ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 25386, 13 September 1935, Page 12

ENTERTAINMENTS

MAJESTIC THEATRE “JANE EYRE” It is a matter for regret that the proximity of “Jane Eyre” to the screen version of another classic, “David Copperfield,” may deter Invercargill people from seeing Monogram Pictures’ brilliant adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s best known novel. Last evening’s audience at the Majestic left the theatre charmed with the fragrant romance of the Victorian period so artistically delineated by Virginia Bruce and Colin Clive. Those who desire a pleasant, wholesome and uplifting evening’s entertainment should certainly make the Majestic their rendezvous for this, the last evening of “Jane Eyre.” Charlotte Bronte’s self-revelatory novel has gripped the hearts of readers for more than three-quarters of a century. It was acclaimed as the work of positive genius when published in October, 1847, and at once achieved a decided success. An innate modesty and sensitiveness prompted Charlotte Bronte to assume the pen-name of Currer Bell, and to keep her own identity secret, even from the publishers. However, it is recorded, a shrewd Yorkshireman who knew Haworth (where the, Brontes lived), divmed the secret of the unassuming authoress and published his discovery. The tender 1 romance, the heartbreak, the poignant drama of “Jane Eyre,” the lonely girl who was soul-starved for human love, and finally found happiness after a series of tragic events, are as absorbing to readers of to-day as of that early Victorian period when such literary giants as Dickens and Thackeray were at the height of their fame. No better choice could have been made for the title role than lovely Virginia Bruce, who was specially loaned for the occasion by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, to whom she is under contract. A beautiful blonde, and possessed of a cultured refinement, Virginia has a fine literary taste, and is a particular admirer of the works of Charlotte Bronte, “Jane Eyre” being her favourite novel. Ever since she read it in her girlhood days, Miss Bruce has entertained hope of being able to play the part of Jane in a picturization of the work, just as Christy Cabanne, who directed the production, had ambitions of directing one. A splendid performance also is that of Colin Clive in the difficult role of Rochester. Clive will be remembered for his brilliant portrayal of the domineering Capt. Stanhope in “Journey’s End,” both on the stage and screen. In fact, the whole cast is excellent, and so is the production. The supports are both bright and varied. “THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD.” Universal scenario experts have solved a mystery that has had detectives and newspapermen and writers un in the air for a hundred years. The mystery is, what became of Edwin Drood, the psalm-singing opium fiend in the last and greatest of Charles Dickens works, left unfinished at his death. One of the things that made the production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” intriguing was the fact that only half a dozen people of the Universal studio knew what the solution of this hundred-yeai l old mystery was. The writers, John L. Balderston, Gladys Unger, Bradley King and Leopold Atlas, were sworn to secrecy. The director,

Stuart Walker was sworn to secrecy, and Edmund Grainger, the producer, saw to it that none of the players knew until the final sequences how this story was going to end on the screen. None of the scripts which circulated had the final ending on it. No screen secret of recent years has been so closely guarded. Then Claude Rains, who plays the two-faced character of John Jasper, refused to divulge the secret when he spent a day recently in New York on Iris way to Europe. He is, furthermore, committed not to divulge the secret while he is abroad for the next six weeks, making appearances with “The Man Who Reclaimed His Head,” and in all probability doing a picture for Gaumont-British'. Unless Rains is as two-faced as John Jasper, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” will still be a mystery when the print reaches the Majestic Theatre on Saturday. REGENT THEATRE. “CLIVE OF INDIA.” VIVID, ROMANTIC DRAMA. “Clive of India,” which will commence its season at the Regent Theatre to-day, is one of the few pictures genuinely entitled to be placed in the “great” class. It is a picture of that standard which conies to the screen at rare intervals; it is the picture of which Ronald Colman said: “This is the picture —and this is the character by which I should like the public to remember me.” Not since “Arrowsmith” has Colman had a romantic situation comparable to that provided him in “Clive of India.” In “Arrowsmith” he fought the battle of science to save humanity; in “Clive of India” he fights the battle of Empire, welding two great nations of the Orient and Occident. In this remarkable picture Clive is seen leading his “mad” army to avenge the massacre of the Black Hole of Calcutta, his spectacular trial for treason before the Houses of Parliament, and a hundred and one other equally thrilling situations. As the poor clerk, who conquered an Empire at the age of 26, and became England’s greatest hero, Colman gives a remarkable performance. Also rising to great heights is Loretta Young, the English girl to whom Clive wrote proposing marriage after seeing her picture in a locket belonging to her brother. She decides to go to India, but finds upon her arrival that her poor clerk has become a great hero. After marriage she is called upon to make sacrifices such as only a true wife would make to check Clive’s craving for power, but to no purpose, and he leaves England to return to India to crush another rebellion. Corrupt India officials finally have him tried for treason on a false charge, and the picture builds up into, a fitting climax that is worthy, of such a great picture. When the magic lantern of 30 years ago became the projection machine of today, history, as the public knows it, was destined for a new course. From the stodgy recital of dates and statistics, through which a few human bones occasionally protruded, the glorified dead began to live again. Into this category comes Robert Clive, conqueror of the old India and maker of the new British-Indian Empire, who was tremendously successful when he worked for personal advancement but who earned his country’s hatred and ingratitude when he fought for her alone. Macaulay has taught the world to know Clive of India through his exploits, but it may now be said that the English playwrights, R. J. Minney and W. P. Lipscombe, have retold the same tale and made Clive, with his strengths and weaknesses, his human frailties and common joys and woes, live as never before. A new departure is made from the usual Mickey Mouse black and white cartoons. In “The Band Concert,” which heads the supporting programme, Walt Disney presents Mickey and his bandsmen in technicolour, and the “concert” is weird and screamingly funny. The box plans at H. and J. Smith’s should be consulted early as the booking will be exceptionally heavy. CIVIC THEATRE. “THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.” All the component parts of the popular “thriller” are contained in “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” a Gaumont British film, which opened at the Civic Theatre yesterday. There are spies, secret societies, kidnappings, an attempted assassination, and a street battle between policemen and criminals. Moreover, the film has credible characters who make it their business to act a melodramatic story simply and plainly. There is none of that irritating artificiality which can mar an otherwise excellent production. There is no playing for position, no time wasted in creating atmosphere—the case is stated and interest is never allowed to flag. The production is especially a triumph for the director, Alfred Hitchcock, whose sense of the macabre produces an uncanny feeling of ever-mounting suspense which would enthrall even the most sophisticated audience. In the handling of many individual incidents the director’s skill is plainly evident. Every kind of sinister possibility in a criminally-inclined dentist’s waiting room is suggested simply, but extraordinarily effectively while the playing of an organ in a church to drown the noise of a brawl shows a touch which is both original and humorous. The conclusion of the story, in which a street battle takes place between some criminals and an army of policemen, parallels an actual episode of London’s history, which was re-enacted in one of the King’s Jubilee films. In 1911 a Russian revolutionary, Peter the Painter, kept the police of London at bay while he stood seige in a house. The piece is excellently played by an outstanding cast. Peter Lorre, in the role of the head of a gang of international assassins, provides an almost terrifying portroyal. Leslie Banks gives a sterling performance as the man who falls prisoner to the gang. Nova Pilbean, the young actress who performed so well in “Little Friend,” is also seen to advantage as Banks’ daughter. Hostess, playboy and Broadway sport participate in a thrilling romance, while secrets of a night club management are unveiled in “Gigolette,” with Adrienne Ames. Donald Cook and Ralph Bellamy. “Gigolette” in one of its principal sequences depicts the operation of the night life resort. This rendezvous, popular before the advent of repeal, was generally frequented by convention delegates seeking a good time in the big .city. Here they were mulcted via skyrocketing tariffs and other devious means. Against such a scene is unfolded a romance involving Kay Parrish, society debutante now working’ zts a hostess to support herself; Gregg ‘ Emerson, of Park Avenue, who visits the club to avenge a former experience; and Terry Gallagher, rowdy proprietor of the cabaret. Miss Ames as Kay, Cook as Gregg and Bellamy as Gallagher are the principals in “Gigolette,” with Robert Armstrong as Chuck, the bouncer, in convincing characterizations. JANET GAYNOR IN “ONE MORE SPRING.” No greater praise could be given a picture than the following notice from Smith’s Weekly of “One More Spring,” which commences a three-nights’ season at the Civic tomorrow. The director of this film (Henry l King) has once again proved his sureness and delicacy of touch. This is what is first noticeable in a film that stands out as unusual and charming. The story chosen, too, is unusual: like that of “Ten Dollar Raise,” it might be a finger pointing the way that talking-

films are destined to go. It is unusual in that it is so completely ordinary, and in this also, that from drab commonplace a romance and charm have been deftly distilled, and the camera has infused into what could have been dull surroundings a soft laughter and beauty which would be lost in mere narrative. This is no mean achievement. It is due partly to the two leading players, Warner Baxter and Janet Gaynor; but it is also due to the wise direction and the sensitive photography. The story of three povertystricken people, two men and a woman, who live together throughout a New York winter, could have been the dullest story in the world. It would, in fact, have been dull if a strong lovetheme had been introduced frankly in the beginning, instead of being implied with considerable subtlety by perfect non-statement until the spring comes. Baxter is an actor who knows his job, and Janet Gaynor is an actress who knows Baxter. Together they work with ease and natural harmony. Walter King, as the violinist, emphasizes the characterization of these two people by his impatience. The film, as a whole, is invested with a feeling of poetry, suggested as well by the restrained photography and the clever cutting; it should charm even the horniest-hearted critic, and perhaps give courage to many who need courage. THEATRE ROYAL, WINTON. TO-NIGHT AND TO-MORROW NIGHT. British Empire Films have something genuinely attractive, pleasantly unusual and full of interest for New Zealanders in “Down on the Farm,” the first New Zealand talking film, which is now being released throughout the Dominion. Here is a sound picture which deals with New Zealand from the human viewpoint. No tourist publicity this, but a dramatic comedy of life and industry, complete with a diverting story and a characteristically local background. The production is a genuinely local achievement inasmuch as its setting is in Otago, and it introduces Mr B. S. Irwin’s Woodside property on the Taieri Plains, its players are all New Zealanders and the sights and sounds it presents are all typically New Zealand. The supporting feature is adapted from J. B. Priestley’s notable play and the novel of the same name, “Dangerous Comer.” The theme deals with what might happen if certain seemingly inconsequential events occurred to make people bare the hidden secrets about their own lives and their loves. * REGENT THEATRE, MAT AURA. “MALA THE MAGNIFICENT.” Colonel W. S. Van Dyke, famous director of “Trader Hom,” “White Shadows” and other pictures in far off lands, was a year in the Arctic to film Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “Mala The Magnificent,” showing at the Regent Theatre, Mataura, this evening. Actors who faced a camera before they saw a motion picture provide the strangest and most gripping roles the screen has ever seen in this spectacular dramatic production filmed in the Arctic regions. There is also an excellent supporting programme.