AMUSEMENTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18546, 5 November 1934, Page 5

AMUSEMENTS

KING’S THEATRE FIVE-YEAR-OLD DELIGHTFUL IN “BABY, TAKE A BOW” Shirley Temple certainly is entitled to take ’a bow for her performance in “Baby. Take a Bow.” which opened to large audiences at the King’s Theatre on Saturday. The work of this five-year-old giv] is really astonishing. She possesses the grace and intelligence of a grown person and a personality that will carry her far. In “Stand Up and Cheer!” she was delightful in a little sketch with .'/nines Dunn. In “Baby, Take a Bow,” she has an important part running the full.,length of the picture, and site turns in a truly remarkable performance. She has no trace of selfconsciousness. Every gesture, every line is delivered with unstudied grace. She steals one’s heart as soon as she comes on the screen. And giving all this space to little Shirley is not io belittle the performances turned in by the grown-up actors in the cast. James Dunn and Claire Trevor are excellent as littlo Shirley's parents. Alan Rinehart has his amusing moments as the blundering detective who is dogging Dunn’s heels.

Tho picture is a comedy-drama centring around Shirley Temple and her young parents. Its theme is James Dunn’s struggle for happiness in spite of the - handicap of a prison record. Claire Trevor is the young wife who believes in him. Little Shirley is their adorable baby daughter who lends merriment to the action and turns a trick in the nick of time that makes her the heroine of the drama. The director has introduced a number of refreshingly new ideas into liis treatment of this picture.

OPERA HOUSE "THE THIN MAN”: POPULAR REVIVAL Comedy, mystery and suspense have been skilfully blended wit li subtle American humor in “The Thin Man, which will be screened again tonight, and tomorrow at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. In a story packed with thrills and laughter, William Powell is seen as a brilliant detective. Three baffling murders have been committed, and Powell has been persuaded by ins wife to take up tlie case and endeavor to solve, the mystery. Tlie plot lias been most ingeniously conceived and is really a masterpiece of detective fiction. Besides tlie mystery element there is the brilliantly crisp dialogue. The attractive Myrna Loy has the role of the detective’s wife, while able support is given by a strong! cast which includes Maureen O’Sullivan. Nat Pendleton. Porter. Hall and Natalie Moorehead. The film is refreshing for its gay excitement, hearty laughter, and the performance of Astra, the. canine comedian. The first part of the programme consists of “Colorful Ports of Call,” “Vital Victuals,” and “Business is a Pleasure,” a Colored revue.

Another revival which should be popular is the return of “Rookery Nook” iiext Wednesday, starring Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn.

REGENT THEATRE

‘•THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD”: LAST TWQ DAYS Although now in the fourth day and showing 1 to iindimihislied popularity, there can ho no extension of season in Gisborne of “The House of Rothschild. In Christchurch if is now iri its seventh week. In London, when the film opened at the Tivoli Theatre, it took £9200 on the. first'night, a record for a premiere in any country. Despite the sweltering heat at the time, it ran for months, maintaining the pace set at the opening! I’la dually every member of the English Royal Family, ‘society, the diplomatic corps and visiting notables saw it. Jt is reporter] from New York that at the end of 11 weeks at the Astor Theatre. “Tltj House of Rothschild” had played to a quarter of a million people, and was still funning. In the States it has stimulated more dismission and' comment than any film in recent’ years. Among the many famous characters in the film are the Duke of )Ve|liugto|i. (Vince Regent ot England. Mottornidi of Austria. ’! alleyrand of Franco, as well as tlie whole Rothschild family. George Arliss, for the first time, plays two roles, lie pnrtrys both the patriarch who founded the Rothschild fortunes tint! ' Nathan, his eldest son. A new selection of featurettes includes Laurel and Hardy's latest comedy, “Towed in a Hole.” The next Arliss production scheduled for early re lease at the Regent is ‘“The Last Gentleman.”

MAJESTIC THEATRE “STAMBOUL QUEST”: INTRIGUING AN*) 1 EXCITING The popularity of spy stories was demonstrated oil Saturday, when capacity houses greeted “Stambofd Quest. Myrna J.oy and George. Brent appear together for the first time as a romantic team in an intriguing and exciting tale of international espionage, “Ktamboul Quest,” which heads the. double feature programme. The plot throws a new light, upon spying, and also serves as a vivid illustration of the spy’s unwritten code —never fall in love. As Fraulcin Doktor, whose existence is known to only one man, Myrna Loy sets out to trap the Turkish general Ali Boy, who is suspected of selling military secrets to the enemy. But before she accomplishes her mission in the Dardanelles she is continually bounded by a love-smitten and reck, less young American whose, antics only serve to complicate matters. G. Henry Gordon appears as the Tijrk, and Lionel At will is chief of the Secret Service and the one person who knows whether or not “Fraulcin Doktor” is a myth. The second feature is “Renegades ot the West,” starring Tom Keene. Thejenth chapter of “Gordon of Ghost City” also is lining screened. —Early Tennis Session—

At 7.30 o’clock there will be n special tennis session preceding the usual evenitig session. W. T. Tildon will demonstrate. in slow motion, tennis technique, fotchad and backhand, and volley and smash. There is no additional charge.