhat horric effects that " Snow White ” conveyed in the dread actions of the Witch Queen) is rich in colouring and brilliant in imagination. The people of Lilliput and their hereditary enemies, the Belefuscans, are there In all the satirical humanness with which they were originally portrayed by Swift. Hollywood has. however, changed the story—modernised it, it might be reasonably claimed. The “ Big and Little Enders ” are quite forgotten; instead, the war starts over the marriage of a prince and a princess. The supporting programme. like the main feature, is outstanding. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. STATE THEATRE The year’s wildest, wittiest whirlwind of romance is contained in “His Gin Friday.” which is proving a popular attraction at tire State Theatre. Gary Grant and Rosalind Russell are the principals, and Ralph Bellamy is well featured. Well known for his flair for comedy and fast-moving drama, Howard Hawks was the director. From the Columbia studios, “ His Girl Friday is brilliantly interwoven with romance and fun. Grant is seen as the maddest man who ever ran a newspaper. Rosalind Russell is his, capricious, captivating ace reporter, and Bellamy the fuming, fretting Insurance agent to whom the newswoman is engaged. The supporting Programme is an entertaining one. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. EMPIRE THEATRE A social problem which has been a subject of discussion all over the world is dealt with in " Damaged Goods,” a film which has chief place in the current programme being screened at the Empire Theatre. The object of the film is to bring the notice of adults to a subject of which many people are Ignorant, and those who see the film will realise that there is a problem existing which demands prompt and close attention. The story points out certain pitfalls and dangers. It carries a lesson and a warning, and is both educative and Instructive. The film play is presented in a very convincing way by a capable cast. The theme is an ordinary life-story concerning the price that may be paid for folly, and how the taint of disease may be handed down to generations of innocent people. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. “ COME ON, GEORGE ” AND “ THE GREEN HORNET” Next Friday George Formby comes to the Empire Theatre in a picture he has always wanted to make, ” Come On, George,” a racing comedy in which the screen's Joker No. 1 becomes a scream jockey in a merry mixture of Formby fun, filled with convulsing comedy effervescent with uncontrollable laughter, spiced with snappy songs, and bubbling over with real entertainment, supported by a strong cast of comedians. Including Patricia Kirkwood. , _ Radio’s adventure serial, The Green Hornet," a crime story turning the spotlight on the vicious activities of a racketeering syndicate, will also be screened. The “ Hornet ” is the terrifying character assumed by a crusading newspaper publisher who, armed with a ‘‘.mercy gun, a weapon which merely paralyses its victim for a few hours, attacks the crime ring. ST. JAMES THEATRE “Wolf of New York,” now screening at the St. James Theatre, is a gripping melodrama of gangsterdom and crime. The story concerns a supposedly-honest stockbroker who is, in reality, a head of a gang of crooks. The district attorney is unable to cope with the situation because he cannot obtain evidence. Edmund Lowe is a famous criminal lawyer who is noted for his ability to obtain acquittals for his criminal clients. He is promoted to take the position of district attorney, and starts a “ clean up ” of the city, succeeding in getting proof against the guilty man. The second film is “ Rhythm of the Saddle, with Gene Autry. The box plans are at the theatre, the D.1.C., and Jacobs s. STRAND THEATRE James Cagney is in his best form in “ Great Guy,” the fast-moving film that heads the Strand Theatre’s excellent double-feature programme. There Is a strong story with plenty of action, comedy, and dramatic Incidents. The associate film is ” Thou Shalt Not Kill,” which features Charles Bickford in a dramatic story of a murderer who, after confessing to the minister, refuses to give himself up to the authorities to save an innocent man. It is a gripping story, well enacted. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. MAYFAIR THEATRE One of the outstanding films ot all time, “ Good-bve, Mr Chips,” has returned for a short season at the Mayfair Theatre. This great story of a schoolmaster who came to know boys after a few years of failure with them is a classic, and its charm cannot fail to appeal to all who see it The box plans are at, the theatre and the D.I.C.