ENTERTAINMENTS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 279, 25 November 1943, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

OPERA HOUSE Hailed as one of the greatest films of all time, “First of the Few,” starring Leslie Howard and David Niven, screens finally at the Opera House today. “The Day Will Dawn." German occupation, told through the adventures of a British war correspondent who subsequently becomes a British secret service agent, and succeeds in directing our bombers to the site of a heavily camouflaged submarine base in a fjord, is seen in “The Day Will Dawn,” screening at the Opera House to-morrow. The film theme is unfolded by the roles of Hug’ll Williams as the correspondent, who after returning to Norway, by parachute, at the request of the British Naval Intelligence, with the help of Deborah Kerr’s father, succeeds In carrying out his assignment, but is subsequently captured, and sentenced to death, along with the girl and other hostages; Deborah Kerr as the loyal Norwegian girl; Ralph Richardson, as an ace correspondent, who leaves the picture quite early as the result of being fatally wounded when working as a newspaper correspondent in France at the time of Dunkirk; and Griffiths Jones as a Quisling police officer in love with Deborah Kerr. The film concludes on a topical note when the hero and heroine, along with many more people from persecuted Norway, are rescued by a Commando raiding party and taken to England. Also on the programme is a special Aussie News showing New Zealand troops in action in the South Pacific and scenes of our boys in camp and on the beach at Guadalcanal. MAJESTIC THEATRE “Unpublished Story, ’ starring Richard Greene and Valerie Honson, screens finally at the Majestic Theatre to-day. “They All Kissed the Bride.” Columbia’s /‘They All Kissed the Bride,” which screens at the Majestic Theatre to-morrow, proves conclusively that Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas rate premier billing as two of Hollywood’s finest romantic comedy stars. Sheering away from her recent, starkly dramatic roles, Joan Crawford returns to the type of blithe, romantic characterisation that first made her a star. She is seen in “They All Kissed the Bride” as a million dollar heiress and a career woman who discovers making love is more fun than making money, while Douglas appears as a young man who believes there’s nothing wrong with a woman that a man’s lips can’t cure. Directed by Alexander Hall, whose swift, sure direction of joyous comedy has been responsible for such boxoffice hits as “Here Comes Mr. Jordan,” “They All Kissed the Bride” is a certain winner. A grand supporting cast includes Billie Burke, Roland Young, Allen Jenkins, Andrew Tombes and Roger Clark. A newsreel special shows vivid scenes of New Zealand troops at Guadalcanal and our boys in camp. REGENT THEATRE One of the most absorbing films in a long period “Phantom Killer” screens at the Regent to-day. “Phantom Killer” probes the diabolic machinations of the distorted mind of a man who feigns deafness and dumbness to carry out his would-be “perfect crimes.” How a citizen of high repute, and a public benefactor in his city, raises large sums of money by floating private loans through financiers impressed with his importance and business rating, and then kills when his notes fall due, is only one of the play’s unusual elements. The new “wrinkle” in crime plots is provided when Mr. Public Benefactor puts his twin brother fti his place at public affairs, while he himself at the same moment carries out his killings. Making victims of his financial providers on the days his notes fall due is an idea that has perhaps been a transient tenant in many a mind. The associate film is “Wild Cat of Tuscon.” DUCHESS THEATRE. Paramount’s latest British production, “Spy for a Day,” which screens at the Duc'hess Theatre to-day, introduces Duggie Wakefield, the wellknown comedian. The story has a wartime setting in close connection with present-day events. Thrills and action are featured in “Bad Men of Arizona,” the associate film.