MAJESTIC THEATRE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 84, Issue 71, 26 March 1940, Page 7

MAJESTIC THEATRE

“THE UNDER-PUP.” Gloria Jean, the 11-year-old child who stars in “The Under-Pup,” the current feature at the Majestic Theatre, has a voice of exceptional range and clarity, and her acting ability is far beyond that which one would expect of one of her age. Gloria Jean plays “Pip Emma,” the leading singer in a juvenile choir of a Sunday school in the centre of New York's crowded tenement district. The district in which “Pip Emma” lives is visited by a committee which is to award a holiday to one of the members of the Sunday school, the holiday to be spent in a summer camp with many of the daughters of New York’s exclusive families. “Pip Emma” is selected to attend the camp. At first, the girls do not take “Pip Emma” to their hearts; but, because of her character and of help and advice she receives from her grandfather, she gradually breaks down the opposition. Gloria. Jean wins acclaim for her voice and for her acting. She proves herself an outstanding little player and is ably supported by a cast which is headed by C. Aubrey Smith, and includes Virginia Weidler (as the only friendly child first found at the camp), Nan Grey (who made her debut with Deanna Durbin in that star’s first film), Beulah Bondi, Robert Cummings, and Shirley Mills. On the supporting programme are scenes of the life of New Zealand and Australian troops at sea, and the triumph of High Caste over 'Reading in the Oakleigh Plate.