ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 22010, 9 May 1933, Page 9

ENTERTAINMENTS

THE MAJESTIC. RONALD COLMAN IN "CYNARA.” WITTY AND ROMANTIC DRAMA. Closing to-night at the Majestic Theatre is one of those outstanding programmes that keep the audience interested and entertained from the commencement of the first support to the close of the main attraction. Headed by the world-renowned actor Ronald Colman, the cast of “Cynara” is indeed a well-selected one. Kay Francis, the striking actress who always displays the. latest and most fashionable gowns to the best advantage, is outstanding as the wife who has her complete faith in her husband shattered. The story relates how a successful young London barrister is led away from his almost sedate home life by a sophisticated bachelor friend. Colman is greatly in love with his wife, and at first it is not easy to drift away from his conscience, but as his wife is away in Vienna it is simple enough to carry on an alliance with another woman. The unfolding of the absorbing plot is carried out so realistically that it is indeed a “slice of life,” and a very interesting slice at that. . The triangle becomes a tangled affair of love and then disaster, . though there is nothing harsh or sordid about it. In fact it is brilliant and scintillating at times, the wit emanating chiefly from Colman’s bachelor friend, who seems ever ready with an epigram to fit even the strangest turns of Fortune s wheel. One cannot help feeling pleased that everything turns out rather happily in the finish, even though it is almost impossible to foresee., during the screening of the picture just what new situation will arise. It would be difficult to surpass such a nice comoination of romance and drama for genuine entertainment. The supporting programme contains featurettes of real merit. The first of Walt Disneys coloured Silly Symphony cartoons to reach Invercargill is entitled King Neptune,” and is a clever, intricate and beautiful as well as funny creation. The introduction of colour to this class of film heralds a further revolution m the cinema. The programme also includes a coloured musical film, a Burns and Allen comedy and an Australian newsreel. * “LORD CAMBER’S LADIES.” SIR GERALD DU MAURIER AND GERTRUDE LAWRENCE. A DISTINGUISHED CAST. “Lord Camber's Ladies,” tne British International Pictures’ super attraction will head the new “bill of fare at the Majestic Theatre on Wednesday. Tins fascinating film is reported to introduce the best and most representative galaxy of English talent, both from the point of view of acting and production. Diiected by the very distinguished playwright, Benn V/. Levy, whose successes on the’stage of recent years have been applauded by the critics, this powerful story from the pen of Horace Annesley Vachell provides excellent fare for the theatregoer. The cast, which is a distinguished one, is headed by Sir Gerald de Maurier and Gertrude Lawrence. Sir Gerald, the idol of the British public, gives an excellent performance as the stern and relentless Dr Napier, a role in which he shows that histrionic ability and superb artistry that have made him famous. He is ably supported by Gertrude Lawrence, who gives an especially meritorious performance, first as the high-spirited Shirley Neville the musical comedy star and favourite of the public, and then as the unhappy Lady Camber, forced to watch her husband’s philanderings from her deathbed. Of the supporting artists the performances of Benita Hume, the lovely brunette heroine, and Nigel Bruce, the perfect roue peer, are especially deserving of mention. This intensely vivid drama, relieved by flashes of humour, keeps one in suspense to the very end. It must be classed among the best films that have been turned out by the Elstree studios. CIVIC THEATRE. “TWO AGAINST THE WORLD.” Constance Bennett in “Two Against the World” will be seen to-night for the last time at the Civic Theatre. The murder theme provides endless scope for the scenario writer as it docs for the writer of sensational fiction. In “Two Against the World” there is given another unique touch to a shooting affray in high American society, and it provides a plot worthy of the splendid cast. A girl lies, and lies well, to save a sister from scandal and a brother from execution. With a cleverly-woven scheme she forces her young admirer, a lawyer with a penchant for fighting lost causes, to take up the prosecution against her, and the story moves through tense scenes to a “beanfeast conclusion.” It pictures incidents of society life in New York, and goes straight to the feminine heart, not only through its love interest, but through its settings and the wonderful procession of frocks it displays. Nor is it without its many touches of humour and finely-constructed dialogue, giving Constance Bennett and Neil Hamilton effective roles and most telling lines. Miss Bennett as the . pleasure-loving daughter of a millionaire, who gradually develops character under the sway of a magnetic personality, gives a most convincing interpretation, with her daughter, her naive behaviour, and her eventual splendid, resolution. With Neil Hamilton as the determined lawyer, never departing from principles until love dictates, the pair carry almost the whole action upon their shoulders. < “FRISCO JENNY.” Said to be “greater than Madam X,” commencing to-morrow at the Civic, Ruth Chatterton will be seen in the leading role of “Frisco Jenny. . Cast in the mould of the pictures which have been Ruth Chatterton's most conspicuous successes, and have made hers a name to conjure with wherever lovers of fine acting are assembled, “Frisco Jenny,” her latest First National production, ranks as her outstanding work to date. “Frisco Jenny” is the story of a woman who ruled the vice element of a city. The sweep of the drama takes it across a quarter of a century of human life. Opening on the eve of the Great Fire that laid San Francisco waste in 1906—the days when the Barbary Coast flourished in all its lawlessness —the picture traces the colourful career of a daughter of the old under-world as it luridly weaves itself through the changing life of the new San Farncisco to the moment of supreme sacrifice that crowns the story. Running through the kaleidoscopic pattern of emotions and events is as vivid and gripping a story of mother love as the modern screen has ever witnessed. The scenes of the earthquake and the subsequent fire which completed the destruction of the city by the Golden Gate have been pronounced by experts to be marvels of realism and catastrophic power. Old Chinatown lives again in all its sinister secrecy, with its miles of catacomb-like passages and dwellings. The reckless, tumultuous night life of San Francisco, unique among cities of the western hemisphere, is enacted so vividly that many an old-timer who. has witnessed the previews' of the picture has breathed a sigh for the glamour of those days. Under the direction or William Wellman, an extraordinarily large and capable cast assisted Miss Chatterton in the portrayal of the drama. Donald Cook, Louis Calhem,

Pat O’Malley, Jimmie Murray, Robert Emmet O’Connor, Helen Jerome Eddy, Hallam Cooley, Noel Francis, Frank McGlynn, Sr., J. Carroll Naish, Robert Warwick, Franklin Parker and Sam Godfrey are the important supporting artists. THE REGENT. ' “HELL’S ANGELS.” SENSATIONAL AERIAL DRAMA. One of the most glorious picture entertainments it has ever been this reviewer's privilege to see is to be screened at the Regent this afternoon and evening in continuation oi the Regent’s Revival Week celebrations. It is called “Hell’s Angels,” and is the film that Howard Hughes took three years to make at a cost of 4,000,000 dollars. As an achievement it is doubtful whether it will ever have an equal; as a dramatic account of the aviators part in the war, it tells the. story on such a grandiose scale that pictures of this sort can be but feeble an ti“ climaxes. Never have there been such thrills as those provided by the . sensational stunts of the flying circus. The Zeppelin raid, the daring dogfights, the crack-ups, the head-on collisions, and the 10,000 ft plunges to earth are reproduced so vividly as to make you forget it is a picture. There were no miniature or fake shots used in these sequences. Everything is genuine. Many of the best known war aces piloted the different planes. Thiee men were killed and a cameraman expired as a result of the terrific nerve tension under which he was working. There will not be another picture like “Hell’s Angels” for a long time if ever. No matter what you’ve seen before, you’ll be electrified by its three terrific headlights—the raid on London, the bombing of the German munitions factory, and the free-for-all dogfight high in the clouds. Night has fallen over London. Suddenly a Zeppelin noses its way out of the. clouds. The crew is testing the bombing apparatus. Crisply orders are barked out. The British sound-detectors pick up the sounds of the monster’s motors. And defending ’planes zoom off to disperse the enemy. A terrific battle is waged, in which all ’planes but one are forced down. The machine-gun of the last one has jammed. A steady stream of lead belches forth from the angry mouth of the sky whale. .In desperation, the helpless pilot points the nose of his ’plane towards the big ship and rams her at top speed. Thunderous noises, sizzling, leaping flames, and down go the entangled masses of steel and matter with the crew caugth like rats in a trap. What a thrill! What drama! The blowing up of the munitions plant and the terrific dog-fight between 50 planes, or more, zooming, plunging, crashing, somersaulting, down to destruction provide the most astounding thrills that have ever captivated an audience. There is a colourful story running through the film about two brothers of totally different natures, one fine and noble, the other bon vivant who loves himself and his good times. They join the Royal Air Corps and become major factors in the serial adventures that make “Hell’s Angels” the astounding air spectacle it is. Ben Lyon, James Hall and Jean Harlow, a . striking Blonde beauty, head a splendid cast of well-known actors and aviators.