ENTERTAINMENTS

Southland Times, Issue 23826, 25 May 1939, Page 14

ENTERTAINMENTS

REGENT THEATRE “THREE LOVES HAS NANCY” Humour that bubbles up and, indeed, boils over all through the film is the predominating feature of “Three Loves Has Nancy,” the Metro-Gold-wyn-Mayer picture which commenced at the Regent Theatre yesterday. Janet Gaynor, Robert Montgomery, Franchot Tone—any one of these actors would have been sufficient to make a picture good, because each of them, in an individual way, is in the first flight of the profession; but when they are put together they represent three characters who weld together into a harmonious whole and make for glamour, romance, a touch of drama and an abundance of wit and humour. But it is the humour for which those who see the film will remember it most. There is the delicious subtlety of Robert Montgomery, the gay insouciance of Franchot Tone, and the glorious freedom of Janet Gaynor. None of them has ever had a role quite like the one in this film, for, although the theme of “Three Loves Has Nancy” is not original, the presentation is decidedly so. Witticisms flow between the three principals, and from Montgomery to whomever he happens to be speaking at the moment. He is simply irrepressible. Janet Gaynor shows that she, too, has a capacity for the “bon mot.” Franchot Tone is a publisher for the time being, and shows that he can sustain that role just as well as the dozens of others he has performed in since he rose to the front rank of film stars. In fact, some of the most subtly humorous scenes are those in which he seems to glory in his profession.

The supporting programme is a particularly good one. There is a Pete Smith specialty that no dog-lover or, for that matter, no Pete Smith-lover should miss, and, in addition to the news gazettes (one of which shows the Farr-Burman fight) there is a Robert Benchley oddity, “How to Watch Football,” an Our Gang comedy, and an M.-G.-M. miniature. “Tupapaoo.”

STATE THEATRE

“Straight Place and Show,” starring the Ritz Brothers, screens finally at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. today at the State. Madder and merrier than ever, they are the life and soul of the picture, although good support is given by Richard Arlen, Ethel Merman and Phyllis Brooks. “SUEZ” TOMORROW TYRONE POWER, LORETTA YOUNG The flaming drama and romance of great world events are often buried in dusty textbooks until brought to vivid and entertaining life via the vision and showmanship of Hollywood. Until 20th Century-Fox’s research department published the results of its 18 months’ study of the construction of the Suez Canal, what was usually deemed dry-as-dust engineering history turned out to be an extremely colourful story. An enormous amount of delving into the past was necessary in the great task of transferring to celluloid so vast an undertaking. Darryl F. Zanuck, producer of many of the screen’s most memorable achievements, poured all his production skill and the resources of his company into the filming of “Suez.” That the idea of a 100-mile canal through the desert appealed to the imagination of man for thousands of years was revealed in the fact that either Rameses II or Sesostris built such a canal about 1300 B.C. Some 600 years later, the canal had been reclaimed by the shifting sands of the desert. Then Necho tried his hand at the task, but desisted after spending the lives of 120,000 slaves in the attempt. After that the great Darius of Persia redug it but filled it up again. Xerxes reopened it and kept it in operation for a short while. Later, around 250 8.C., it was excavated for the fifth time by Ptolemy 11. It was probably along this canal that Cleopatra tried to escape after the Battle of Actium. With the fall of Cleopatra, Egypt and the canal became Roman property and remained so for about 600 years. The waterway eventually fell into disrepair and it was not until Caliph Omar seized the country that it carried shipping again. Then the Caliph of Irak ordered it filled for strategic reasons, about 750 A.D., and for 1100 years thereafter the Sahara quietly took possession. Then Ferdinand de Lesseps came along to challenge the supremacy of the sand and the marriage of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea was once again celebrated. The task, which was completed in 1869, took 10 years. It required the constant labour of from 25,000 to 30,000 men and it cost about 400,000,000 francs. Small wonder that with this data to inspire the imagination it should appeal to Zanuck as a production “must.” The wonder is not that the picture was attempted at all, but that it was so long in coming. The combination of authentic spectacle and a truly romantic figure are not so common that they can be long neglected. “Suez,” opening tomorrow at the State Theatre, justifies in every thrilling sequence, the mighty effort which was expended in its filming. Tyrone Power, who plays the role of de Lesseps, lives up to every romantic and heroic conception of the brave Frenchman. Loretta Young and Annabella in the leading feminine roles, share top honours with him. More than 4000 extras support a stellar cast including J. Edward Bromberg, Joseph Schildkraut, Henry Stephenson, Sidney Blackmer and a host of others. Box plans are at Begg’s or the State Theatre, telephone 645.

MAJESTIC THEATRE “CHINA SEAS” FINALLY Well produced melodrama is always good entertainment and that is just what “China Seas,” showing finally at the Majestic Theatre today, is. In addition the picture has been vividly produced, the story is intensely exciting, and the action never lags. Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery were never better cast and with them are such sterling performers as C. Aubrey Smith, Lewis Stone and Rosalind Russell to lend them support. Also on this programme will be “The Chaser,” a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture in which Dennis O’Keefe, Ann Morris and Lewis Stone are the featured players. HOPALONG CASSIDY AGAIN MULFORD’S “PRIDE OF THE WEST’ The nineteenth “Hopalong Cassidy”

range romance, “Pride of the West,” will have its first local showing tomorrow at the Majestic Theatre with William Boyd, George Hayes and Russell Hayden heading a large cast of familiar outdoor action players. The story tells of the efforts of “Hopalong Cassidy,” played, of course, by William Boyd, to track down the bandits who rob a Western stage coach of a huge cargo of gold and silver and then try to throw the blame on the coach’s guards “Lucky Jenkins” and “Windy Halliday.” When the guilty men caught by “Hoppy” turn out to be the frontier town’s leading banker and land dealer, the Bar 20 foreman not only clears his friends of suspicion but rids the region of its most dangerous criminals. “King of Alcatraz” is the title of the other action-packed drama on the bill with a cast headed by such screen favourites as Lloyd Nolan, Gail Patrick, J. Carrol Naish, Harry Carey and Porter Hall. The story deals with a daring prison escape engineered by a notorious criminal and his subsequent piracy of a steamer on which he plans to make his get-away to Central America, where he hopes to lose himself. ST. JAMES, GORE Ken G. Hall’s fifteenth production for Cinesound Studios, “Mr Chedworth Steps Out,” which begins at the St. James Theatre, Gore, today, marks the return of Cecil Kellaway from Hollywood. It also marks the introduction to the Australian screen of the family picture so popular now after a surfeit of sophistication. REGENT, GORE O. Henry, who has often been called the greatest of all writers of popular fiction, created the story which has been made into “Doctor Rhythm,” Paramount’s musical comedy starring Bing Crosby, which begins at the Regent Theatre, Gore, today. Also showing is “She’s No Lady,” featuring Ann Dvorak.