ACROSS THE FOOTLIGHTS

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1933, Page 8 (Supplement)

ACROSS THE FOOTLIGHTS

COMING ATTRACTIONS NEW PLYMOUTH THEATRES. the opera house. To-day, Monday and Tuesday: “Adorable” (Janet Gaynor, Henry Garat and Herbert Mundin). December 6 and 7: “Double Hamess” (William Powell and Ann Harding). December 8,9, 11, 12 and 13: The Masquerader” (Ronald Colman and Elissa <' Landi). December 14: Commercial Travellers Christmas Cheer Concert. December 15, 16, 18, 19 and 20: “Tugboat Annie” (Marie Dressier and Wallace Beery). • December 21 and 23: “A Bedtime Story” (Maurice Chevalier). December 26 and 29: “The Desert Song” (John Boles), return visit. January 3, 4 and 5: “Another Language” (Robert Montgomery and Helen Hayes). THE REGENT. December 2 to 5: “The Crash” (Ruth Chatterton and George Brent). December 6 to 8: “Men ■ Outside” (all star) and “Son of the Border” (all star). December 9 to 12: “Strictly Personal” (Marjorie Rambeau, Dorothy Jordan and Eddie Quillan). December 13 to 15: “Hold Your Man (Clark Gable and Jean Harlow)!' ' December 16 to 19: “My Lips Betray” (Lillian Harvey). EVERYBODY’S THEATRE. I December 2 to 6: “The Squatter’s Daughter” (Jocelyn Howarth and Grant Lyndsay). December 7 and 8: “The Blind Spot” (Percy Marmont). December 9 to 12: “That’s My Wife” ■ (Claude Allister and Bette AstelD; and “Should a Doctor Tell ?” (Anna Neagle, Norah Baring and Basil Gill). December 13 to 15: “Hindlewakes.” December 16 to 19: “The Gilded Cage.” December 2' 1 to 22: “The Barton Mystery.” STOCK GAMBLING DRAMA < REGENT CURRENT ATTRACTION. RUTH CHATTERTON-GEORGE BRENT. The hectic days of post-war stock gambling, the spectacular crash of the stock market, the ruin of the idle rich who went down with it, are depicted dramatically in “The Crash,” starring Ruth Chatterton and George Brent which opens to-day at the Regent Theatre. Against this colourful back£TDlXZld is vividly told the story of a young couple who have made a fortune in the market, only to lose it, like thousands of others, in the debacle that ended a nation’s gambling for quick riches. Ruth Chatterton as the stockbroker’s wife, and George Brent, in the role of the rapidly rising broker, carry the burden of the drama, which sweeps from the penthouses of Park Avenue to the tropical latitudes of Bermuda and back to the metropolis before the events that engulf the husband and wife, finally run their course. An able supporting cast includes Paul Cavanagh and Lois Wilson. ln “DOUBLE HARNESS” GOOD SOME POLISHED ACTING. WTTJJAM POWELL—ANN HARDING. A high standard of excellence is promised in the RKO-Radio production “Double Harness,” which opens at the Opera House, New Plymouth, on Wednesday. Lavish settings, smart dialogue, dramatic action and, above all, polished acting of a remarkably high order by the two well-known artists, Ann Harding and William Powell, should make the ‘ film deservedly popular. William Powell gives a fine character study of a deboniar bachelor, much averse to matrimony, who is tricked into marriage by a purposeful young woman, played by Ann Harding. What promises to be a successful marriage is almost ruined ’ when Powell finds out his w:'?’s deception, and the resultant smoothing out, of the matrimonial difficulty provides entertainment of an excellent and amusing kind. ‘THE SQUATTEfR’S DAUGHTER’ EVERYBODY’S THEATRE TO-DAY. GOOD ACTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY After meeting with great success wherever it has been shown in Australia and New Zealand, “The Squatter’s Daughter,” the film calculated to place Australian pictures on the entertainment map, opens at Evvrybody’s Theatre today. Splendid photograph and keen direction do much to lift it far above the plane of previous Australian pictures.

The spirit of outdoor Australia is con- ' veyed to the screen by some magnificent scenes of sheep droving, while pictures of a raging bush fire rival anything of .similar scope which has yet appeared on the screen. The leading role is filled by Jocelyn Howarth and others in the cast are Grant Lyndsay, Fred MacDonald and John Warwick.

t JANET GAYNOR RETURNS OPERA HOUSE FEATURE TO-NIGHT. DELIGHTFUL LIGHT ROMANCING. To bewitching music Janet Gaynor and Henry Garat sing and flirt their way along the primrose path of love in “Adorable,” which opened at the Opera House, New Plymouth, last night. Love has been seen in many guises and disguises, but seldom in so whimsical an attire as in this picture “Adorable.” Janet is a princess who escaped from the palace to attend a servants’ ball, and Henry is a military officer who found her there. Besides being romance, “Adorable” is comedy and spectacle. The royal court scenes, the ballroom, the uniforms, the band, the long vista of corridor after corridor, the musical kitchen, and all the other frills of royalty are spectacle enough; and Herbert Mundin’s sneeze provides the comedy. Also, there is an original and refreshing vein of comedy in Garat’s successive promotions, and in the medals with which the Prime Minister (C. Aubrey Smith) occasionally adorns his own bosom. There are good supports. • PERCY MARMONT RETURNS GENTLEMAN CROOK DRAMA. “BLIND SPOT” FOR EVERYBODY’S. From Warner Bros. First National Pictures London studios comes The Blind Spot,” which screens at Everybody s Theatre on Thursday and Friday. Percy Marmont famous American and English screen actor is the lead and he is supported by a cast of well-known British players. The story was placed in the hands of the well-known author mad playwright, Roland Pertwee. Expensive sets were constructed for “The Blind Spot” to .represent such well-known places as Scotland Yard, Lincoln s Inn, the Inner Temple and the vault’, of a big bank. Exterior scenes of Croydon aerodrome itself and Scotland Yard form an impressive background. The supporting cast includes Muriel Angelus. FIRST FILM OF ITS TYPE “ACQUAINTANCE CLUBS” THEME. NOVEL PICTURE FOR THE REGENT. Said to be the first movie of its type, “Strictly Personal,” the Paramount’s drama which plays upon the theme of “get-acquainted clubs” opens at The Regent next Saturday with Marjorie Rambeau, Eddie Quillan and Dorothy Jordan in leading roles. The “get-ac-quainted clubs” of America, where bashful Romeos are brought in contact with shy Juliets, have inspired numerous articles in newspapers and magazines, but they have never before inspired a motion picture. The action of “Strictly Personal” centres around a couple who run such an enterprise—an escaped convict, who has had his face remodelled by a plastic surgeon, and his career remodelled by his own desire to go straight, and his wife. These two, aided by a young woman who is their ward, conduct one of these clubs. A BRILLIANT PICTURE RONALD COLMAN TRIUMPH. “THE MASQUERADER” STARTS SOON Impersonation of one man by another, as the basis of a story or play, has never been so skilfully handled as in “The Masquerader,” the talkie version of which begins at the Opera House, New Plymouth, next Saturday. With Ronald Colman and Elissa Landi in the leading parts, the picture promises to eclipse in popularity the famous drrmatisation of Katherine Cecil Thurston’s novel upon which it is based. Modem scenes of political turmoil, riot, and Parliamentary crises, impossible in the play, add materially to the success of the modem version. The picture is another triumph for the deservedly popular Ronald Colman, who handles with consummate ease and by his histrionic ability alone the conflicting double part of John Chilcote, the member of Parliament, reduced by drugs to a physical and mental wreck, and John Loder, his cousin, who saves the family honour in a crisis by stepping into Chilcote’s shoes, but shamefully neglects Chilcote’s unofficial wife in favour of the hitherto disregarded real wife, whom, of course, he eventually wins, after Chilcote’s death.- ♦ # * * Peggy Hopkins Joyce has married and divorced four husbands —Everett Archer, Sherburne Topkins, Stanley Joyce and Count Gosta Momer. Despite these matrimonial calamities, she is not a bit dismayed. She says, “You can’t get along in this world without a man. Every woman is entitled to a solid, lasting happiness. I’ve married unsuccessfully four times. My husbands were gentlemen; they were kind, but, unfortunately, our temperaments were unsuited. I divorced each of them in turn because marriage did not give me what I was looking for. But that does not mean that I have been disillusioned.” Personally, we are driven to the conclusion that if Miss Joyce has married four times and has not found what she is looking for, that substance is entirely illusory. ,

ATTRACTIONS AT HAWERA SELECTION OF GOOD PICTURES. OPERA HOUSE ATTRACTIONS. To-night and Monday: “Peg o’ My Heart” (Marion Davies). „ December 5 and 6: “Farewell to Arms (Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper). December 7 and 8: “That’s My Wife (mentioned under New Plymouth) and “The Whirl of Wonderland” (dance recital by Miss Stock s pupils). GRAND THEATRE, HAWERA. To-night and Monday: “Madison Square Garden” (Thomas Meighan) and “The World and the Flesh” (George Bancroft). STORY OF IRELAND “PEG O’ MY HEART” TO-NIGHT. DELIGHTFUL SCENES OF ERIN. A touching story of the fisherfolk of Ireland comes to the Opera House, wera, to-night, under the title of “Peg o’ My Heart.” The name part is taken by Marion Davies, a pretty and vivacious actress. The story has delightful scenes from the lives of the fisherfolk of the coast of Ireland—their simple habits and old-fashioned superstitions. The story of “Peg o’ My. Heart,” which as a play captured the hearts of the world’s theatregoers, is too well-known to be repeated. There is a dramatic climax amid the surroundings of an Irish fisherfolk gathering, which must be seen to be appreciated. The part of heroine is alluringly portrayed, and the atmosphere of the humble lives of Ireland’s coastal inhabitants can be felt in many of the scenes. The piny as a whole will leave one with the feeling that riches are not after all the main object in life and happiness cannot be bought.

“A FAREWELL TO ARMS” TRIUMPH FOR . HELEN HAYES. GOOD STORY FOR OPERA HOUSE. Hollywood has a habit of imitation, and the world in general a habit of ing that this screen actress is like that screen actress. But nobody, has yet discovered that any other artist resembles the amazingly able, exquisitely poised Helen Hayes, who scores a personal triumph in the talking screen version of “A Farewell to Arms,” which begins on Tuesday at the Opera House, Hawera. In this play, taken from the novel by Ernest Hemingway, are passion, sacrifice, misunderstanding, suffering and devotion; and Helen Hayes illustrates each phase with her own infinite capacity for portraying emotion. Gary Cooper is the leading man. Beautiful and rare settings, clever acting by a number of people, including Adolphe Menjou, Jack Laßue and Henry Annetta, and a story that stimulates the imagination are all parts of “A Farewell to Arms.” The unconventional theme is delicately handled.

DOUBLE FEATURE BILL MATRIMONIAL MIX UP. SMART STORY IN DIALOGUE. A double-feature talking picture bill, made up of the farce-comedy “That’s My Wife” and the short and dramatic story. “Should a Doctor Tell?” starts at Everybody’s Theatre on Saturday next. That favourite light comedian, Claude Allister, who was so popular as “Spoofy” in “Three Live Ghosts,” now scores for the first time as a “star” in “That’s My Wife,” a matrimonial mix-up constructed along very humorous lines, with a smart snappy story told in dialogue. Betty Astell and Pettingill, the famous Lancashire comedian, are featured. Ann Neagle, seen here recently . “The Little Damzel,” Basil Gill, and Norah Baring are responsible for fine work in the dramatic classic “Should a Doctor Tell? a story of an eminent doctor who regarded confidences made to him in his consulting room as sacred.

QUESTIONNAIRE ON STAIRS GRETA GARBO THE LEAST LIKED. MEN VOTE FOR RUTH CHATTERTON. When Susan Talbot—a noted Hollywood writer—held a little private questionnaire anent the film stars, the results were rather surprising. These are the questions she requested the voters to answer; and here are the answers:— 1. Your favourite screen actress ? Answer: Joan Crawford 1, Norma Shearer 2. 2. What screen actress do you dislike most ? Answer: Greta Garbo 1, Ruth Chatterton 2, Constance Bennett 3. (It is interesting to note that the men voters place Ruth Chatterton as third favourite in replying to question 1). 3. Who is the most beautiful screen actress ? Answer—Men voters: Janet Gaynor. Women voters: Billie Dove and Irene Dunne, equal first. 4. Who is the least beautiful ? Answer: Polly Moran 1, Katherine Hepburn 2, Ann Harding 3. . 5. Who is the best actress ? Answer—Women voters: Helen Hayes 1, Norma Shearer 2. Men voters: Ruth Chatterton 1, Norma Shearer 2. 6. Who has the most sex appeal ? Answer—Women voters: Jean Harlow 1, Mae West 2. Men voters: Jean Harlow 1, Marlene Dietrich 2. 7. Who has the least sex appeal ? Answer —Women voters: Zasu Pitts 1, Ann Harding 2. Men voters: Zasu Pitts 1, Myrna Loy 2. 8. Who has the most charming personality ? Answer —Women voters: Norma Shearer 1, Helen Hayes 2, Janet Gaynor 3. Men voters: Norma Shearer 1, Janet Gaynor 2, Kay Francis 3. 9. Who would you like to have as a friend ? Answer —’Women voters: Joan Crawford 1, Norma Shearer 2. Men voters: Ann Harding and Norma Shearer, equal 1, Una Merkel 2. '

Harpo Marx is going to Russia to appear in the Russian Art Theatre in Moscow, now that he has completed work in “Duck Soup,” the latest Marx Brothers’ picture for Paramount. Harpo will not travel through Germany. The trip is the result of an invitation received from the director of the Moscow theatre. Harpo will appear without salary. He is anxious to see Russia, he says, and wants to try playing in pantomime before audiences which do not understand English. # * * *

Buck Jones, the cowboy movie actor, must be one of the most admired men in ' Hollywood—judging from his fans. They have an organised club, “The Buck Jones Rangers.” The total number of Rangers is not known, but one community in California alone numbers 3700 boys, with a band consisting of thirty-six instruments. « « * «

The great comedian Charlie Chaplain each years gives a prize of a gold watch to the winner of the basket-balancing contest held by the basket carriers of Borough. Market, London. Chaplin, of course, was born m London, and has always retained, a soft spot for his home town and its inhabitants. "

A GALAXY OF SPORTSMEN “MADISON SQUARE GARDEN.” BANCROFT IN SECOND FILM. “Madison Square Garden,” which will be shown at the Grand Theatre, Hawera, to-night, is a story of the building which has been celebrated as America’s greatest scene of indoor sport, in particular boxing and wrestling. Featured in the film are whirlwind bouts full of spectacular incident. One or two of the characters have taken - notable part in fistic sport the world over. Thomas Meighan, Jack Oakie and others are in the cast. Such famous characters as Jack Johnson, the famous coloured boxer, and other highlights in the sporting world will be seen. An adventure story of the hectic days during the Russian revolution is the picture starring George Bancroft at the Hawera Grand Theatre to-night and Monday. Bristling with tense dramatic thrills, “The World and the Flesh” provides Bancroft with his best characterisation to date.

LOVERS IN “REEL” LIFE MARRIED IN REALITY. ROMANCE FROM HOLLYWOOD. The screen’s newest pair of lovers, who are also lovers in real life, are Ruth Chatterston and George Brent, who will be seen together on the screen for the second time in the First National picture, “The Crash,” which comes to the Regent Theatre to-day. Movie fans the world over are no doubt interested in the details of how this front-page romance between the two actors originally started. Here’s the story: The two first met when the Hollywood executives of First National Pictures, seeking a leading man for Ruth Chatterton in her first starring picture under the Warner Bros, banner, decided to include a screen test of George Brent among the dozens, of other stage and screen actors who were in Hollywood at the time. So impressed was Miss Chatterton with the acting ability and the handsome features of Brent that she immediately chose him to make love to her in “The Rich Are Always With Us.” A mutual admiration for each other’s work in this picture ripened into a very personal friendsihp. They talked over their parts in between takes on the set and even carried their discussions to the luncheon table. Another thing that helped strengthen the close bonds between them was the delightful sense of humour that each possessed. They also found themselves liking the same things and mutually disliking others. What better setting could Cupid ask for? By one of those rare coincidences, Brent plays the part of Miss Chatterton’s husband in “The Crash,” although it was not until after production had been completed on this picture that the two players announced their engagement to the world—an announcement that was followed shortly after by their marriage. CLARK GABLE’S WORRIES TROUBLED BY ADMIRERS. ACCOSTED BY STRANGE GIRLS. A wan, crippled girl edged her way across the street in front of Clark Gable’s home when that actor recently emerged from his front door en route to the studio. Her every step was apparently a drag on her failing energy; her face writhed with pain of her attempt to hurry. Even so it looked as if Gable would be gone before she could reach his car. So she cried out his name. Clark turned, hesitated—and waited. Ordinarily he flees when he is accosted by strange girls, for Gable is shy, despite his two marriages and his years of public idolatry. But he could not run from this cripple; such an act would be more than cowardly—it would be raddish. So he waited. Dragging her lame limb torturously, she fought her way toward him. He moved to meet her and offered his arm, pity in his eyes and sympathy framed on his lips. He sought for words, even as he wondered why she had called to him. Then a sudden transition took place. The girl dropped her crutches. Her face wreathed in smiles. She stood upright, and her two hands grasped Gable’s arm firmly. “At last I’m near you!” she cried. “At last I have touched you Gone were the crutches, the lame leg, the pained expression. No, it was not a miraculous cure; it was simply the girls ruse to get near the man she adored. This is just an example of the extraordinary lengths to which film-mad girls will go to attract, even momentarily, the attention of their dream-princes. No star since Rudolph Valentino has been so beset by designing women as has Clark Gable. One of the most amusing letters ever received by a film actor was that addressed to Douglas Fairbanks, Sen., by a South African woman, the well-educated wife of a tribal chief. She invited him to make his headquarters at her home on his next lion-hunt-ing trip, and ended, “I know you are married, but here man may have more than one wife. I will be your wife, if only for the few months you may hunt in Africa.” Edmund Lowe had a few embarrassing moments when his wife’s French maid fell desperately in love with him. She made her feelings for Edmund so painfully clear that in the end he had to get his wife, Lilyan Tashman, to discharge the girl. The maid confessed her love for Edmund, and refused to leave the house. A threatened call for the police made her change

The following story sounds a little tall, but it is a good one. When Heather Angel sneezed during a scene in “Berkeley Square” there was a disastrous train of consequences. The sneeze burst open a seam in the tight-fitting costume that she was wearing, and two wardrobe girls, who were just preparing to leave, were detained to make repairs. The delay caused one of the girls to miss a dinner engagement with her young man, who, being hot-headed and unreasonable, dashed off and married her blonde rival. The other girl arrived home just too late to catch a burglar walking off with everything she owned. ' The make-up girl, who had to remain to repair the wig that flew off with the sneeze, ran into a police car in her hurry to make up time, and landed in a police court. The delay held up the whole cast, and is supposed to have cost over 1000 dollars.

They are making a film in England featuring the Prince of Wales. It will be composed of all the motion pictures ever taken of him at home and abroad, and will give the public a good idea of the busy and exacting life he has led. The proceeds will go to charity.