ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 25308, 11 June 1935, Page 11

ENTERTAINMENTS

CIVIC THEATRE “BROADWAY BILL” Followers of the sport of kings will find much to satisfy them in Broadway Bill,” one of the finest sporting pictures ever shown here, and a worthy successor to that famous production on this theme, “Sporting Blood.” “Broadway Bill,” which finishes its season at the Civic Theatre to-night, embodies something new in the way of horse racing stories, and the atmosphere ot suspense and excitement is seldom absent after the story is. well on The principal roles are taken by Warner Baxter, who appears as Dan Brooks, racehorse enthusiast and rebel against the humdrum existence demanded srf him by his family; Myrna Loy, as Alice, who sympathizes .with Dan in his endeavours to struggle out of the rut of domesticity which so irks him; Walter Connolly, as J, L. Higgins, Dan’s father-in-law, who violently opposes his wishes to enter the horse racing sport; Helen Vinsen, Clarence Muse, and Douglas Dumbrille. The title of the production is taken from the name of a racehorse owned by Dan Brooks, which he is confident will win him high honours on the track. However, he is comfortably'established in his father-in-law’s box manufacturing business, and his slightest suggestion that he should leave the security of the business and make his money at is met with the strongest disapproval by the other members of the family with the exception of his young unmarried sister-in-law, Alice. Eventually, after a violent scene, Dan leaves the bosom of his family and takes his horse Broadway Bill with him, _ but agrees to return if his venture is a failure. From that stage the picture works up to a exciting climax. TO-MORROW. “HELLDORADO” AND “GAMBLING.” A fine cast has been assembled for the graphic outdoor film, “Helldorado,’’ which commences to-morrow at. the Civic Theatre. The principal role is in the capable hands of Richard Arlen, who makes a welcome return to the screen, while Madge Evans provides the romantic interest. Excellent work is also done by Ralph Bellamy and by a large supporting cast headed by Henry B. Walthall, James Gleason and Stepin Fetchit. When Arlen makes his first appearance he is seen as a young man without any particular object in life apart from a desire to escape from Digby, a Californian mountain town, and make his way to the coast. He sets out to walk and “hitch-hike,” but his requests for lifts are refused, so that he has really no alternative but to leap stealthily into the back of a car which has been stopped so that the driver may put the hood up. The fact that the front seat is occupied by an eloping couple complicates matters, especially when a rising storm sweeps away the bridges, and now it is time for Arlen to take charge of the party, which he does, much to the annoyance of the other two. Eventually they find themselves in an abandoned mining town, deserted by all except an eccentric old miner who imagines .hat his old partner has come back to assist him in the development of a mine they had discovered. A series of exciting events follows, and the culminating point is a modem gold rush. Devotees of screen murder mysteries are urged not to miss “Gambling,” which opens to-morrow at the Civic Theatre. To judge from advance reports, they will cheat themselves of a major thrill if they do. It is described as a natural, human, swift and exciting story, written by George M. Cohan, America’s first actor, and played by him on the stage for two years. Cohan is likewise the star of the screen version, adapted and directed by the versatile and skilful Rowland V. Lee. Cohan’s role is that of a New York gambler, whose daughter elopes with a shipboard acquaintance at Quarantine and is murdered. The lover is accused of the crime, tried and acquitted. Dissatisfied with the way the police and the district attorney have handled the case, the gambler becomes his own detective. He plays the role of lover to two young women friends of the acquitted man, and finds a clue which he pursues to S powerfully dramatic solution.

THE MAJESTIC. “GREAT EXPECTATIONS.” AN OUTSTANDING FILM. It has often been said that Charles Dickens drew upon his own experiences to show clearly his characters. Perhaps no greater range of Dickens can be found anywhere than in “Great Expectations,” of which Universal has made one of the finest and most outstanding pictures of the year. The film is now being shown at the Majestic Theatre for the last time to-day. Almost a year of research and preparations was made necessary in the production of this n./. It is a marvel of authenticity. Faithful replicas of the scenes and sets in the story were obtained at great cost and much trouble, - inasmuch as many valuable pieces of furniture and bric-a-brac, of almost 100 years ago, can no longer be found. The scene in the churchyard, at the opening of the story is actually startling in its reality This set is a faithful reproduction of an old Kentish churchyard not far from the river actually mentioned in the story. The kitchen set of “Mrs Joe Gargery,” the blacksmith's wife, is an excellent reproduction of the type of kitchen in vogue then with the particular class of people to which she belonged. Again, the marshes where the great fight between the two convicts takes place, were especially built to represent as nearly as possible those soggy, treacherous and weird places which hug the banks of the river Thames in northern Kent. “Miss Havisham’s” dark house, the decayed wedding cake covered with cobwebs, and the unhappy woman herself in her wedding gown, so vividly described in the book, have been reproduced for the filrm In the room where the wedding breakfast had remained for years, much care was taken for detail and even beetles, spiders and mice s were supplied to enhance the reality. “Pip’s” chambers in the temple are an exact reproduction of the top floor of the famous London apartment building. The lamp on his table is a faithful copy of the one used by Charles Dickens at the reading given by him before intimate friends; among whom'were Carlyle, Blanchard. Gerrald, Stanfield and others. In fact, on many of the sets, the sperm and lard oil lamps used during the making of this most interesting’ picture caused some serious conferences.' The silver used on this set is authentic Georgian silver and the china. English spode. The glass—decanters and pony goblets—are of the famous old Waterford variety. Everyone connected with the arrangement of this set tried hard not to overdo it in any way. The ivories upon which “Pip” wrote “I forgive her,” were used a great deal in'later Georgian and early Victorian days by ladies. Those used in the picture were copied exactly from a fine set of old ivory tablets owned by Stuart Walker, the director, and had previously belonged to his great-v icle. The coach used by “Pip” in the film is an English one, made by Holland and Holland ,of London. ’ The cart used by. the convict “Magwitch” (Henry Hull)

when he and a companion have to be harnessed to it, required much research. Mr Hull insisted that the cart be loaded down with real rocks, as he wanted to make the scene as realistic as possible. Principal roles in the cast are taken by Hull, Phillips Holmes, Jane Wyatt, Florence Reed, Alan Hale, George Breakston, Francis L. Sullivan and Rafaela Ottiano. A matinee will be hpld this afternoon. ' NORMA SHEARER’S GREATEST ROLE. Norma Shearer has never given the public a finer performance than her work in “Smilin’ Through,” directed for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by Sidney Franklin, with a supporting cast headed by Fredric March, Leslie oHward, O. P. Heggie and Ralph Forbes, coming to the Majestic Theatre on Wednesday. In this lavish production Nonna Shearer for the first time in her career plays a dual role. Miss Shearer portrays both the tragic Moonyeen in the Victorian sequences and Kathleeen Sheridan in the modern scenes around which the happier romance of the tale centres. It is Miss Shearer’s first venture into the unusual in drama.ln the talking screen version of “Smffin Through,” Miss Shearer has an advantage which was not permitted in the stage production. First as the intended bride and then as the ward of Sir John Cartaret, the role which Leslie Howard plays, Miss Shearer is able to return in fantasy to the mind of her brooding lover—in which moments of reverie she appears twice in a single scene. Thus, although the story covers a 50 years’ elapse of time, during which Leslie Howard grows from youth to white-haired old age, Miss Shearer remains youthful throughout. It is, the star concedes, her severest dramatic test to date. Fredric March and Leslie Howard, as heads of her dramatic cast, also have unusual trials in characterization. March, like Miss Shearer, has two roles in the story. In the beginning he is Jeremy Wayne, rival of Leslie Howard for the hand of Moonyeen. Later he portrays the son of Jeremy Wayne, returning to England at the time the country is preparing to enter the World War. Of the three principals Leslie Howard alone retains a single identity. But his role is no less intricate, for it requires a transition covering three distinct ages. The supporting subjects will include a Thelma Todd and Pat Kelly comedy, a Metrotone News and the Goofy Movies. THE REGENT. FAST DAY OF “OUTCAST LADY.” HERBERT MARSHALL AND CONSTANCE BENNETT. Acted by an unusually distinguished cast and staged with a meticulous attention to detail, “Outcast Lady,” which is closing a successful run at the Regent with matinee and evening sessions to-day, affords a striking illustration of the manner in which intelligent directon and screen craft of a high order can effect the satisfactory transfer of a novel to the screen. Adapted from Michael Arlen’s widely-read and popular story “The Green Hat,” the film captures admirably the post war atmosphere which the author conveys so successfully in his novel. The story abounds in the curious and fantastic twists that are such an outstanding characteristic of all Arlen’s works, but the incidents, nevertheless, dovetail into one another perfectly, with the result that the picture runs along smoothly to a powerful and dramatic climax. In selecting Constance Bennett to play the leading role, the producers have made a singularly happy choice. She draws a striking and convincing portrait of the notorious Iris March, the descendant of a luckless and decadent stock, who is prepared to sacrifice her reputation and her happiness to shield a worthless brother. In Miss Bennett’s capable hands Iris March becomes a figure which is tragic in its faults; her pride and her inflexible courage form the very means by which her character is bitterly attacked by the world, but they make her a personality which retains the interest of the audience throughout In the leading male role Herbert Marshall is responsible for a powerful character sketch, and Ralph Forbes gives a thoroughly workmanlike rendering of the part of Captain Fenwick. Mrs Patrick Campbell, Henry Stephenson, and Elizabeth Allan also have important parts which they handle capably. Included in the supporting programme are some splendid scens depicting the arrival of Princess Marina in London, and the enthusiasm of the crowd during the royal couple’s passage to and from Westminster Abbey. A travelogue and a Charlie Chase comedy are also shown. THE KARENINA DIAMOND MYSTERY. “I AM A THIEF.” “I Am A Thief,” Warner Bros.’ latest melodramatic mystery thriller, is scheduled to open at the Regent Theatre tomorrow with Mary Astor and Ricardo Cortez heading an all-star cast. The picture recounts the breath-taking adventures of a band of international jewel robbers who plot to steal an almost priceless set of diamonds known as the Kareninas. Mary Astor has the role of a beautiful and cultured woman who is trying to get hold of the famous diamonds by hook or crook. She spies on and follows the first purchaser of the jewels, a part played by Ricardo Cortez. Each is at first suspicious of the other, while at the same time the two are magnetically attracted by the other’s personalities. The famed Kareninas, the prize loot of the Continent, attract the attention of rival gangs whose battles with each other and with officers of the French Surete result in cold blooded murders, killings, and the wounding of several others. There will also be an outstanding supporting programme of featurettes. “MRS WIGGS OF THE CABBAGE PATCH.” COMING ON FRIDAY. Delightful entertainment is provided in the film adaptation of the story by Alice Hegan Rice, “Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage "Patch,” which will head the programme to be presented for an extended season at the Regent Theatre commencing next Friday. The picture proves exceptionally fascinating to those who have read the book well as making first-class entertainment for audiences not previously acquainted with the story. Pauline Lord, an accomplished stage actress, makes her first appearance on the screen in the leading role. She acts with the same sincerity and unassuming naturalness which made her so popular in the theatre. As Mrs Wiggs her performance is always pleasing. She is faced with the task of bringing up a large family on a meagre income after she has been deserted by her husband. The theme offers great scope for all the players and the acting throughout is of the highest order.