AMUSEMENTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19038, 11 June 1936, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS

REGENT THEATRE •'QUEEN OP HEARTS" Wong, sentiment and comedy arc deftly nleudcd in '-Queen of Hearts." Grade. /kids' latest iihn,' which opened a season iit the Kegent. Theatre to-day. An Associated Talking Pictures production, "Queen, of Hearts' is ideal entertainment, with that mass appeal which has characterised all the lancing pictures in .vhic'li tirade Fields has appeared. From dart to finish there is not a duh nonieni. and the comedy is of the rollicking variety, which Monty Banks .lamlles with unusual flair. He has diiected ''Queen of Hearts" in a way .hat. perhaps, no other director could emulate, lie has made the most of every iiualion. and an unusual leature. in musical films—he has ensured that the .dot is not merely a peg on which to hang ihe musical score and songs. Gradeyields' performance in "Look L'p and ..augir is still remembered with relish .iv the majority of (iisbonie filmgoers, nut this she ' has easily eclipsed in "Queen of Hearts," which is undoubtedly her most, successful production. The letress display.-, her usual vivacity, and .■.liaractcristic-Va.se in emerging, not wit.huit stress, from difficult situations. This afternoon s audience was in fits of Slighter at her antics, sometimes almost hi tears, and it was a tribute to her acting that the few moments of sentiment escaped senti mentality.

KING'S THEATRE "KING OF THE DAMNED" Conrad Veidt gives an. impressive performance in "King of ihe Damned," the grimly dramatic story of a penal settlement "in the. Carribean Sea, which was shown for the first, time in Ciisborne at the King's Theatre to-day. As a character actor the well-known Herman player has long enjoyed a splendid reputation, and his treatment ol the part ot "Convict 83" gives further proof that iiis success has been more than justified. Wrongly sentenced to penal servitude for life, iiis spirit rebels against, the harsh discipline and brutal cruelty which marks tho treatment of the prisoners. When he is sent to do extra labour with the gangs building a road through fever ridden swamps, his plans lor a revolt, of the convicts are complete. At the critical moment, however, treachery wrecks the scheme. When "S.i*s ' friend, Mooch, is sentenced to execution by the garrotte, the. prisoners' decide lo Kirike After much blood shedding in a fierce battle with the guards, they are victorious, and "83" takes over the reins of government. .Tusl when the con viets are well on ihe road lo proving that, sympathetic treatment can accomplish more than brutality, an union ween crisis arises. Noah Beery acts outstandingly as Mooch, "SV.V lieutenant. Helen "inson taken the part of the only woman in the si dry.

On the same programme, the Prime .Minister, the Hi. Hon. M. .1. Savage, will be screened io day, Friday and Saturday, including all matinees, in a speech entitled "The Labour (lovcrniueni Promises a New Kra for New Zealand." Also, a revival has been mad', of Charlie Chaplin's most successful short comedies. and he will appear in "The Fireman.

MAJESTIC THEATRE "PETER IBBETSON" & "MILLS OF THE GODS": TO-MORROW "Peter Ibbetson," the Paramount film version of the novel by George »'" Maurier, which will commence at the. Majestic Theatre to-morrow, will come as a strange adventure in the experience of the average picture patron. That. the. adventure is one that will be fully appreciated is beyond doubt, For, although the picture is far removed from the ordinary run of screen entertainment and introduces n motif that is altogether unusual, it has an appeal, and receives) an interpretation that must win complete approbation from all who see it. Du Maurier's phantasy of the childhood sweethearts who. parted by disaster, find a happy reunion in a dream life, is a theino which otters many a. hazard to successful translation to the. screen. What may win sympathy and become convincing through the poetry of words may not necessarily be as impressive through the more, realistic medium of the screen. The producers of "Peter Ibbetson," however, gain the reward of courage and make a brilliant offering where there might easily have been a blatant and a banal one. The principal players accomplish an unusually difficult task with distinction. Gary Cooper tills the role of Peter Ibbetson. the architect sentenced to life imprisonment, with simplicity and understanding, never wasting or over-emphasising a gesture, and always acting with the restrnnt (•hat makes such a part successful, Ann Harding, as Mary. Duchess of Towers, is eqully impressive. The second feature on the same programme will be "Mills of the Cods." with May Robson starred.

"Dangerous" ami "Central Park conclude to-niglit.