AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24413, 26 September 1940, Page 11

AMUSEMENTS

| THE .CURRENT PROGRAMMES STRAND THEATRE To-day will afford the final opportunity of witnessing “ Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President" and " Santa Fe Marshal." which for the past week have proved a popular attraction at the Strand Theatre. The first picture, which is a screen version of Damon Runyan’s widelyread story of the same name, has William Gargan and Ann Sothern in the leading parts, and William Boyd is seen in one of his characteristically verile portrayals in the supporting feature. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. I “ ZANZIBAR ” i Graphic adventures of a white huntress I in conflict with jungle beasts and African ? savages in the shadow of a flaming volf cano are presented in Universal’s exciting film “ Zanzibar,” which will come to the Strand Theatre to-morrow. Lola Lane portrays a daring girl explorer in the picture. James Craig, handsome screen newcomer, has the role of a danger-seek-ing young American. The story is based upon a fantastic, but little-known, provision of the Versailles Treaty which commanded tlaat the sacred skull of an African Sultan be returned to its rightful tribe to restore peace among the natives. Blending historical fact with fiction, the story turns the spotlight upon one of the most weird themes ever brought to the screen. A very bright and most amusing little comedy, " Blondie,” the support, is based , on the famous comic strip of nation-wide publicity in America. It is so “ possible, even the troubles and complications brought about by the scatterbrained Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumpstead, for which Lake is a born natural. As Blondie, the practical and vivacious little wife, no one but Penny Singleton could have filled the bill. ST. JAMES THEATRE " Congo Malsie,” which heads the current programme at the St. James Theatre, presents another episode in the adventures of Maisie Ravier. who tills time goes to Africa, where-she becomes involved in a native uprising. Comedy and melodrama are expertly blended in the story, which provides excellent entertainment. Ann Sothern has the leading role, and Is supported by John Carroll, Rita Johnson, and J, M. Kerrigan. The second picture is “ Dangerous Fingers.” in which a master criminal pits bis cunning against the law. Tire box plans are at the theatre, the D.1.C., and at Jacobs’, TALKING FEET ” “Talking Feet,” the all-British film, will have its Soutli Island premiere at the St. James Theatre to-morrow, after breaking theatre records wherever it has been shown throughout its New Zealand tour. The man who directed and produced this picture is John Baxter, whose " Song of the Plough ” was finally acclaimed outstanding. ' Talking Feet ’’ moves along a very different road and mingles natural Cockney humour, sweet song, and stirring Highland music with the charm of a new little English dancing champion and the skill of the famous musicians, William Heughan and Mark Hambourg. Those who remember the New Zealand tour of the pianist, Mark Hambourg, will find the personal touch about his screen appearance and something rare in the way of musical entertainment when, under his baton, 14 pianos are playing In ensemble. This piano ensemble has not been attempted in a picture before. The setting is a unique one for the interpretation of Hambourg’s arrangement of “ William Tell the players are all his students and the maestro himself is heard in solo work. OCTAGON THEATRE Continuing to attract capacity houses although it is nearing the end of its third successful week, " Rebecca," the current attraction at the Octagon Theatre, is undoubtedly one of the outstanding films of the year. With Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine headihg a cast of outstanding players and with a story filled with drama, suspense, and mystery, David O. Selznick’s latest production, ” Rebecca,” is a film that should be seen by all. ” Rebecca ” is the film version of the best-selling novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier. Laurence Olivier, who last year made a tremendous hit as the hero of " Withering Heights," plays Hie role of Maxim dc Winter, the socially prominent owner of Manderiey, the vast Tudor estate where most of the action unwinds. The acting throughout is brilliant, the settings excellent, and the photography outstanding There is a brief but. interesting supporling programme, in which major place is held by a new ” March of Time,” entitled " New Fronts of the War —1940." Tire box plans are at the theatre and at Begg's. GRAND THEATRE BRITISH MYSTERY THRILLER Well-known places In London form the background for “ The Spider,” the thrilling story of murder and detection which commenced a season at the Grand Theatre yesterday. Heading the cast are Derrick ' de Marney and Diana Churchill, who play the role of the Silvers, the former a rising detective at Scotland Yard and the latter his charming wife. Together they set about capturing the " Spider.” a mysterious crook, who specialises in bank * and jewel robberies. Silver discovers that a theatrical firm seem to be involved, and plants his wife there as a secretary, and she is able to discover many interesting facts about the two partners of the firm. One of them is murdered on a night express, and the leading lady is seriously injured as the two go north to open a new show. When the girl recovers consciousness she has lost her memory, and although she knows the “ Spider ” she cannot remember him. It is then that Silver fakes a hand in the case, and the mystery begins to solve itself. Several exciting adventures befall the detective and his wife, however, and the “ Spider " makes another attempt on the life of the leading lady, only being saved in the nick of lime by the Silvers. Jean Gillie does excellent work as the leading lady, and Cecil Parker, Allan Jeayes, and Frank Cellier are prominent among the other players. "The Spider” is a British film, and the direction is outstanding, the suspense being kept up till the last minute. The second film is “ Free. Blonde, and 21.” an excellent production, in which drama and comedy are well mixed. The story concerns the lives of some girls in a women's hotel. One. in love with the head of an exclusive hospital, befriends another, who, by her (lightly behaviour with a variety of men, lands herself and her friends in trouble with the law. A murder is committed by one of her boy friends, who is shot and dies in a lonely seaside crib. The associate of the hospital. in love with the girl whose actions are the cause of all the trouble, attempts to save her by operating on the man, but fails. In the end the girl is shown up - in her true colours. Lynn Bari. Henry Wilcoxon. and Mary Beth Hughes have rthe leading roles. The box plans arc at the theatre and Begg’s. REGENT THEATRE Nearing the end of a successful season at the Regent Theatre. " Ninotchka ” introduces a new Greta Garbo to the screen. I one who laughs her way through many delightful sequences In a story of a Russian envoy who is sent to Paris to keep an eye on three Soviet emissaries commissioned to sell some of the Crown jewels. The story is full of fun and the film is lavishly produced. Ina Claire and Melvyn Douglas play up excellently to (he leading lady, and the other lesser lights round off the humour and the slight dramatic thread of the story. But Garbo stands out from litem all, gay and serious in turn, though charming all the time. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. •‘ JUAREZ ” Paul Muni, Bette Davis, and Brian Aherne. fhree of the most capable stars on the screen, head a powerful cast in “Jaurez,” which opens at the Regent Theatre to-morrow. Muni, a former winner of (he Academy Award for acting, portrays Pablo Benito Juarez, President of democratic Mexico in (he 1860's, and fhe story centres round the ruthless efforts of Napoleon 111 of France to enforce the little country to pay debts incurred bv its previous ruler, a dictator. Miuii makes ibe character of the President a simple but amazingly powerful one, that will be remembered by all who see the film. He gives It a Lincolnesque manner, ' and shows again the sincere and sympa- i thetic understanding of character that was < such a feature of his appearances in “The ‘ Story of Louis Pasteur" and “Tim Life of Emile Zola.” Aherne and Miss Davis, in 1 the respective parts of the Emperor Maximilian and in's wife Cariotta, puppet rulers of Mexico, achieve new high levels 1 of acting, and seem to have provided in- j sniration for the other members of the < east, which includes such notable performers as Claude Rains. Donald Crisp, 1 Gale Sondegaard, and Henry O'Neill. 1 STATE THEATRE i “The Mouse Across Hie Bay,” which for I the past week lias been the principal attraction on the programme at the State Theatre, will have its final Dunedin screening to-day. The story deals with the vicissitudes of a young girl who is slid- I -

denly faced with the problem of readjusting her life when her husband is sent to gaol for evading his income lax. George Raft and Joan Bennett are the leading players, and the minor roles are capably handled by Walter Pidgeon, Gladys George, Lloyd Nolan, and June Knight. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg's. “DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK” Of all the possible ways there are of presenting action for the public's entertainment, the screen has proved time and again its unrivalled power in this field. This is again indicated in Darryl F. Zanuck’s production of “ Drums Along the Mohawk,” which will be presented at, the State Theatre to-morrow. Action is not the only highlight of “Drums Along the Mohawk.” Starred in the film arc Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda, as a pair of young pioneers who settle in the Mohawk Valley and soon find themselves under the onslaught of the savage Iroquois. In the days when torch and tomahawk spread their terror. I hose (wo braved the wilderness together. The film is based on the best-seller by Waller D. Edmonds, Featured in the cast are Edna May Oliver, Eddie Collins. John Carradine. Dorris Bowdon, Jessie Ralph. Arthur Shields, Robert Lowery, and Roger Imhof. EMPIRE THEATRE " Geronimo.'' the story of the fierce and brutal Apache chief who terrorised Hie Western States of America after the Civil War, is now being shown at the Empire Theatre. Ralph Morgan Preston Foster Andy Devine, and Ellen Drew have (he principal roles in an exciting production in which the action builds up to a gripping climax when the Apache hordes descend on a small force of ill-equipped troops that has been sent by a misguided government to try and pacify the rebels The supporting programme is a varied and entertaining one. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. “Charlie McCarthy, detective” Edgar Kennedy, who appears with Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, and Mortimer Snerd in Universal’s “ Charlie McCarthy. Detective,” which will be shown to-morrow at the Empire Theatre, literally fought his way to a place on the screen. Kennedy was heavy-weight boxing champion of the Pacific Coast in 191112, later playing in light opera, musical comedy, and vaudeville Determined to try pictures, he visited the Mack Sennett studios, near Hollywood. An altercation arose, and Kennedy was “ ganged ” by a half-dozen very rough labourers. When the dust of battle settled, the labourers were on Hie ground, nursing sore jaws. Mack Sennett, who had witnessed the battle, immediately asked Kennedy to become one of his famous Keystone Cops, Known as “ Slow-burn Kennedy.” trie actor has appeared in hundreds of productions. He is noted Cor his portrayals of an exasperated man. In “ Charlie McCarthy, Detective.” he is seen as the dim-wit police inspector who is constantly heckled by McCarthy during the solution of a baffling murder mystery. MAYFAIR THEATRE "FIFTH AVENUE GIRL" Walter Connolly and Ginger Rogers have the leading roles in “ Fifth Avenue Girl,” Hie entertaining comedy which is at present being shown at the Mayfair Theatre. Connolly plays the part of a millionaire who rebels at his family’s increasing neglect, of himself as head of Hie household, and in an effort to shock them into a condition of filial consideration for him he hires a lively young girl to pose as a voracious gold-digger, with hilarious results. The second picture is “ Legion of Lost Flyers,” an exciting story of the air, with Richard Arlen and Andy Devine. The box plans are at Hie theatre and the D.I.C.