AT THE THEATRES

Southland Times, Issue 23287, 25 August 1937, Page 9

AT THE THEATRES

COMING ATTRACTIONS Sparkling comedy with a dash of irony makes “Call It a Day,” which opens at the Regent Theatre on Saturday, an entertaining and fast-moving film. lan Hunter, who styles himself a “middle-aged husband, finds himself faced with the first irregularity of his 22 years of married life on precisely the same day that an amusing misunderstanding on the part of a lonely Anglo-Indian results in his wife being subjected to what she calls “an offer. The reactions of husband and wife are portrayed with consummate skill by both players, especially Frieda Inescort, whose clear diction, and unpretentious way of always doing the right thing are most effective. Roland Young is a constant source of amusement as the romantic AngloIndian, and it is impossible not to enjoy his drolleries and witticisms. Alice Brady, voluble and fussy, appears as his sister, a designing creature whose idea of dieting is to eat so much in between meals that at mealtimes one cannot eat anything at all. Olivia de Havilland provides a perfect picture of youthful infatuation and is another link in * the amazing chain of emotional experience which has been crowded nto a spring day by a dramatist with a real sense of comedy and a shrewd insight into human nature. Directed by Archie Mayo. A Cosmopolitain Picture. * * ■! * *

“Aren’t Men Beasts,” the screen version of one of London’s most successful stage farces, introduces a new comedy team to the screen in the persons of Robertson Hare and Alfred Drayton, who appeared in the original London production of the play. It will begin at the Majestic Theatre on Saturday. Billy Milton, June Clyde, Judy Kelly, Ruth Maitland and other well-known players appear in this new British comedy. Not since Laurel and Hardy has a team proved so popular as this new pair. Although Alfred Drayton has appeared in numerous films, this is tire first time he has proved himself a screen comedian of starring calibre. His mannerisms and his bullying of the pathetically downtrodden Hare is comedy of a brilliant kind. Hare, too, long recognized as one of the screen’s leading comics, has found in Drayton his ideal screen partner. His efforts to locate a mole on the back of one of his lady friends produce uproarious situations. The story is all about a dark, vindictive beauty who wants to stop a marriage and Robertson Hare, entangled in the affairs of his son, becomes a victim of misadventure.

Directed by Walter C. Mycroft An Associated British Picture Corporation Production.

A better combination of stars in a thriller than Warner Oland and Boris Karloff cannot be imagined. These two are at the head of the cast in “Charlie Chan at the Opera,” which will be shown at the State Theatre on Friday. This story marks the summit of the wily Chinese sleuth’s career and the acme in mystery entertainment. The film, which features Keye Luke, Charlotte Henry, Thomas Beck, and Margaret Irving in the supporting cast, opens with the murder of an insane asylum guard by Karloff, as. an inmate, whose warped mind recognizes a picture of his wife in a newspaper. Bent on vengeance, the madman completes his escape and goes to the theatre where his wife is appearing in “Faust.” Attacking the baritone, he dons the Mephistopheles costume and usurps the role on the stage, disguised by the costume and mask. Charlie Chan, hot on the trail, appears at the opera, but is unable to prevent two more murders. When the madman’s reign of terror strikes at two young lovers, Chan craftily apprehends him, and, in a surprise denouement, unmasks the real killer. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone. A 20th Century Fox Picture.

Half-backs, singers, co-eds, and gridiron heroes clown on the campus, swing on the football field, dance on the side lines, and romance in the stands in “Pigskin Parade,” the Twentieth Cen-tury-Fox musical football hit now showing at the State Theatre in a double-feature programme. _ Featuring a cast including Stuart Erwin, Johnny Downs, Arline Judge, Betty Grable, Patsy Kelly, Jack Haley, the Yacht Club Boys, Dixie Dunbar, Anthony Martin, and Judy Garland, the film is said to contain a variety of amusement of a high order. The story tells of a small backwoods college, invited by mistake to play Boola-Boola in a big inter-sectional game. Through an error, Yipee University receives the invitation meant for another school in the state. Wide-eyed with amazement, the coach, Jack Haley, and his wife, Patsy Kelly, hastily accept before the bid can be recalled. Aghast at their error, BoolaBoola immediately begin a mammoth publicity campaign extolling the prowess of the Yipee boys and their amazing adeptness at the forward pass. This leads to a series of comedy situations which make a most amusing film. A 20th Century Fox Production. • ♦ » *

“Green Light,” now being shown for an extended season at the Regent Theatre, is an outstanding film. The storydeals mainly with a problem of medical ethics, but includes in its scope a wide range of human interest Errol Flynn plays the part of Dr Paige, a young surgeon who is blamed for the failure of an operation through the fault of another doctor. In shouldering the blame he incurs the hatred of Phyllis Dexter (played by Anita Louise), whose mother’s death was caused by the fatal mistake. To justify his life, and to prove to Phyllis, whom he loves, that he is trying to make up for the tragic mistake she believes he has made, he goes to an obscure laboratory in the Rocky Mountains and risks his life trying to discover a vaccine that will prevent the dreaded spotted fever. Many interesting characters come into the story before the dramatic climax; and included in the cast are Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Margaret Lindsay, Henry O’Neill and Walter Abel. Directed by Frank Borzage, A Warner Bros. Picture.

“Pennies From Heaven,” which comes shortly to the Majestic Theatre, is a musical of the happiest kind. Heading a popular cast are Bing Crosby, Madge Evans, little Edith Fellows, Louis Armstrong and his noted swing band, and Donald Meek. Popular songs in this feature include “So Do I,” “Pennies From Heaven,” “Let’s Call a Heart a Heart,” “One, Two, Button Your Shoe” and “Skeleton in the Closet.” The theme centres around the escapades of a wandering troubadour. Larry Poole (played by Bing Crosby) comes out of prison after serving an undeserved term and brings with him a letter from a condemned murderer, addressed to the

family of the murderer’s victim. This leads Larry to Susan (Madge Evans) and Patsy (Edith Fellows) and later to a share in a “haunted” house which he transforms into a roadside inn. Adventures and misadventures, in rapid succession, bring Larry and his new comrades towards romance and, happiness. “Pennies From Heaven” has music and comedy, and the support of an admirable cast of players. Directed by Norman Z. McLeod. A Columbia PicitaP