ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 22378, 18 July 1934, Page 9

ENTERTAINMENTS

MAJESTIC THEATRE. “BROADWAY THROUGH A KEYHOLE.” THRILLING, LAVISH, TUNEFUL. “Broadway Through a Keyhole,” which opens at the Majestic Theatre this afternoon, is essentially a musical film, but it contains plenty of interesting action, a touch of drama, and not a little comedy, reaching a very high class in entertainment. Constance Cummings and Paul Kelly are responsible for some remarkable acting in “Broadway Through a Keyhole,” but the success of the film would not have been so great were it not for the support accorded the principals by the members of the subsidiary cast. Kelly is a fine actor and is likely to rise high in the film world, and there is no need to sing the praises of Miss Cummings, who has already proved her worth before Invercargill audiences. Some of the cast are more accomplished entertainers than actors, but there is not a dull moment in what must be one of the most spectacular shows of the last few years. Many beautiful novelties, ballets, and dance ensembles are introduced, and the whole of the picture has been excellently produced. Paul Kelly, an ex-convict, invests the part of Frank Rocci, a gangster, with remarkable feeling, and carries out a characterization which more than proves his ability. In the story, Rocci’s power is such that he is able to force Tex Kaley, a night club queen, to find a place in her cabaret chorus for a girl in whom he has been interested since before he became a criminal. Needless to say, the gangster falls in love with the girl, and when a rival gang begins to make the town rather “hot” for Rocci, he sends her and Sybil Smith, the friend of one of his henchmen, to Florida, where he hopes she will be safe. There she meets and falls in love with Clark Brian, a crooner in an hotel band, and spends a happy time in his company until a spy informs Rocci of what is happening. The latter immediately sends for the girl to return at once, and when she reaches New York he asks her what the position is. Her reply is that he comes first, but he worms out of her the fact that she loves the crooner. The audience remains in suspense for some time before Rocci makes known his intentions, and there is a particularly tense scene when the two men meet—the one a self-confessed coward and the other hardened by the life of a New York racketeer. Eventually, however, Rocci decides to give up the girl to the man she loves, and the picture comes to its conclusion on this note. Abe Lyeman and his band provide the musical background and the accompaniments for the several song and dance numbers which are such outstanding features of the production. The film is the first to come from the studios of the new Twentieth Century Pictures recently formed by Josef Schenck and Darryl Zannuck. Zannuck, who produced “The Gold Diggers of Broadway,” and the series of George Arliss pictures, has assembled in this film an imposing array of American stage and radio talent new to the talking screen. There is no doubt about the success of the venture, however, and Invercargill audiences will eagerly await further productions from the same source. The supporting programme is one well worthy of association with a picture such as “Broadway Through a Keyhole.” The principal feature is a Mickey Mouse cartoon entitled “Giantland,” in which Mickey tells his many nieces and nephews the story of Jack and the Beanstalk with himself in the role of Jack. It is impossible to tire of the clever antics of this pen-and-ink star whose creator exhibits with each new film an ingenuity fully deserving of the success attained. THE REGENT. PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF JEAN BATTEN. FULL PICTURE PROGRAMME. Feted in Australia and New Zealand like royalty, the guest in Wellington of the Governor-General (Lord Bledisloe), and Lady Bledisloe, the idol of every person in the Dominion, Miss Jean Batten, the young Auckland girl, whose flight from England to Australia in four days less time than it took Amy Johnson to make the distance, will make personal appearances at the Regent Theatre this afternoon and evening and again to-morrow afternoon and evening. She will tell her audiences all about her great flight, how she had two unsuccessful starts, and how finally, after a third and lucky take-off, she arrived in Australia, where she was accorded a welcome that will never be forgotten. Miss Batten will present her beloved little kitten, “Buddy,” which was given to her in Sydney, and accompanies his mistress everywhere. Charming, petite, and very feminine, Miss Batten has a personality as dynamic as one could imagine. When she tells of her adventures in her plane, flying from dawn to sunset, everyone will thrill to think that New Zealand should have been so fortunate as to have given to the world a woman whose name has made history. Miss Batten will be introduced to Invercargill audiences by Miss Dorothy Paterson, who has the distinction of being the only lady pilot in Southland and is one of Southland’s keenest flyers. At the matinees a special picture programme will be presented in support of Miss Batten’s personal appearance and at the evening sessions the programme will include an amusing production, “His Double Life,” which brings back to us Lillian Gish, one of the best known screen personalities of the days of silent pictures, who has returned after a few years’ absence to the talkie screen. She is co-starred with Roland Young in “His Double Life.” The picture is essentially a Gish and Young production, these two entirely dominating the cast, but receiving capital support from Lumsden Hare, Montague Love, Lucy Beaumont, Phillip Tongue, Charles Richman and the rest of the cast. Roland Young has never had a role that, fitted his whimsical style more perfectly, and Miss Gish, as Alice, gives a piece of work that equals anything she ever has done. Roland Young is cast as a great artist, Priam Farrell, who is of shy and retiring nature and who has never been seen by his clients. The action starts when Farrell and Leek (his butler), arrive in London at their house; Leek is taken ill with double pneumonia and dies; the doctor bustles Farrell, who gives to him. the impression that the dead man is the artist and Tie himself the servant. Then the remains of his valet are buried in Westminster Abbey and Farrell realizes only then how famous he had been. He then, known as Leek, the valet, meets Alice (Lilian Gish) and marries her; money fails and he is forced to paint in order to keep the house. At first he sells his pictures to a small dealer from whom they get to his old agent Oxford, who recognizes the works and who is collecting all the Farrell pictures for an American; a date is discovered on one of the canvases which shows that the picture was painted two years after Farrell had allegedly been buried in the Abbey and Oxford is sued for fraud. It is taken to Court and Farrell successfully proves that he is not dead. The supports are excellent.