REGENT THEATRE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 110, 12 May 1933, Page 10

REGENT THEATRE

-••THE SIGN OP THE CROSS.” | Cecil B. de Mille’s latest great pro (faction, “The Sign of the Cross,” tell ing as it does, the greatest love story of Christendom, must be accounted one of the supreme triumphs of the picture screen. It is screening finally today at the Regent Theatre. It is a tale of the days of Imperial Rome, under the reign of Nero, Sixth an<l last of the Caesars; it depicts the splendour of the Emperor’s court in all it smagnificence, its profligacy, and all its seneuounese; it shows the grandeur of a civilisation, now long since disappeared, and against it all —this background of wealth, power, fame and cruelty—is woven a love story, simple as it is beautiful. It is difficult to describe the favishness of the whole plan of production, the almost brutal starkness of •erne of the incidents, and the tale of sacrifice, of love, that proves stronger than life itself. “Tbs Kid from Spain.’* To-morrow, at the matinee and evenfag sessions, Eddie Cantor, inimitable comedian, will appear in his third great picture, “The Kid from Spain,” which will commence its Wanganui sea- I •on. A more ,than worthy successor to “Whoopee” and “Palmy Days,” this lavishly-staged comic extravaganza is Cantor's greatest offering yet to the cause of amusement. The story concerns itself with the escapades of Eddie and his room-mate at college, Ricardo, who are expelled from their alma mater after a practical joke has placed them in rather an awkward predicament in * girls’ dormitory. Eddie unwittingly becomes involved in a bank robbery and escapes to Mexico disguised as a world-famous bull-fighter. Don Sebastian II of Spain. In order to deceive the übiquitous detective who is following him, Eddie has to keep up the masquerade, accepting the acclaim due to the man he is impersonating, until finally he is forced into a real bullfight. There follow adventures in rapid I succession, involving tangled love affairs and flirtations, an embroilment with bandits, encounters with the Mexican police, until the crucial day of the bull-fight. Secretly Eddie and Ricardo have rehearsed a tame bull for the foray and the former steps into the arena with a fine show of bravery, only to realise, however, that he is facing a real animal, a killer sent in by his enemies. In swift-moving and screamingly funny scenes Eddie manages to avoid the furious onslaughts of the beast and eventually chloroforms the bull by accident. The crowd acclaims him the greatest of heroes and the story reaches a happy, if laughable, conelusion. The scenes in the arena combine real thrills with laughable and preposterous deeds, and the audience, at one moment tense with excitement, was the next instant bursting into uproarious and uncontrollable laughter. The film is a magnificent production on an elaborate scale. Two of the most brilliant dance ensembles ever seen on stage or screen, filmed in technicolour and executed by the famous and beautiful Goldwyn Girls, leave nothing to be desired. Three new lyrics, sung in Cantor's own inimitable fashion, add considerably to the film’s appeal. Eddie Cantor’s work is excellent. The picture affords ideal scope for his sly humour and inspired drollery, and his fantastic wit sparkles as never before. Acting in conjunction with him are such notable players as Noah Beery, Joan Miljan, Robert Young and a new female lead, Lyda Roberti. A splendid supporting programme includes “Babes in the Wood,” the second Walt Disney coloured cartoon to be screened in Wanganui. With action and music cunningly blended, a familiar theme and the addition of colour achieved with appeal1

ing artistry, the cartoon is a distinct success. In addition, at the matinee only, the Wright School of Dancing will present 1 ‘The Enchanted Clock,” in which some splendid solo and concerted dancing numbers are provided by such wellknown Wanganui amateurs as Misses Maureen Dickson, Anita Stokes, Mo,lly Peterson, Zelda Watt, Miriam Watt, Rosemary Field, Shrela Dyer, Doreen Beswick, Clunie Annabell, Pat Dickson. Molly Benjamin, Jean Stapleton and Enid Hardy and. Messrs. George Allen and Bruce Bretherton.