AMUSEMENTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLI, Issue 20340, 12 February 1936, Page 13

AMUSEMENTS

"LADDIE” AT STATE FINE GENE STRATTON-PORTER STORY Sentimental as an old lace valentine or a gay 90’s waltz ballad, “Laddie,” which opens at the State Theatre to-day, manages, by sincere direction, by the great screen play of Ray Harris and Dorothy Yost, and by sterling acting, to achieve pathos without bathos, comedy without forced draft, and an artistic dignity belying its title and its origin. Offering much of the same earthy, homely flavour, it is a far better picture than “Anne of Green Gables.” The sensation of the new piece is the child, Virginia Weidler, in the role of "Little Sister,” a youngster the exact opposite of Shirley Temple, who lacks none of that star’s histrionic gifts. The theme of the story is young love beset by parental obstacles. John Beal, the son of Indiana farmers, who are proud of the humble calling, and Gloria Stuart, daughter of an austere Tory (Donald Crisp), who is mourning a renegade son, carry the romance. The coming of the prodigal son, done by William Bakewell, to the Indiana homestead, motivates the obvious reconciliation. Indiana country life in the hoopskirt era has been faithfully captured by the production, the comedy therefrom is easy and natural, and little Virginia turns in laugh after laugh. “UNDER THE PAMPAS MOON" COLOURFUL ARGENTINE FILM In “Under the Pampas Moon,” which opens to-night at the Regent Theatre, the popular Warner Baxter portrays an Argentine Pampas gaucho who can ride, throw the boleadora, sing, dance and woo the ladies more proficiently than any of his comrades—a role far more colourful and romantic than the original “Cisco Kid.” Co-starring with Warner Baxter in this colourful production, Is Ketti Gallian, who sprang into instant popularity in her first American picture, “Marie Galante.” Miss Gallian portrays the role of a beautiful cabaret entertainer from Paris who, bound for an engagement in Buenos Aires, Argentina, meets Baxter when her plane becomes disabled and lands in the vast expanse of the pampas. Baxter falls madly in love with the beautiful “angel,” but Ketti departs for Buenos Aires, where later their romance flowers amid exciting adventures and conflicting emotions. Veloz and Yolanda, the celebrated dance team that has long been a favourite in South America and the United States, are featured in the film in a new sensation “The Cobra Tango.” “Under the Pampas Moon” was. produced by B.G. DeSyva for Fox Film and directed by James Tinling. The supporting cast includes John Miljan, J. Carrol Naish and Soledad Jiminez, among others. MAJESTIC THEATRE “LET’S LIVE TO-NIGHT” The charm and beauty of the Mediterranean setting in “Let’s Live Tonight,” which opens at the Majestic matinee to-day, provides an entrancing background for the captivating love story the film unfolds. Co-starring Lilian Harvey, who has never appeared more beautiful, and the sauve, continental Tullio Carminati, fresh from his recent triumph in “One Night of Love,” “Let’s Live To-night” is a delightful entertainment, handsomely mounted and lavishly produced. It is gratifying to find that Hollywood has at last discovered a vehicle worthy of the remarkable talents of Lilian Harvey. Victor Schertzinger, the great director of “One Night of Love,” deserves much praise for the highly diverting, spontaneous and exhilarating tempo which he Infused into the romantic goings-on. It is he, too, who also wrote the lovely score for “Let’s Live To-night.” “Love Passes By,” the hit tune is sung by Tullio Carminati with great effect and remarkable voice. In brief, the story concerns a young American girl, Kay Routledge, vacationing on the Riviera, who falls in love with the handsome Nick Kerry (Tullio Carminati). They enjoy a

short but arduous romance, after which the cynical bachelor is on his way to new conquests. The girl cannot forget him. even after she meets another man who falls deeply in love with her. Nicky returns, a chastened lover, ready to beg forgiveness, when he discovers that her sweetheart and present fiance is his younger brother. Needless to say, the romantic tangle is satisfactorily unravelled in a punch