AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24347, 11 July 1940, Page 11

AMUSEMENTS

THE CURRENT PROGRAMMES REGENT THEATRE Those captivating little creatures who people the land of Lilliput are given life and form in a delightfully realistic manner in the second of the full-length animated cartoon films to come to Dunedin, " Gulliver's Travels," which is the current film at the Regent Theatre. Technically, the production is irreproachable, and in addition the spirit of the imaginative story is captured in a way that would have warmed the heart of old Jonathan Swift if he were alive The film is done in technicolor, and the tiny folk in their tiny homes coincide in a very satisfying manner with the mental picture one has always had of thc-m. Then there are the timid King Little and the aggressive King Bombo, and the three spies, Sneak, Snoop, and the ginger-headed Snitch. Box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. STATE THEATRE When a star girl reporter tells her exhusband that she is leaving town that night to become the bride of an insurance salesman and leaving the newspaper game for good there is bound to be trouble. Just what and where trouble leads all the principals is told In " His Girl Friday, the feature at the State Theatre. When the girl is trapped into covering one last story, with a substantial wedding present as the bribe, the fun commences. The lure of the news game is so strong that ail her romantic love affairs go by the board. Cary. Grant and Rosalind Russell play the leading roles in a film that is full of all the thrills beloved by picture audiences. Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart, and Helen Mack are strong supporting players. Box plans are at the theatre and Begg's. EMPIRE THEATRE The veil of ignorance and prudery is lifted from the problem of venereal disease in " Damaged Goods," which is the current film 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 theme is an ordinary life-story concerning the price that may be paid for folly. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. "COME ON, GEORGE" To-morrow George Formby will be seen at the Empire Theatre in a picture he has always wanted to make, ' Come on, George" a racing comedy in which the screen's comedian No. 1 becomes-a 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. An outstanding supporting programme includes " Raising Air Fighters, a highly topical, instructive picture dealing with the training, of R.A.F. pilots and short-service commissioned officers at England's famous Cranwell Training School training men for what is termed the " Navy of the Air." Also the thrilling, exciting adventure serial "The Green Hornet." A helpless city gripped in terror and ruled by brutal bandits, freed by the gang-smashing tactics of a modern Robin Hood! ST. JAMES THEATRE A thrilling story of a criminal lawyer whose ability is turned to better uses when he Is appointed district attorney with the object of running down the real head of the city's rackets is told in Wolf of New York," which is at present being shown at the St. James Theatre. Edmund Lowe has the leading role. The second film is " Rhythm of the Saddle," in which Gene Autry has the lead. The box plans are at the theatre, the D.I.C, and Jacobs's. "THE CHEAT" One of the most notable French films produced for English-speaking audiences, " The Cheat," will be the next attraction at the St. James Theatre. Sacha Guitry wrote, produced, and directed the film, and takes the leading role, and his almost perfect characterisation as " The Cheat, the man who prospered as long as he cheated, should capture the imagination of local patrons. He handles the part he himself has created as only a true artist can, and delineates the amazing character with a fine sense of human values.

STRAND THEATRE •James Cagney takes t. turn at being on the right side cf the law in " Great Guy," which heads the current programme at the Strand Theatre, and gives a characteristically vigorous performance as a zealous inspector of the Weights and Measures Department who finds himself involved in the murderous tactics of powerful political interests. The second film is " Thou Shalt Not Kill," featuring Charles Bickford and Paul Guilfoyle. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. "DANGER ON WHEELS" Topping their previous pictures for continuous action, drama, and excitement. Richard Arlen and Andy Devine's new costarring film, Unlversal's "Danger on Wheels." comes to the Strand Theatre tomorrow. Played against the background of the auto race-tracks, the film is full of breath-taking spills and crashes. Arlen gives an outstanding portrayal as a test driver whose search for more dangerous thrills turns him to race driving. Andy Devine. as his mechanic who is always getting into trouble, also gives a splendid performance. Appearing opposite Arlen in the romantic lead is Peggy Moran, screen newcomer whose beauty and acting talent indicate a promising future. OCTAGON THEATRE To attract rather than to repel is surely the aim of most film artists. Charles Laughton, in the name part of " The Hunchback of Notre Dame," which has been attracting large crowds to the Octagon Theatre for the past fortnight, succeeds in gaining the audience in spite of a grotesque appearance and a part which calls for very little in the way of sustained dialogue. During the latter part of the film, when the mob storm the cathedral, and the maddened hunchback hurls destruction down from the roof, the excitemeht reaches a high pitch, and anyone .who has clear memories of the former production of this story, when Lon Chaney had the leading role, need not hesitate to see this version. Bor plans are at the theatre and Begg's. GRAND THEATRE CHARLIE CHAN AGAIN With a topical background for his latest series of adventures, the famous screen detective, Charlie Chan, is seen this week in the leading role of " City in Darkness, a thrilling and convincingly-told story of secret service work in Paris during a black-out period, which is the principal feature on the new double bill at the Grand Theatre. Chan finds himself, like so many others, caught In Paris in the days when it was anything but a gay city, and it is while he Is there that he becomes invol/ed in a whirl of adventure and is commandeered to assist in the great emergency. Following an airraid warning, the city is thrown into darkness and, fully occupied with the task of guarding property owners against crime and sabotage, the chief of police enlists the aid of Chan to trace the leader of a spy ring which is endeavouring to smuggle arms out of the country. In his own inimitable way, Chan goes to work, and, although he is hampered by the fact that the whole city is at a tension and in darkness, he succeeds at last In revealing the machinations of the espionage gang and, incidentally. In discovering the perpetrator of a murder committed under the shadow of the blackout. Sydney Toler is cast as the bland Chinese sleuth, and Lynn Barl, Richard Clarke, Harold Huber, and Pedro de Cordoba head the supporting cast. Of an entirely different type, but equally enjoyable, is the i associate feature; "Heaven With a Barbed Wire Fence." It tells the story of a young man who, tired of city life, sets out to hitch-hike to a small ranch in Arizona which he has bought by mall. His adventures begin when he meets a young Spanish girl on her way to join an aunt somewhere in California, an elegant tramp who at one time had been a noted professor, and a youth with " itching feet," and the vicissitudes that beset the quartet are told in a delightfully sympathetic manner. What happens to the young couple when they finally reach Arizona, how they are married to save the girl from the immigration authorities, and how they react to a farm that turns out to be a barren piece of waste land, make an absorbing narrative. Jean Rogers and Raymond Walburn are prominent in the cast, and an excellent performance is given by a newcomer to the screen, Glenn Ford. The box plans are at the theatre and at Begg's. MAYFAIR THEATRE Replete with many song favourites of past years, " Rose of Washington Square," which is now at the Mayfair Theatre, features Alice Faye, Tyrone Power and: Al Jolson. The story opens in a popular burlesque house on Fourteenth street in New,York just after the Great War. Al Jolson is a candy butcher In the theatre, but he has great ambitions for the stage. The film traces his ascent, as well as the climb to fame of Alice Faye, a singer who wins an amateur night performance at the start of the story. . It' tells, also,the tender, heart-breaking romance between Alice and Tyrone. Power, a handsome young man who, unfortunately, prefers to live by his wits. There is a good supporting programme. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C.