AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24448, 6 November 1940, Page 11

AMUSEMENTS

THE CURRENT PROGRAMMES STRAND THEATRE There is- a mad sort of plot underlying the antics in “ Buck Benny Rides Again,” which is being presented at the Strand Theatre. Jack Benny, in love up to the eyebrows with Ellen Drew, drags his gang out to the primitive West in a vain effort to Impress this little lady with his virility. • The cast includes Phil Harris, Rochester. and Andy Devine. A glimpse or two of the famous Maxwell is also ottered in the merry goings on. Some of the song hits in " Buck Benny Rides Again are “ Drums in the Night," “ Say. It Oyer and Over Again,” "My, My,” and “My Kind o’ Country.” The supporting film is “Half a Sinner.” Box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. “ OH, JOHNNY, HOW YOU CAN LOVE! ” Picturing hilarious adventures of a travelling salesman and a runaway heiress in a story which blends music with gay romance, Universal’s ” Oh, Johnny, How You Can Lcwe! ” will be presented on Friday at the Strand Theatre. Tom Brown and Peggy Moran carry the love, interest In the film, which brings to the screen the song sensation “ Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!” sung by glamorous voiced radio songstress Betty Jane Rhodes. The story of “ She Couldn t Say No ” is about Frankie, a nice girl, who finds lies more fun than truth. Her guardian locks up a slanderous diary she hafc written, but Frankie persuades her bov friend aviator, Peter, and his manager,'Dugsie, to burgle It back. Two professional cracksmen are after that safe, too but “ pro’s ” and amateurs have to flee from the police and take refuge in a health and beauty clinic. Frankie s lies put everyone in a very tough spot un.ii she lias to tell the truth. All ends well when she is finally believed. ST. JAMES THEATRE Rhapsodied in scores of books and lusty soldier songs, the steep, carved sides ot India’s historic Khyber Pass have at last been .used as motion picture background- “ The Lives of a Bengal Lancer has materialised from Francis Yeats-Brown’s ad* venturous novel. The elaborate Paramount film spectacle is at present enjoying .a return season at the St. James Theatre, with Gary Franchol Tone. Richard Cromwell, Sir Guy Standing, C. -Aubrey Smith, Monte Blue, and Kathleen Burke in important roles, for more , than three months the Paramount studios echoed to the plaintive and eerie whine of reeds of cobra charmers and the boom of the vocal discords of innumerable jPathans, Afghans, Sikhs, and PunjabMohammedans while the film was in production. Box plans are at the theatre, the D.T.C., and Jacobs’s. s

“SCATTERBRAIN ” A mirthquake of humour is Republic’s “ Scatterbrain,” which will commence a season at the St. James Theatre on Friday. Judy Canova is definitely the comedienne of the hour, her work in the starring role ranking her with the Marx brothers, Martha Kaye, the Ritz brothers, and all others in whom the gift of comedy rises, to genius proportions. Judy is the hillbilly girl brought to Koiiywood through error. But in her own wlnsomely dumb way she debunks the film colony and proves to her distraught employers that she is a gold mine in disguise. Eddy Foy, jun., plays oposite Miss Canova. The supporting film will be " Tundra," « drama of the Flying Doctor in Arizona. This picture is full Of thrills, with icy avalanches, musk oxen, starving sled dogs and other animals endangering the hero’s life. Cambre. " the flying doctor,’ ’is on his way to an isolated, plague-ridden settlement when his plane crashes, in the sea. He starts his trek across ■ snow, marshes, glaciers, and through a forest. His only companions are bear cubs, with mother bear usually in pursuit. Fish and rabbits provide food, but Cambre has to elude polar and brown bears, musk oxen, dogs and other animals to keep alive, Norman Dawn’s direction is excellent, while the camera work by Dawn, Jacob, and Edward Kull is high class. OCTAGON THEATRE An unforgettable story, brilliant performances, ' outstanding direction, and a beautiful production make Edward Small's film version of Howard Spring’s'“ My Son, My Son! ” one of the finest pictures of the year. This new film drama, which is released by United Artists, is now being screened at.the Octagon Theatre.- "My Son, My Son! " has a brilliant array of stars in Madeleine Carroll, Brian Aherne, and Louis Hayward. Others who give excellent performances include Henry Hull, one of the best contemporary actors, Josephine Hutchinson, Laraine Day, Sophie Stewart, and Bruce Lester. Box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s. “ SWANEE RIVER ” Swanee River,” the dramatic ..and melodious story of the greatest composer the United States has ever known, will be the next attraction at the Octagon Theatre. A fine cast is headed by Don Ameche, Andrea Leeds and A 1 Jolson. Stephen C. Foster, the writer of many of the world’s best-known songs, inspired the film, and his life story is told practically without alteration. Don Ameche plays the title role, while Andrea Leeds appears as his wife, the inspiration of the song “ Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair.” “My Old Kentucky Home,” " The Old Folks at Home,” ” Oh, Susanna,” “ Old Black Joe,” ” De Campdown Races,” " Ring, Ring de Banjo ” and other famous lyrics are among the numbers heard GRAND THEATRE “VIVA CISCO KID” Guns bark, brave men cower in the dust! The greatest caballero of them all, the Cisco Kid, in the handsome person of Cesar Romero, is adventuring again! Romero plays the dashing O. Henry outlaw for the second time in “ Viva Cisco Kid.” the 20th Century-Fox picture which will be shown to-day at the Grand Theatre. Cisco can out-ride, out-shoot and outwit any hombre on either side of the border, but the laughing, dashing caballero is just a softy when he sees a beautiful damsel like Jean Rogers in distress. Aided again by his plump “ little ” pal, Gordito, played by Chris-Pin Martin, Romero meets his most exciting adventures. Minor Watson and Stanley Fields are also featured in the cast. Will Fyffe is again seen as J. G. Reeder In “The Missing People,” which is the second attraction. This Jack Raymond production carries on the adventures of this benevolent old gentleman who, although attached to the public prosecutor’s office, and is one of the most feared detectives in the country, nevertheless disarms suspicion by having the appearance of a somewhat eccentric farmer. Box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s.

REGENT THEATRE Connoisseurs of really clever light entertainment will find much to enthuse over in “ French Without .Tears.” which Is now showing at the Regent Theatre. Gay, romantic, witty, and irresistibly light-hearted, it makes ideal screen fare for those who feel depressed in these days of continual hectic excitement. The scenario is presented against a background of a private cultural centre where budding English and American diplomats are given a veneer of Continental polish by a French professor. An American blonde appears on the horizon, and the ensuing complications make the theme of a highly diverting screen play. Handsome Ray Milland, tall English actor with something of a flair for this type of film, makes an idea! leading man. with Ellen Drew vivaciously charming in the main, feminine role. As a cautious ultra-dignified British naval officer, Roland Culver, a comparative newcomer to the screen, proves himself a fine type of entertainer. More will be heard of him in the future. The box plans are at the theatre and the DJ.C. / “THE EARL OF CHICAGO” Robert Montgomery, who made history in his unusual dramatic role in “ Night Must Fall,” repeats his performance with an outstanding portrayal of the leading character of the film “ The Earl of Chicago,” which has its Dunedin premiere on Friday at the Regent Theatre. An unusual story tells of how a Cnicago gangster falls heir to an earldom in England and goes to collect it. He finds himself in a strange land, with only his lawyer and supposed friend to keep him wise to things. But the lawyer doublecrosses him, and in a fit of Chicago anger the earl shoots him. A murder trial before the House of Lords follows, and this is one of the finest dramatic sequences ever filmed. The finale has him going to the gallows. Others in a brilliant cast are Edmund Gwenn, the famous English actor, Edward Arnold and Reginald Owen. Superbly produced and directed, “ The Earl of Chicago ” is an outstanding picture from any and every point of judgment. STATE THEATRE "He Marled His Wife,” which is now being shown at the State Theatre, is one of those polished, sophisticated comedies, the acting and gay moods of which carry it along more than does the actual story behind the light nonsense. In this instance comedy does not need a hectic

pace to keep it lively. This is the result of the suave characterisations, casually injected incident, and general all-round smoothness of action. Joel McCrea and Nancy Kelly give excellent character studies as the Handalls, whose year-old divorce is made the occasion for a remarriage when Tommy Randall suddenly discovers that his affction for his ex-wife has been reawakened by the jealousy caused when a happy-go-lucky philanderer makes rapid progress with his wooing of lively Valerie Randall. Mary Boland, as . a gushing and flirtatious hostess, Roland Young, as a friend of the Randalls, and Cesar Romero, as the gay philanderer, also give fine performances. The box plans are at the theatre and at Begg’s. “ANNE OF WINDY POPLARS ” The homespun charm, the sweet sentiment contained in L. M. Montgomery’s well-loved book "Anne of Windy PopJars ” will be unfolded on the screen next Friday with the presentation at the State Theatre of a picturisation of that famous story. Anne Shirley gives a gay and brilliant performance as “Anne Shirley," a role she created six years ago in "Anne of Green Gables.” an earlier Montgomery story which zoomed the young actress to stardom and inspired her to adopt the heroine’s name. In the current “Anne ” story Miss Shirley is a young school teacher. Her appointment as vvice-prin-cipai starts a bitter feud with the powerful Pringle family, which rules the small community, trying to oust Anne so that one of the Pringles, also a teacher, may have the job. Around Anne’s desperate efforts to win the respect and love of the Pringle family through kindness and generosity the absorbing story principally revolves. Counterpointing this is Amie s tender romance with Patric KnOwles, a medical student, her glorious days at Windy Poplars, a quaint mansion where she boards, and her efforts to bring happiness to a little orphan girl next door EMPIRE THEATRE Thrills and chills are packed into the latest screen version of an Edgar Wallace novel, “ Dark Eyes of London,” which is now being screened at the Empire Theatre. The main character is portrayed by Bela Lugosi, renowned for his earlier appearances in " Dracula ” roles. Lugosi is seen as a Jekyll-and-Hyde type of person who runs a home for the aged blind under one name and make-up and an insurance racket aided by murder and forgery under another. He has an imebilic monster as his assistant, who drowns his victims for him in a convenient tank. Hugh Williams gives an interesting performance as a Scotland Yard inspector, and comedy is introduced by Edmon Ryan as an imported Chicago.” bull.” The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. r ■- “ VIRGINIA CITY ”

“ Virginia City,” starring Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins and Randolph Scott, which brings to the screen one of the most stirring chapters in the American West’s unwritten history, will have its local premier on Friday at the Empire Theatre. “ West of Dodge City there's no law ” was a byword in the old West. And west of Dodge City there was Virginia City, a city of gold, ruled by lead. Sprung up overnight, after the discovery of the Comstock Lode and other gold and silver mines had brought thousands of prospectors to Nevada. Virginia City was as colourful as the gold that brought it into existence, and just as unheeding of law and order. Southern sympathisers in Virginia City band together and raise some 5,000,000 dollars which is to be smuggled out and sent to the Confederate (Southern) Army. Flynn, as a Union (Northern) intelligence officer, gets wind of the plan, and sets out for Virginia City with some plans of his own. On the stagecoach journey, he meets Julia (Miriam Hopkins), who is the new singing and dancing star at the famous Sazerac Cafe in Virginia City. This marks the beginning of a hectic romance which has as many ups and downs as the terrain of Nevada. MAYFAIR THEATRE DRAMA AND COMEDY Basil Rathbone and Victor McLaglen will be co-starred at the Mayfair Theatre for the next three nights in “ Rio,” a story of love and adventure that moves from the boulevards of Paris to the treacherous swamps of Brazil. The second attraction will be an hilarious Will Hay vehicle, “Ask a Policeman,” probably the funniest and best of his films. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C.