ENTERTAINMENTS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 58, Issue 4187, 22 May 1939, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

AT THE REGENT. AGAIN TO-NIGHT AND TUESDAY. “IN OLD CHICAGO.” Superb screen spectacle, with all the elements that go into the making of great entertainment, was hailed last Saturday night by an enthusiastic audience at the Regent Theatre as Darryl F. Zanuck's awesome “In Old Chicago” came to a breath-taking conclusion. Up to now, Hollywood seemed to have made the most of all of the classic struggles between man and the elements, but not since the “Birth of a Nation” has such completely overwhelming* grandeur graced a motion picture screen. That the grandeur in this 20th Century-Fox production is derived from the relentless fury of an unrestrained holocaust which wiped out a middle-Wes-tern metropolis of a rougher and tougher era in our history, is only part of the film. The true beauty lies in the carefully manipulated love story, capably written, directed and acted in the foreground of what, for want of words, this reviewer will have to call sheer stupendousness. Literary, production and technical wizardry stick out all over this master work—and in that, the guiding hand of Darryl F. Zariuck is evident. The story leading up to the burning of the city on the night of October 9th. 1871, is lusty, powerful and authentic to an infinitestimal point of careful research and scenic detail.

AT THE EMPIRE

AGAIN TO-NIGHT AND TUESDAY. “PAINTED DESERT.” Most people who read have some slight acquaintance with the beautiful scenery pf America’s far-famed “Painted Desert” in Arizona, but its screening at the local Empire Theatre at present is a positive revelation. So much for the scenery. Suffice to sa’ 7 that the cast of actors and actresses chosen for the portrayal of “Painted Desert” has been admirably chosen. At the head is popular George O’Brien, than whom there is no more accomplished Western star at the present time. “Painted Desert” is an action-packed yarn of the Great West, and it has much to do with the activities of a gang of mine thieves and how they are brought to book for their depredations. A good list of supports is included in this programme.