AMUSEMENTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20586, 27 November 1936, Page 11

AMUSEMENTS

REGENT THEATRE CLOSED FOR 10 DAYS As a result of the damage done to the Regent Theatre when a concrete retaining wall at the back of the building collapsed on Wednesday morning, it was decided yesterday to close for 10 days to enable the damaged rear wall and the proscenium to be fully repaired. After an inspection by the Borough Engineer on Wednesday morning, it was decided that the theatre should remain open provided the damaged proscenium was shored up by heavy baulks of timber. The engineer examined the premises at 5 o’clock on Wednesday evening, and considered that it was safe to allow the public to enter, no one, however, being allowed within 30 feet of the stage. A further inspection was made yesterday morning, when it was discovered that a slight movement had taken place during the night. The manager of the theatre. Mr J. B. Smythe, then decided to close the premises until the building was restored to normal, this step being considered advisable in the interests of public safety. It is probable that the rear wall of the theatre will be totally demolished and rebuilt some three feet further back into the right-of-way, thus permitting the stage to be set further back and so improve the view of patrons in the front stalls. The screen and sound apparatus were shifted yesterday, and the demolition of the rear wall will be commenced to-day.

It is expected that the work will take until to-morrow week, when the programme set down for to-morrow will be screened. The bookings for “Show Boat” have been carried forward to December 5, but patrons so desiring can have their money refunded.

STATE THEATRE “POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL” It’s always an event when Shirley Temple comes to town, but according to advance reports, when "The Poor Little Rich Girl,” the tiny star’s new Fox hit, opens to-day at the State Theatre, it will be a new milestone in entertainment. For. definitely, the talented Temple miss is said to give the performance of her life in this new film and, to top it off, she’s surrounded by a veritable gallery of Hollywood’s brightest stars including Alice Faye, Gloria Stuart, Jack Haley and Michael Whalen. Add to the star and the cast a modern, stirring, romantic story and fve bubbling new song hits by those ace composers. Mack Gordon and Harry Revel, and you have a few of the reasons why "The Poor Little Rich Girl’’ is being hailed so highly. In the picture, Michael Whalen plays Shirley Temple’s immensely wealthy father who is too busy to pay much attention to his little girl. Shirley runs away and, after a series of highly entertaining adventures, is finally “adopted” byMiss Faye and Haley, a pair of out-of-work vaudeville performers hoping for a break on tlv* radio. How Shirley brings success to the team and romance to her daddy and Gloria Stuart, make the brightest, most modern, and most deeply human story the little Temple miss has ever had. MAJESTIC THEATRE “THE WORLD MOVES ON” “The World Moves On” will be : crcened finally at the Majestic to-dav. The film has been described as "the love, story of a century"— and aptly so. It, is all of that—for undying love, of

the kind that endures for generations, is the dominant note from the first scene to the last. Madeleine Carroll and Franchot Tone have the leading roles. “Hearts Divided” To-morrow the main attraction will be Warner Brothers delightful blend jf musical romance and comedy presented in the usual big way, with lavish scenes and brilliant ensembles. "Hearts Divided” is the title and the cast is of exceptional importance. The story depicts the adventures of Jerome Bonaparte as the agent of his brother, Napoleon, in negotiation* for <hc sale of the Louisian:, territory, ano . >

romance with the brilliant and beautiful Betsy Patterson of Baltimore. Never has Marion Davies been more pleasing nor more charming than as this beautiful belle who loses her heart to th' handsome Jerome, whom she knows only as her tutor in French. Dick Powell is equally outstanding a.s the young Frenchman and his romantic and carefree performance adds greatly to the appeal of the film. As the stern Bonaparte, who endeavours to break up the young couple's romance, Claude Rains is excellently cast, and his characterisation of the Little Corporal further enhances his splendid reputation ’s ,1 character actor.

THEATRE ROYAL "COUNTERFEIT” AND "LAWLESS RIDERS" The law of the American frontier was written with blazing guns! Ken Maynard. King of Cowboys, brings anoth*:-? of his stirring dramatisations of the Old West to the Theatre Royal to-night in Columbia’s “Lawless Riders." It is the story of the adventurous men who brought justice to the West. Members of the cast include Geneva Mitchell. Harry Woods and Wally Wales. Since counterfeiting has assumed the proportions of a national menace, the

i veiled activities of the Department of I Justice agents of the U.S. Treasury i have come spectacularly to the fore. Their intrepid operations in law enforcement have now been vividly dra- > matised. Featured in the imposing cast l are Chester Morris. Margot Gra•4 hame. Lloyd Nolan and Marian Marsh. ■ I Briefly, the story relates lhe ad venI tures of T-man Chester Morris, who I gains entry into the counterfeiting ring > ' headed by Nolan and his sweetheart, Margot Grahame, posing as a ruthless I killer. His assignment is complicated . when he falls in love with Miss Mors i, Margot s screen sister, who ha. been ' innocently involved in their activities.