ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 22131, 27 September 1933, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

MAJESTIC THEATRE. RICHARD DIX AND EDNA MAY. “THE GREAT JASPER.” Richard Dix appears in “The Great Jasper,” to be shown at the Majestic Theatre commencing this afternoon. The whole picture depends upon his performance, and, in less capable hands much of its interest might have been lost. He rises to the occasion magnificently, however, and his acting welds the whole story into a very real and human drama which must appeal to everyone. He is cast as Jasper Horn, driver of a horse-cart, and is first seen on the eve of the replacement of the old cars by electric vehicles. Jasper Horn is a fine figure of a man, and one who never deserts a comrade in adversity, but he has a fatal weakness for a pretty woman. The result is that when trouble arises over the new cars, Jasper supports the owner against the men, to please the owner’s pretty wife, played with grace and distinction by Wcra Engels. His action wins him promotion and the friendship of the owner’s wife, but alienates him from his own wife, who disapproves of his gay and carefree mode of living. He is eventually dismissed from his post as the result of an intrigue with the owner’s wife, and leaves with his son for Atlantic City. As usual, he makes friends wherever he goes. He' meets an elderly astrologer, played with delicious humour by Edna May Oliver, who leaves him her business when she dies. His magnetic personality soon wins him a large clientele, and he grows old with never a thought for the future, and no troubles, save the failure of his wife to understand him. It is not until he finds his son’s life being ruined by a man as thoughtless as himself, that he realizes the unwitting sorrow he has caused. The final sequences form a fitting climax to a film that is interpreted with warmth and imagination by an excel-lently-chosen cast, which includes Florence Eldridge, as Jasper’s wife, Bruce Cabot and Betty Furness. A special supporting attraction will be the famous Charlie Chaplin in one of his biggest successes, “The Vagabond.” The picture has been rearranged in sound and music and affords laughter such as one seldom finds upon the present day screens. The “Pathe News,” Fox Australasian News” and a clever cartoon will complete the programme. The regular mid-week matinee takes place this afternoon.

THE REGENT. "THE SON-DAUGHTER.” HELEN HAYES AND RAMON NOVARRO. It is a pleasure to see Helen Hayes once again. This charming actress is making another appearance, this time at the Regent, in Metro-Goldwyn’s “The Son-Daughter.” This picture marks the first screen appearance of Miss Hayes since she was awarded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ honour for the best performance of an actress during the past year. A distinguished supporting cast includes Ramon Novarro, Lewis Stone. Warner Oland, Ralph Morgan, Louise Closser Hale and 11. B. Warner. “The Son-Daughter” is a colourful drama, with Helen Hayes essaying the role of the Chinese heroine and Ramon Novarro playing the Chinese prince whose affiliation with the revolution has its aftermath in a series of political intrigues and tong wars in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The Oriental roles in “The Son-Daughter” present a highwater mark in character delineation for both the picture’s stars —Miss Hayes’s part of the Chinese girl being a far cry from her notable portrayal of “The Sin of Madelon Claudet,” for which she Won the recent Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award: and Novarro’s role* likewise presenting a forcible contrast from that of his work in “Mata Hari.” The story of “The Son-Daughter” is fraught with melodramatic incidents, its plot centring about the attempts of revolutionary Chinese factions to outwit the Royalist group. Miss Hayes, as the daughter of a Royalist sympathizer, is caught in the whirlpool of intrigue and plotting which surrounds her father’s activities, and ultimately is forced to make a choice between marriage to the man she loves and devotion to her native land. Clarence Brown, who has won an outstanding place in the list of screen directors for his work on most of Greta Garbo’s pictures, directed “The Son-Daughter.” As has come to be expected of Brown’s cinema offerings, the present picture is said to boast a number of brilliantly picturesque settings. The supporting programme includes a new copy of the N.Z. Sound News in which New Zealand’s greatest sporting event, the Grand National Steeplechase, is shown in detail. There is also a Musical Revue in technicolour, a travelogue dealing with Iceland, and other featurettes.

CIVIC THEATRE. WILLIAM POWELL IN “LAWYER MAN.” ONE DAY ONLY. The case of an honest young lawyer v. a big city’s politicians will be presented before Judge Public when William Powell’s latest picture for Warner Bros., “Lawyer Man,” opens at the Civic Theatre to-day with Joan Blondell playing the feminine lead, for' one day only. It is a new sort of story for Powell, fast-paced drama which runs a rapid gamut from ward cases on the East Side to big business cases which jerk him out of his little corner of the world and deposit him in an elaborate suite of offices. But it’s drama relieved by plenty of comedy. The story is: Anton Adam, a brilliant young trial attorney, who has worked his way up from the slums of New York, is taken in as the partner of Granville Bentley, a lawyer of social standing. Anton falls for the wiles of Bentley’s sister, Barbara, but is also rather keen about Ginnie, an actress, who seeks to bring breach of promise action against Dr. Gresham, a brother of a judge and a political power. Gilmurry, chief of the political faction, warns Anton not to accept the case, but Anton laughs at him. Gresham makes up with his former mistress and she tells Anton she has decided to drop the case. He refuses to allow her to do this, but his office is broken into and the letters proving the grounds for action are stolen. Gresham then charges blackmail and through political influence Anton is indicated. The jury disagrees, but Anton is ruined as far as his legal business is concerned. Bentley puts him out and Barbara, with whom he is now completely in love, drops him. Angry and embittered, Anton becomes a lawyer for all the low crooks. He is such a brilliant trial lawyer that he wins most of his cases. He becomes so strong that Gilmurry seeks an alliance with him. This is what he has been waiting for. After working with the political boss for a time, he gets him to secure his appointment as assistant district attorney. He gets enough evidence to take action against Dr. Gresham, wins a conviction on political graft, and forces his brother, the judge, to resign. Anton then goes after Gilmurry’s scalp. He gets him in a comer and forces him to compromise a suit for a big sum. The political boss wants Anton to forget the past and join forces with him again. But Anton refuses. He has gotten his revenge and decides to become an honest lawyer again. So he goes back to the East Side where he

began, to become the mouthpiece for the poor and oppressed. Olga, his secretary, who has been secretly in love with Anton for some time, is made happy when after finding her staring into a jewellery store window, he takes her in and buys her a wedding ring. For the first time in the careers of either Powell or Joan Biondell, the two have been teamed in a picture, and if reports from the previewing Hollywood Press are to be credited, the teaming was an inspiration. In his law practice among his own kind, Powell finds the peace and satisfaction, the drama and comedy of life, which are the natural rewards of the not overly ambitious lawyer. But when he steps out against some of the city’s biggest lawyers in cases involving more than he has ever heard of—his success is too much for him. In the end, however, chiefly due to the practical and sane advice of his blonde secretary—Joan Blondell—who stuck even when he soared into a society that made her head swim, he is able to beat “the ring,” checkmate “the big boss,” and go back to work among his own kind, finding his satisfaction in helping the little fellow who, but for him would be at the mercy of every city wolf who wandered his way. Cast in the picture with Powell are Joan Blondell, Helen Vinson, Sheila Terry, Claire Dodd, Alan Dinehart, David Landau, Allen Jenkins and many others.

EMPIRE PICTURES, RIVERTON. “THE CALENDAR.” Whether your favourite film is a thriller, or a sporting picture, drama or a laughter-provoker, each type is well represented in “The Calendar,” the new film showing at Riverton to-day and Saturday. It was adapted from Edgar Wallace’s stage play of the same name, and has an exceptional cast, headed by that famous pair, Herbert Marshall and Edna Best. “The Calendar” is a genial and generous English spectable, filled with many beautiful and thrilling pictures of racing and racing occasions, and packed with all the little intimate touches of speech and manner that stamp a film as being of our own land and people. The Ascot Ball, which is held annually is one of the big English social events of the year, and will be seen in this splendid production.