REGENT THEATRE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 94, 22 April 1939, Page 11

REGENT THEATRE

“‘GAMBLING SHIP” AND "MR. s WONG, DETFX TIVE” i 1 A timely, action-filled drama in 1 which a special investigator uses moi tion pictures to trap a gambling ring, s Universal’s "Gambling Ship,” lx?gins ~ to-day at the Regent Theatre in con- - junction with "Mr. Wong, Detective.” I Robert Wilcox, who plays an underI cover man posing as a gangster, - Helen Mack, as a beautiful young - gambling ship owner; Ed Brophy, as a - comedy thug; Joseph Sawyer, as an - ex-prizefighter and local bodyguard, s and Irving Pichel, as a scholarly gang - leader, having leading roles. Action - starts off when a speedboat explosion - sets the stage for a gambling war • that ends only after a series of mis- ■ haps and misunderstandings between • a romantic pair, the investigator, and • t the girl who operates a floating casino s I in open defiance of of a powerful mob. I I High-seas romance and an expose of - red-handed racketeering in the gamb- • ling game provide dramatic high ? lights. “James Lee Wong,” in the person of Boris Karloff, makes his ’ | bow in Monogram’s “Mr. Wong, De’.tective,” which is the associated feature. Joining the company of Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto, the Saint. Philo Vance, and others, James Lee Wong, newest screen sleuth, is a fugitive _ from Collier’s Magazine, and a creaf tion of Hugh Wiley, because for many s years Mr. Wiley’s “Wong” stories s have been appearing in that publica- - tion. James Lee Wong is a native of s San Francisco, an educated, cultural n Chinese. He is a scientist “test tube” a detective, who revels in intricate 1 cases, the more baffling the mystery s the more intrigued is Mr. Wong. An- ’• other episode in the serial "Flash 1 Gordon’s Trip to Mars,” will be r screened at the matinee. e -