AMUSEMENTS THE REGENT

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVII, Issue 21403, 21 July 1939, Page 14

AMUSEMENTS THE REGENT

-BLACK LIMELIGHT"—"FRESHMAN YEAR” The final screenings of "Black Limelight" and “Freshman Year" will be this afternoon and to-night. This dual feature programme is entertainment de luxe and beautifully balanced to provide a bill of fare second to none. Hopalong Cassidy Again Romance and war hit the range country at the same time in the new “Hopalong Cassidy" out-door action thriller. “The Frontiersmen," which comes to-morrow to the Regent Theatre with William Boyd, George Hayes and Russell Hayden cast in familiar roles. The story concerns the "cyclone" that hits the region around “Bar 20.” when a beautiful young teacher arrives to put the local school on its feet and is immediately tom between the attentions of ranchers on noe side and rustlers posing as law-abiding citizens) on the other. When the situation finally gets out of control. “Hoppy" settles old scores with the rustlers by winning both the teacher and the school-kids over to his side in a tight-to-the-finish with the law-breakers. Evelyn Venable and Clara Kimball Young head the feminine wing of the cast and, as an added attraction, the picture presents tlie famous St. Brendan Boys Choir, the members of which arc cast us the school-kids. "Tom Sawyer. Detective” Life along the banks of the Mississippi during the halcyon days of the last century will be relived on the screen in "Tom Sawyer, Detective." a faithful and true-to-life film version of the well-beloved Mark Twain classic. With such never-to-be-forgotten native characters as “Huckleberry Finn," “Aunt Sally Phelps." “Uncle Silas," "Jupiter Dunlap,” “Sheriff Slocum" and of course, “Tom Sawyer” himself involved in such human situations as only Twain's mind could devise, "Tom Sawyer, Detective," presents a picture of robust youth at its most daring and lovable. Prominent in the cast, are Donald O'Connor, Billy Cook. Elisabeth Risdon and Porter Hall. MA JESTIC I 111 ATltl. ‘A YANK AT OXFORD” "A Yank at Oxford." which I. showing for the last tune to-night al the Majestic, offers Robert Taylor his most convincing role to date, and more than repays Metro-Goldwyn-Ma.ver for the time and effort spent in producing in England picture:; equal in calibre to any made in Hollywood In present Taylor in the title role as the cocky, all-star athlete who comes to Oxford to “teach the natives” and himself learns much in return. “A Yank at Oxford" affords the star his greatest opportunity to demonstrate his athletic ability. his flair for comedy, and his ability to handle

genuinely dramatic scenes. Lionel Barrymore, as Taylor's father, and Maureen O'Sullivan, as the English undergraduate whom the hero meets at Oxford, lend their accustomed polished performances. “Men With Wings” “Men With Wings,” which has been produced entirely in technicolour. must rank as the greatest aviation picture ever made. It is really a cavalcade of the air, for it gives a bird’s I eye view of the remarkable progress made by flying over three decades. Much labour, huge expense and exhaustive research was employed by Paramount in the making of this romantic history of aviation and the personal story of two men and a woman, produced and directed by William A. Wellman, a flying ace himself, who directed the silent picture | “Wings.” The story pursues a dual them, narrated agains' a slig'e but advancing historic?! background, and traces the exciting stow cf .he conquest of the air from the short but epocal hop of Wilbur and Orville Wright in their home-made aeroplane i over the sand dunes at Kitty Hawk, interpolating briefly in calendar mode the trail blazing feats of famous flights and flyers. Photographed in natural colour, “Men With Wings,” is crammed full of sensational and daring feats in the air by world-famous “stunt" pilots who were specially engaged. It. tells a story of three young pioneers of the i airways who are caught up in the surging current of aviation's march to triumph, and whose lives are bound up with Hie progress ot flying the fictional counterpart of the factual content is a love story. Crammed with excellent performances, Fred McMurray, Ray Milland and Louise Campbell portray the stellar roles in this picture, which also has a fine supporting cast. Fearfully, approvingly or otherwise, the public is tremendously interested in aviation. "Men With Wings" is not only topical, but entertaining, gripping, realistic and thrilling, and is a picture that should not be missed by those in search of good entertainment. The supporting programme includes one of the popular Popeye cartoons. STATE' THEATRE “THE MIKADO” From whatever aspect the produc- I lion be judged. Geoffrey T'oyc's adap- I tation tin technicolour) of the ini-I mortal comic opera "The Mikado," winch begins its season at. the Slate I heutre to-day, is a masterpiece of | technique and surely oi ■ of the five I best films e'er to ionic out of Britain. II is in the realm of spectacle that the film version of “The Mikado" possesses the most obvious advantages o', 'i the orthodox stage presentation. Technicolour is used ..i the production. every scene is a pictui , and many are literally breathtaking. Costumes and settings show a splendour which can hardly have been surpassed in any stage show anywhere. Worthy of special note is th.: er try of "The Mikado." with gold and brown tones predominating among the costumes of the entourage a .d populace, crowded by the glittering Mikado himscF, borne

on his huge litter. The players, most I of whom are steeped in the Gilbert and Sullivan tradition, are uniformly good, and special mention must be made of Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, a part taken by Martyn | Greene. He comes near to stealing | the picture, and tends to dominate any j sc ne in which he appears, unless he shares that scene with Poo-Bah, which j Sydney Granville invests with genu- I ine humour. Nankie-Poo and Yum j Yum, Kenny Baker and Jean Colin, • both sing delightfully, and carry off i the romantic side of 'he piece with I credit. It is greatly to be regretted i that a film does not permit of encores, for judging by the actions of every audience so far the; would have had I such numbers as “The Flowers That i Bloom in the Spring” and “Three j Little Maids from School” repeated two or three times. Opinions may differ as to the wisdom of transferring Gil- [ bert and Sullivan to the screen, but | there can be few who woul cavil at | the way in which “The f likado" has I been treated. THEATRE ROYAL 1 I I ACTION ENTERTAINMENT Mysterious slayings and disappear- I ances in an ceric “ghost housee” that bring thrills, chills and surprises, | alternate with outbursts of hilarious i comedy in “The Missing Guest,” now ! playing at the Theatre Royal. The i plot concerns a haunted mansion, re- I opened after 18 years by Frank Bald- < rich Selmer Jackson), who sneers at I ghosts. With liis wife Linda (Flor-! once Wix), and his step-daughter I Stephanie Kirkland (Constance Moore), he gives a gay fancy dress party which is crashed by Scoop' Hanlon (Paul Kelly), young reporter! intent upon an exclusive story. Larry j Dearden (William Lundigan), Stephanie's half brother, disappears after I announcing that he intends to sleep j in the Blue Room. Two dumb private I detectives, Jake (George Cooper) and Vic (William Wayne), get nowhere ini the search for Dearden. To make j matters worse, Dr Carroll (Edward ; Stanley) is found shot to death the next day in the Blue Room. Scoop finally succeeds in clearing up the I entire mystery and winning the love I of Stephanie as well. A thrilling' exposure of the fake racket, whereby I insurance associations have been robbed of hundreds of thousands of I dollars in America, is promised hi I “Accidents Will Happen." Ronald i Reagan. Hie youthful new star, is featured as an insurance adjuster who i exposes just such gangs as have been [ appealing m the U.S.A, news recentlv ' —