AMUSEMENTS REGENT THEATRE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21559, 23 January 1940, Page 4

AMUSEMENTS REGENT THEATRE

“LUCKY NIGHT’ Myrna Loy and Robert Taylor will be seen for the last time to-day in the comedy special, “Lucky Night.” ; “ Invitation To Happiness ” J With Irene Dunne and Fred Mac- [ Murray co-starred, and a supporting f cast that includes Charlie Ruggles. , William Collier, Sr., Billy Cook and Marion Martin, the poignant heart drama, “Invitation to Happiness” will 4 have its local premiere at the Regent . Theatre to-morrow. The drama tells a heart-searching story of a society ‘ girl, played by Irene Dunne, who falls ’ in love with and marries a prize 1 fighter in the person of Fred Mac- ■ Murray. An emotional problem presents itself immediately because Fred • has to be away from home to follow ' his career as a fighter. An early crisis ■ is reached when Fred is away as a son ■ is born to Irene. She is terribly hurt, • but forgives him. As the years roll by, ■ Fred pursues his fighting career, deter- ; mined to become champion, and the • boy grows up to hate his father be- ■ cause he senses that his mother is i unhappy about his father’s absence. I The drama reaches heights of emo- • tional conflict as Fred tries to win the , boy to his side. - “Grand Jury Secrets,” the associate . feature, is a thrilling, fast-moving story ; of a reporter who gets himself into ; trouble by attempting to reveal the investigations of a Grand Jury panel 1 sitting under the supervision of his ; own brother is told in “Grand Jury Secrets,” to-morrow. MAJESTIC THEATRE “BROADWAY SERENADE” Jeanette MacDonald is as glorious . as ever in her first solo stari ring role in "Broadway Serenade,” ■ , which is now showing at the i Majestic Theatre. Based upon the ■ struggles of a young singer who progresses from cheap nightclubs to musical comedy stardom, the new picture offers Miss MacDonald an opportunity to sing everything from ; grand opera to popular selections written especially for the production. Lew Ayers plays his most important role since his re-entry into films as the star’s composer husband who, while his wife is winning stage : triumphs, hides in the obscurity of playing a piano in a five-and-ten-cent store. Frank Morgan, who is rapidly becoming famous for his interpretations of theatrical producers, essays this role once again. lan Hunter supplies the third point of the love triangle. Outstanding among the songs ; heard in the production are “For Every Lonely Heart,” “Flyin’ High,” "Rhapsody,” “One Look at You,” “Time Changes Everything,” “No ; Time To Argue,” and “Ridin’ on a ’ Rainbow.” Also a highlight are a ‘ medley of old-fashioned songs sung by Miss MacDonald and a chorus, with • Lew Ayres at the piano. STATE THEATRE L - “ALEXANDER’S RAGTIME BAND” i “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” will be ■ screened at the State Theatre to-day. • Periodically Hollywood produces a picture that stands out as a beacon along the highroad of motion picture progress—and such a picture is Irving l Berlin’s great saga of three decades ■ in the march of America. In the be- [ wildering brilliance of “Alexander” one 1 remembers that Tyrone Power starts - with a small band in a honky-tonk, i Don Ameche writes the tunes which t Alice Faye sings. Love smoulders, flares, . cools, blows up and is rekindled over the years for Tyrone and Alice. His‘r tory moves before the eyes with the . reminiscent melodies of Berlin as a ! gentle guide through the plot. Such a , story framework—the career of a J young musician and the girl who sang 5 the nation’s love songs—two hotheads ’ quarrelling and parting, forgiving and ; finding love again through the music ' that was their life—is novel and scinJ tillating. The stars are supported by , a brilliant cast —Ethel Merman, Jack ’ Haley, Jean Hersholt, Helen Westley, " John Carradine, Paul Hurst, Wally Vernon, Ruth Terry and a dozen others of like calibre. “The Mind of Mr Reeder,” starring ; Will Fyffe and Kay Walsh, is the asso- ; ciate feature. Whether Mr Reeder—as ' Will Fyffe interprets him—is sipping hot milk and dreaming of his chicken ’ farm in his study, or whether he is relentlessly tracking down the gang of G criminals that have harassed Scotland ; Yard for some time, at all times he is : a human, lovable figure. “The Mind ■ of Mr Reeder,” as followers of Edgar : Wallace are no doubt well aware, deals i with the manner in which a gang of counterfeiters are tracked down by the old gentleman who carries an umbrella from the special branch of i Scotland Yard. THEATRE ROYAL SPECIAL HALF-PRICE PROGRAMME i The real Charlie Chan returns to ■ the screen in “Charlie Chan at the i Racetrack.” at the Theatre Royal this i evening. This is undoubtedly the best 1 of a famous series. Chan is tracking . a desperate killer who creates a panic . among thousands of racecourse > patrons. The climax is thrilling. The > most brilliant comedy with the largest . cast of stage and screen revue per- ; sonalities ever turned out from British studios is “Okay For Sound,” starring I the unsurpassable comic team —the , Crazy Gang. The Crazy Gang is composed of three of London’s most celet brated humour duos—Nervo and Knox, Flanagan and Allen and Naughton and \ Gold. In "Okay For Sound” they run ’ through the most hilarious set of situations in which they are supported by an all star cast of top-notch musiI cal and comedy artists including Enid Stamp Taylor, Fred Duprez, the Sherman Fisher Girls, Patricia Bowman, Louts Levy’s Orchestra, Peter Dawson ’ and Lucienne and Ashour. i