SCREEN and STAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24530, 12 February 1941, Page 10

SCREEN and STAGE

By Harlequin

"The Westerner”

Against the colourful and adventurefilled background of the old west, in the days when justice was administered at the point of a gun and roistering Judge Roy Bean loomed as the “law west of the Pecos,” Samuel Goldwyn’s “The Westerner,” with Gary Cooper in the title role, will commence screening on Friday at the State Theatre. “The Westerner” features in the cast which supports Cooper such notable players as Walter Brennan, Fred Stone, Doris Davenport, Lilian Bond. Forrest Tucker and Paul Hurst. The setting of the story is Vinegarroon, Texas, in the roaring days of the eighties, when there raged a bitter and long-protracted battle between the cattlemen, original settlers

of the land, and the homesteaders, who sought to till the land which they homesteaded under the law. Just when this battle is reaching a peak, the westerner, a roving cowboy named Cole Harden, drifts into town and finds himself entangled in the vicious “law west of Pecos.” But the westerner is a wily adventurer when he comes to grips with wily Judge Bean, whose idol is th« fabulous and beauteous Lily Langtry. The story reaches a climax in the scene where the cattlemen and Bean's henchmen set fire to the hundreds of homesteads and. ■ farms throughout the area. Cole realises that the time has come for a showdown with Judge Roy Bean. He follows the weather-beaten, grimy old man to Fort Davis, where Lily Langtry is to make her long-promised visit. How Cole waylays the judge just as the gorgeous actress is about to step before the footlights ahd what happens When guns are fired provides the story with. a swift, action-filled ending. In all, the company remained on location for four intensive weeks, during which time the largest herd of cattle ever photographed in movies passed before the cameras. A herd of 7000 was photographed as it crossed the Mexican border to Arizona.

St. James Theatre The fortunate young woman who chances to look like Garbo or Dietrich is very happy about it. When friends speak of the resemblance, she is delighted. But in Hollywood today there is a very beautiful young woman who looks like a composite of Garbo and Dietrich. And she is not very happy about it. She is Isa Miranda, the’blonde Continental actress currently performing her Thespian chores in Paramount’s “Adventure in Diamonds,” coming on Friday to the St. James Theatre. George Brent is the man in the picture. So for days kinema cameraman Charles Lang has been photographing Miss Miranda in a succession of tests to discover, the poses to which she does not look like Garbo or Dietrich. Cameraman Lang has been successful. He has “discovered” a Miranda that is strictly Miranda. He has, he is proud to announce, found the real

From GREEN ROOM and STUDIO

Miranda. In some poses the lady still looks like Garbo or Dietrich, but Cameraman Lang is to-day working, aided by his camera, to eradicate the resemblance. “ Wine, Women and Horses,” a melodrama of the race tracks, the bookies’ windows, the spinning roulette wheels and the clicking dice will be shown at the St. James Theatre on Friday. Horses, rather than wine or women, dominate the lovely Warner Bros, show, although there are a couple of women important to its plot, and the leading man, Barton Mac Lane, wins them both! For a change, and a pleasant one, Big Bart, who has almost always played tough roles has a sympathetic part. His leading women

are Ann Sheridan and Peggy Bates, both of whom give splendid performances. Mac Lane is sho.wn as a genial, happy-go-lucky horse-player, moving from track to track. His pal is pretty, red-headed Ann Sheridan. They share their fortunes, good or bad. Amusing Mix-up In a country town in New Zealand recently ’‘Tarzan Finds a Son” was screening. During the early part of the film Tarzan, jun., became entangled, m a huge spider’s web, and cried for help. The audience naturally expected Tarzan, sen., to come swinging through the jungle to the rescue. The house roared when, instead of the anxious father, appeared a masked figure on a white horse crying self-consciously “Heigh-ho Silver.” The operator was hard put to it to explain how he had come to thread-up a reel of the “ Lone Ranger” in place of the feature. Grand Theatre Boasting a new appeal no other Chan picture has had. “Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum,” coming to the Grand Theatre to-day. has won the plaudits of the critics. Once again Sidney Toler

portrays, the famous screen sleuth. An unusually fine cast of carefully selected players gives able support to Toler. Sen Yung, as Chan’s college boy-detec-tive son, heads the list, which includes C Henry Gordon, Marc Lawrence, Joan Valerie. Marguerite Chapman and Ted Osborn. The action of Chan’s latest mystery is set in the eerie background of a wax crime museum. Among these ghastly figures of executed criminals, Chan stalks a killer who strikes at him four times in eighteen spine-tingling minutes, before Chan untangles the mystery in a surprising and thrill-packed climax. The famous “passing out” ceremony which takes place twice a year at the conclusion of each term at Sandhurst Royal Military College will be seen in its entirety in G-B-D’s big military spectacle. “ Sword of Honour,” directed by Maurice Elvev. to be shown at the Grand Theatre to-day. The London War Office have given full co-opera-

tion in affording facilities for filming this impressive parade at Sandhurst. Over 600 cadets parade before the inspecting officer, those about to be commissioned escorting the colours from the ranks of their colleagues and marching off to the strains of ‘ Auld Lang Syne.” At this ceremony Geoffrey Toone, who plays Bill Brown, an army cadet from the ranks, is presented with the Sword of Honour, the highest award a cadet can earn. Providing the big human interest to the film are the scenes showing Wally Patch as ex-Sergeant Brown, V.C., and his father, the old sergeant-major (played by Gordon Begg), whose exploits during the Boer War give rise to many witticisms. Dorothy Dickson and Sally Gray add delightful femininity. and there is the sparking humour interspersed throughout the picture. Bette Davis as Queen Elizabeth Just as virtually every actor hopes to play Hamlet some time, so every actress who gains a certain amount of success in her career is likely to yearn for an opportunity, to be Queen Elizabeth on stage or screen, writes Carlisle Jones in the New York Herald-Tri-bune. Bette Davis was one who long had a secret longing to play England s famous Virgin Queen on the screen, and that wish has now been fulfilled. The picture is called “ The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex,’ with Errol Flynn as Essex. It was a good role for any actress, and Miss Davis plunged into it with all the power of her energetic nature.- The loves of Elizabeth have filled, many books of speculation and fiction. The single men of her court and other European courts who bid for her hand, and the married men who got rid of their wives one way or. another in order to become eligible vied with one another in extravagant speeches, gifts and promises, trying to interest her romantically. Several English noblemen spent their entire fortunes trying to interest Elizabeth in marriage. Historians disagree as to whether she really loved one or more of these men, but most of them believe that Essex came closer to marrying her than any other. By all accounts, she must have been a clever woman as well as a

ruthless one. She was a “ lusty wench ” at times, a quirk which was used to good advantage in several comedy scenes in the picture. She was sometimes physically violent in her tempers and the famous incident when she boxed Essex’s before the court, is included in the film version of her life and loves. She could be hard and cruel in matters of State, gentle and feminine in affairs.of the heart. Her greatest complaint in life was that the men she loved best always tried to use her most in furthering their own interests. ; Essex, for example, who could and did torment her by staying away, for long intervals, claimed to be genuinely in love with Elizabeth, but he had designs on her throne and almost succeeded in getting it away from her, once, by force and once by persuasion during a highly romantic moment between the pair. “ The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex ” will open at the Regent Theatre on Friday. Strand Theatre

Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, fighter, lover, political chief! All those characters rolled into one is Dan McGinty, whose rise and fall is outlined in Paramount’s comedy, “Down Went McGinty,” which opens on Friday at the Strand Theatre. Brian Donlevy, who won screen fame in such rugged hits as “ Union Pacific ” and “ Beau Geste,” is McGinty. Akim Tamiroff and Muriel Angelus share leading roles with him. “Down Went McGinty” is the story of a two-fisted unscrupulous “ bum ” who goes into politics. Keeping one hand on the public pulse and the other in the public purse, he slugs and swindles his way from alderman to Mayor to Governor. Then, in a surprise climax, he gets a twinge of conscience. It is not much of a twinge, and it is not really McGinty’s own—having originated with the woman he loves —but it is enough to tumble his world into a magnificent shambles. “Down Went McGinty” is played for comedy throughout, with a large dose of romance added for good measure. Preston Sturges. who wrote such screen plays as “ Easy Living ” and “ If I Were King,” both wrote and directed “Down Went McGinty,” and disclaims any intention of putting over a “ message ’’ in the picture. McGinty happened to be a politician simply because Sturges saw unlimited comedy possibilities in making him that he explains; otherwise he could have been a promoter, a business man, or any one of a variety of other professions. The supporting feature is a modern swing sensation entitled “ Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot,” starring well-known American radio stars.

Splendid Isolation George Sanders, who plays the “ heavy ” role in “ The Son of Monte Cristo,” Edward Small’s latest production for United Artists has learned that it is sometimes profitable to keep one’s hat on one’s head. Playing the role of a dictator in a mytH'-al European kingdom in the middle nineteenth century. Sanders was required by Director Rowland V. Lee to shave his head in the accepted military (Prussian) manner. ' The ’first day of shooting, Sanders left the studio and drove to the Brown Derby for lunch. As he entered the cafe he heard a few subdued but none the less distinct hisses. Sanders is normally very popular with the fans, and he could not understand that sort of reception until a friend tipped. him off. “You look just like a Nazi, the friend explained. During the rest of the time that “The Son of Monte Cristo” was in production. Sanders ate lunch in the solitude of his dressing suite and seldom went out evenings.

Louis Hayward and Joan Bennett are starred in “ The Son of Monte Cnsto, which was produced and directed bv the same man who made the famous production of “The'Count of Monte Cristo.” one of the most successful of all motion pictures. The now production is based on the original screen plav written by George Bruce. The story of “The Son of Monte Cristo revolves around a villainous dictator, who rules unscrupulously in the mythical Grand Duchy of Lichtenburg. The Grand Duchess Zona, in an attempt to help her people, enlists the aid of the Count of Monte Cristo.

“ Dance, Girl, Dance ” Lucille Ball makes an electrifying appearance in “Dance, Girl, Dance,” the R.K.O. film which will be shown on Friday at the Octagon Theatre. She makes excellent play in an excellent part which is well set off by the contrast of Maureen O’Hara’s gentle, almost wistful appearance. Judy (Maureen O’Hara) and Bubbles (Lucille Ball) are members of a dancing team in search of work. Judy’s lodestar is the ballet, for which she has trained hard.

and to the exclusion cf almost everything else but the need to make a living. Bubbles’s is just as direct, but more in the short-term class—she wants a “ good time ” and she wants it now, even if she has to marry some rich man to get it. In the small-time halls, where the girls stand the best chance of engagement, Judy’s classic style is a drug on the market, whereas Bubbles’s slap-dash, free-and-easy burlesque is just what is wanted. She gets a job through “ influence,” and makes such a success cf her music-hall turn that her salary goes up and up. She does not forget Judy, however, who is overjoyed at an oner to work

till she finds that it means no more than using her ballet work as a foil fcr her friend. If that were all there is to this story it would still be interesting for the sake of Lucille Ball, who livens up an already lively film with a personality and a big-hearted gift for comedy that is exciting to see. Woven in and out of the passages at arms between the two women—which end in a surprising victory—are a couple of threads of romance, conducted skilfully on the one hand by Louis Hayward, and in the other by Ralph Bellamy, who blossoms forth surprisingly as a ballet impressarm. And there, for all too short a time, is Maria Ouspenskaya as Madame Basilova, mother by proxy to all her students, deft and sure in her acting.

Mayfair Theatre One of the features to open at the Mayfair Theatre to-night is the Fine Arts picture “Isle of Destiny,” which goes to the South Pacific for adventure between the U.S. marines and international gun runners, and for romance between a glamour girl flyer and two wise-cracking dare-devil marines. Wil-

liam Gargan and Wallace Ford are featured as the two fighting marines who have been complaining about the dullness of life at the United States air base on the Island of Palo Pango. Then along comes the beautiful blonde daredevil pilot, played by June Lang, stopping over on her round-the-world flight to see her brother, the commanding officer of the base. Before she is rescued the girl wrecks her plane on a jungle island, becomes the prisoner cf an international gun runner, and nearly loses her life from poisoned darts blown from the gun of the native wife of the villain. Othefs in the cast are Gilbert Roland, Katherine DeMille, Grant Richards and Tom Dugan. The picture is photographed in Ccsmocolor The Ritz brothers are not so crazy as usual but still crazy enough to provide most of the fun and action in “Pack Up Your Troubles,” the supporting feature, but it is still Jane Withers’s picture. for this young leading lady sings and acts as effectively as ever. The Ritz Brothers are caught when America enters the Great War in 1917 with a “ German act,” which becomes just as much old stock over night Lured by promises of 30 dollars a month and free board in the army, the trio enlists. Over in France s tough sergeant makes life more unbearable for the .trio than ever—quite unbearable, in fact, if it were not for the kind-heartedness of little Collette (Jane Withers) Still determined to put on their “ German act,” the crazy three dress up in German uniforms for the regimental concert, but they scarcely get out cf their billets before they are mistaken for real Germans and fired upon by every Allied soldier in sight. After their escape in an observation balloon the unintentional “Germans” find that they are in for another bout of mistaken identity, though this time it serves their end very neatly.

“40,000 Horsemen” With the concentration of a large number of Australian and New Zealand troops and airmen in the East attention is again focused on the contribution of the dominions to the British Empire’s war effort. In the 1914-18 war the most picturesque unit of the Australian forces was the Light Horse, which won immortal glory by victory in the Sinai Desert under the command of their leader. Sir Harry Chauvei. Although modern war is mechanised, there are still a large number of. Light Horsemen in Australia, and recently there was a series of spectacular camps in the country districts of New South Wales and Victoria. Hundreds of the non-commissioned men in the Light Horse are wealthy land-owners, and others have substantial means. Their horses are their own.. When it was decided to produce in Australia a romantic film of the “Bengal Lancers" type, to tell the story of the Light Horse campaign in the last war, they co-operated in assuring accuracy in the re-creating of the valiant efforts of 1914-18. The result is “40,000 Horsemen,” which will be shown at the Empire Theatre on Friday. Thousands of Light Horsemen became actors in the large scenes, a complete Sinai desert village was reconstructed on

the sands of Botany Bay, near Sydney, and Charles Chauvel. who previously made the Australian film successes, “In the Wake of the Bounty” and “ Uncivilised,” was chosen by the New South Wales State Government and Universal Pictures to direct it. Typical Australian types were chosen as the Light Horse leads, and. after a Com-monwealth-wide search of a year, an Australian girl. Betty Bryant, was given the starring role. In some of the charge scenes at least 3COO Light Horse-

men participate, and there are also thousands of extras who play the parts of Eastern types. His Majesty’s Theatre Heading the programme at His Majesty’s Theatre on Friday is “The Awful Truth,” starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. This is a particularly bright crazy comedy concerning the marital differences of a young couple who no sooner gain their separation than they set about rediscovering their

love. The chief complications arise over the custody of the dog, Asta, and the ex-husband’s untimely visits to his former wife’s suite when she is entertaining impatient suitors produces some very funny scenes. How Irene Dunne prevents her former husband from remarrying and practically abducts him makes a thoroughly entertaining story. Ralph Bellamy, as an Oklahoma oil baron, appears as one of the unfortunate suitors. The associate feature is “ The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt,” starring Warren William. Ida Lupino. Ralph Morgan, and Virginia Weidler. Comedy-drama with thrills and suspense and a complicated plot exuding comic situations make the story an entertaining one. William is again the private ageiit who’ solves all the troubles which beset law and order. He has retired into a life of domesticity and a lawful business while overlooking the progress of his little daughter. Virginia Weidler. But international gangdom knows of a certain peculiar ability of William to open safes which are not in his business, and when some of them are stood up by a recalcitrant strong-box they think of William, and proceed to kidnap him. Ida Lupino as his girl-friend, worries him considerably, and Virginia, aiming to be a G-woman. 'puts brakes on his activities. Actors’ Poll Once again the actors and actresses of Hollywood have spoken by ballot — to honour each other and th» distinguished achievements of their industry during 1940. With the announcement of winning pictures and winning personalities in the third annual “ Stars Turn Critics ” poll conducted by the North American Newspaper Alliance, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had evidence in plenty for looking forward next month to the keenest, most exciting of all statuette races. Participating in the newspaper poll were several hundred screen artists—stars, featured and bit players—who expressed their individual choices in several different divisons of picture making. Among them were “ ten best pictures,” “ best performance by an actor,” “best performance by an actress.” and “ best achievement in directing." The players were also requested to answer this question, “ Which two new players, in your estimation, have shown most promise in 1940? ” With the exception of “ best actress," results in all departments were closer than anyone had dared forecast. Mostly they were neck-and-neck races. Here are the results in the principal divisions: — . • Best motion picture of 1940 Re--1343CC3 ** Best performance by an actor — Spencer Tracey in “ Edison the Man.”

Best performance by an actress— Bette Davis in “ The Letter.” Best achievement in directing—John Ford for “The Long Voyage Home.” Two most promising newcomers of 1940—Laraine Day and William Holden. , , . The 10 best pictures produced in Hollywood during the year, according to the vote of the artists themselves, rate in this order: “ Rebecca,” “ Foreign Correspondent,” “The Long Voyage Home," “The Grapes of Wrath,” “The Great McGinty,” “The Letter.” “Our Town.” “ Boom Town,” “Arise, My Love,” “ The Mortal Storm.” As the majority of these films have yet to be screened locally, theatre patrons should have some quality entertainment in the next few months. . Film Topics Errol Flynn continues his modern movie career with “Affectionately Yours.” for which Lipretta Young has been mentioned as his opposite. This vtculd be the first film for Flynn and Miss Young. By the way, Miss Young has signed for Frank Lloyd’s " Laoy from Cheyenne ” and Paramount s “Ballerina,” now titled “To-night is Ours.** Paramount wants Fred Astaire for a picture with Bing Crosby, writes Sheilah Graham. I suppose the idea is for Bing to croon while Astaire dances! , ' . . . While Clark Gable vacations, his studio works overtime, picking more films for him. The latest is “Gilded Lady,” in which Clark will be costarred with his good friend, Spencer Tracy. Joan Crawford wants to be the gilded lady. Spencer Tracy’s line-up grows larger every day. After “ Men of Boys Town,” Spencer must make “Tortilla Flat,” “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ” and “The Yearling’’—among others. Henry Fonda’s next picture is “The Great American Broadcast,” replacing Tyrone Power, who is reporting lor “ Blood and Sand.” Tyrone is currently inheriting the remakes of Rudolph Valentino’s films, which seems to be a good idea. R.K.O. says Ginger Rogers s next picture will be “Tom, Dick and Harry,” but what her fans really want to know is whether Ginger’s hair will be light or dark, writes Harold Heffernan. . , Spencer Tracy has been promised to Ruth Hussey for her next picture, 'regardless of what it is, says our Hollywood correspondent. This is Ruth’s reward for her fine showing in “Philadelphia Story.” After looking at himself in ‘ Second Chorus,” which is considerably shy of dance numbers. Fred Astaire is. said to have told friends that he will go in for more acting and less stepping in future films.