PLENTY OF VARIETY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 302, 21 December 1931, Page 3

PLENTY OF VARIETY.

Variety is the keynote of the programme which opened at the Theatre Royal on Saturday evening. “ Finn and Hattie,’’ starring- the inimitable Leon Errol, is of the “ laugh-a-minute ” type, while “ The Virtuous Sin,” in which Kay Francis and Walter Huston have the leading parts, is drama at its best with a sprinkling of light relief at the appropriate moments. Leon Errol, the well-known Australian comedian, has much to do with the success of “ Finn and Hattie,” an adaptation of the adventures of Mr and Mrs Haddock in Paris, as recorded in book form by Donald Ogden Stewart. Errol had a successful stage career in comedy during which he travelled all over the world, and he reveals a type of humour that is wholesome and infectious. An admirable foil to the gaiety-smitten Haddock is the wife, Hattie Haddock, as played by Zasu Pitts. This mournfulfaced, mournful-voiced actress has a way with her which makes laughter irresistible. One of the most arresting displays of the whole production is that of Mitzi Green as Mildred, the ten-year-old Haddock daughter. A star in her own right at nine years of age, this youngster takes charge of the complicated situations that are part and parcel of the film in the most accomplished manner. Lilyan Tashman is just as seductive, but a trifle more expansive than usual as the Princess, while that bundle of mischief, Jackie Searle, one of the current leaders among juvenile performers, is natural as cousin Sidney. The troubles of Finley Pierpont Haddock commenced when, accompanied by his wife and daughter, he left the small town of Legion, where he was wealthy and resected, to sample life in Paris. He picked' up more trouble on the train to New York and accumulated a further store when he took Sidney in charge for the trip. Taking advantage of the effects of the salt air the princess, a trickstress of the first degree, manages to obtain a love letter from “ Finn ” on the pretence of teaching him to write French. Her first scheme is defeated, however, by the wiles of the übiquitous Mildred. Once in Paris Haddock is as good as lost and succumbs to the princess for the second time when under the mellowing influence of good liquor. The action is rapid, Mildred, the lugubrious Hattie Haddock and Sidney all contributing to the general speed of the climax. Kay Francis, featured in “ Street of Chance ” and “ Let’s Go Native,” gives a fine performance as Marya Sablin in ” The Virtuous Sin.” She plays with a delicate restraint a role that calls for something out of the ordinary to prevent it savouring of bathos. Opposite her as General Platoff is Walter Huston, who appeared in “ Gentlemen of the Press." He portrays the soldier, a relentless part of a military machine, and then with an artistic change he becomes a man. responsive to the calls on his finer side. Kenneth Mac Kenna also acts convincingly the part of Victor Sablin, a young medical man, who is caught In the toils of the military machine and rushed to the scene of war when within an ace of making an important medical discovery. There is, in the three-hour programme, a selection of shorts, including a sound news reel and a feature depicting Christmas the world over. MIDNIGHT MATINEE. There will be a grand midnight matinee at the Theatre Royal on New Year's Eve, when ” Palmy Days,” the latest talkie by Eddie Cantor, the great comedian of " Whoopee,” -will be .the main attraction on a special carnival programme. “ Palmy Days ” boasts the presence of three former musical comedy stars. First is Eddie Cantor, star of the picture, who ended several years as star of musical shows with the Ziegfeld production, ” Whoopee.” Charlotte Greenwood, Cantor's feminine foil, starred in such stage productions as “So Long, Lettv.” “ Linger Longer, Letty,” “ The Tik Tok Man of Oz ” and ” The Ritz Revue.” Walter Catlett, completing the trio, had been on the stage for several years. “CITY OF SONG.” In the production of “ The City of Song,” the British talkie masterpiece which will open on Christmas night at the Theatre Royal,’ artificial studio sets have been discarded for the genuine, and much of the charm of the film lies in the wealth of natural setting through which the story moves. Naples, the Isle of Capri, and the ruins of Pompeii lend their splendours to enrich this delightful romance. In one sequence of the film, Jan Kiepura’s golden voice rings through the ancient city of Pompeii He sings the ” Love Song of Naples ” in a large openair theatre, in which the inhabitants of this once prosperous city listened to Greek tragedy and Latin comedy, while Vesuvius frowned down upon them. Vesuvius still frowns to-day, but the vast theatre has not echoed to the sound of an actor’s voice for nearly 2000 years, and the famous tenor’s only audience, in addition to Betty Stoekfield. are rows of broken stone seats and the crumbling remains of Pompeii’s once stately edifices.