AT THE THEATRES

Southland Times, Issue 23946, 12 October 1939, Page 14

AT THE THEATRES

POPULAR REVIVAL FOR THE REGENT Drama, romance, and the music of Victor Herbert’s greatest operetta are blended in “Naughty Marietta,” the spectacular romance of .Creole days in New Orleans, which returns to the Regent Theatre on Saturday with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. The photoplay is based, on the Victor Herbert masterpiece in which Emma Trentini and Orville Harrold first starred on the stage. Such song hits as “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life,” “I’m Falling in Love With Someone,” “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp,” “The Italian Street Song,” and all the original music of the operetta is retained with new lyrics by Gus

Kahn. Prominent in a large cast in support of Miss MacDonald and Nelson Eddy are Frank Morgan as Governor D’Annard, Elsa Lanchester (Mrs Charles Laughton) as Madame D’Annard, Douglas Dumbrille, Joseph Cawthorne, Cecilia Parker, Walter Kingsford, Greta Meyer and Akim Tamirofl. Among the dramatic highlights are the flight from Paris, the battle with the pirates at sea, the capture of the Casquette Girls, the march of the scouts through the Everglades, the routing of the pirates, the New Orleans marriage market where the girls are sold in marriage, the sensational “confession” of the princess, and the disillusionment of her officer lover. Directed by W. S. Van Dyke. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture.

A lively and entertaining theme—the extreme animosity between an American and an Englishman—is developed in “So This Is London,” starring Robertson Hare and Alfred Drayton, beginning at the State Theatre on Friday. Sparkling with humour and alive with action, “So Tins Is London” is a triumph for Hare and Drayton as a comedy team. The film is based on the play of the same name by George M. Cohan, and provides unlimited and joyous fun. Berton Churchill is portrayed as the irate American who is forced to leave the United States and visit England for business reasons. His subtle comments about “those Englishers” are an entertainment in themselves. Hare takes the part of a solicitor for a concern interested in a revolutionary formula for a new type of bread, which is the pivot on which the story turns. Hare is delegated to represent his company on a mission to America. He comes in contact with Churchill as the head of the American firm, with which he has to deal. Churchill immediately expresses his disapproval of visiting England, but the efficient Hare uses his persuasive powers with surprising effects.

Warner Baxter gives a notable performance in “Return of the Cisco Kid,” which begins at the Civic Theatre on Friday. The picture is full of action and excitement, open-air adventure and clashes with the law, tempered with romance and comedy. The story is exhilarating. Lynn Bari and her grandfather, Henry Hull, a hot-tempered old colonel, are about to acquire possession of a western ranch, when the sheriff, Robert Barrat, twitches it from under their noses together with the deposit money. Along comes Robin Hood-Bax-ter, with his henchmen, Cesar Romero and Chris-Pin Martin, who are filled with virtuous indignation at the tactics of the villain, and lose no time in rounding him up. But for all that it is Kane Richmond, and not the fascinating Kid, who gains the lady’s hand. There is plenty of galloping and shooting against a beautiful background of prairie, hills and valleys, with an initial flight of the Three Musketeers from a firing squad in Mexico, and a final flirt of sombreros as they, their work done in Arizona, ride back across the border to tempt fate once more in the southern land.

Directed by Herbert Leeds. 20th Century-Fox Picture.

Insane goings-on in a European watering-place, in which the chief participants are a millionaire hypochondriac, an American heiress, a scheming Russian prince, a romantic-minded bus driver and an often-married lady pistol champion, make up the action of the new Martha Raye-Bob Hope comedy, “Never Say Die,” opening at the Majestic Theatre on Friday. Played by Hope, Miss Raye, Alan Mowbray, Andy Devine and Gaie Sondergaard, respectively, the above-mentioned characters get into a royal mixup when Hope, who thinks he has only a month to live, marries the desperate Miss Raye in order to save her from the prince her father has chosen for her mate. The situation takes a turn for the worse when Devine, the American bus driver Miss Raye thinks she loves, insists on making the honeymoon a threesome. Directed by Elliott Nugent. A Paramount Picture.

“This Man is News,” now showing at the Majestic Theatre, has a newspaper office as a background. Barry K. Barnes appears as a reporter who is so full of his personal theory that a man who has turned King’s Evidence following a jewel robbery will be dealt with by his fellows, that he neglects another assignment in order to follow the man when he is released from custody at an early hour. He is discharged subsequently by his angry editor, who shows utter scorn at the suggestion that

the man should ever be killed by his former confederates. The editor changes his opinion in the middle of the night, however, when the reporter telephones to say that the crime has actually happened. From this point the story moves swiftly to its climax. An excellent performance is also given by Valerie Hobson, as the wife of the reporter; and Alastair Sim, as the Scottish editor, gives a very clever characterization.

Directed by David MacDonald. A Paramount Picture.

In his latest comedy, Ive Got a Horse,” now showing at the State Theatre, Sandy Powell is a bookmaker who becomes a racehorse owner when he accepts a horse as “stake money, and the lucky punter loses, leaving him with the horse on his hands. So he decides to race the animal. One of the really amusing incidents from the film is a courtroom scene when Sandy is accused of stealing the horse. Fighting the case himself, he stalks into Court in wig and gown, and makes his speech to judge and jury as though it were an everyday occurrence. There is a strong plot in the screen story and comedy is obtained from the situations thus giving the comedian greater chance to characterize the role. Many of the racing scenes were shot at the Northolt Race Track, near London, where pony racing takes, place. A unit worked for a week shooting the scenes. The surrounding countryside was used for scenes of Sandy training his horse. Important supporting roles are taken by Norah Howard, Felix Aylmer and Evelyn Roberts. Directed by Herbert Smith. A G.B.D. Picture. ■J # * *

The film version of A. J. Cronin’s best-selling novel, “The Citadel,” is now showing at the Regent Theatre. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced this film at its British studio in Denham, England, with Robert Donat and Rosalind Russell in the leading roles. A cast of more than 100 players appears in support, including the well-known English players Ralph Richardson, Rex Harrison, Emlyn Williams and Penelope Dudley-Ward. The dramatic story of a young and obscure physician in the Welsh collieries is revealed on the screen with all the emotional power of Cronin’s novel. A whole village was reconstructed for one sequence and the depths of a coal mine are shown in another. When the mine collapses, Donat descends into the pit in one of the most thrilling scenes filmed. The surgeon's fight to retain his ethical code, his love for the school mistress and their marriage, followed by their struggles together in adversity and wealth combine

to form a work rich in emotional power and dramatic intensity. A fine story, admirably directed, makes this one of the outstanding pictures of the year. Directed by King Vidor. Metro-Gcldwyn-Mayer Picture.

Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea are starred together in an exciting film now showing at the Civic Theatre. “Adventures in Manhattan” relates the escapades of a prominent detective story author who presumes to predict the theft of various art and jewel treasures. Furthermore, he is assigned by a newspaper to write about these crimes-to-be in a series of special articles. It is then that he meets Jean Arthur, star of a play still in production, and launches the adventures that carry the two through every conceivable romantic and melodramatic complication that two young lovers on Broadway could possibly get into. McCrea appears as the redoubtable young mystery author, and Reginald Owen is seen as the suave criminal genius who poses as' Miss Arthur’s theatrical producer in order to camouflage his carefully-planned thefts.