ENTERTAINMENTS

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20125, 22 February 1937, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

CURRENT PROGRAMMES. REGENT THEATRE. Drama in the backblocks of America’s forests Is dealt with in “Come and Get It.” In a story which extends over two generations Edward Joel McCrea and Frances Farmer have been assigned the most prominent roles. Frances Farmer has been set the difficult task of portraying, at different times in the picture, a mother and her daughter, and handles both roles well. Edward Arnold excels himself as Barney Glasgow. Joel McCrea has the part

of his son, Richard Glasgow, and is j easy and natural. The story deals . with the rise to wealth of Barney j Glasgow, who started as a “rouse- I about” in a lumber camp and eventu- j ally becomes owner of rich forest j lands. When son and father become j rivals for the hand of the daughter I of the father’s former love the tale I assumes brilliance. The solution occurs in a scene of dramatic power. Others in the cast are Andrea Leeds, Mady Christians and Walter Brennan. ROXY THEATRE. Victor Hugo’s immortal classic, j “Les Miserables,” has been brought ; to Ihe screen in a lavish production of the novel. The role of .lean Yal- j jean, convict hero, who spends five i brutalising years in the galleys of a j French prison ship for the theft of a j loaf of bread, and finds his whole future darkened by a petty crime, is ; one of the greatest undertakings of i Fredric March's brilliant screen j career. Charles Laughton, as the i fanatical detective, Javert, who has dedicated his life to liie literal interpretation of the law, offers a charac- | terisation which affords a psychological glimpse into the Strangs workings of the mind of a manhunter. “ Stars Over Broadway ” is a thrill- I ing comedy-drama with music, with an all-star cast including Pat O’Brien, Jean Muir, Miss Froman, Melton and Frank McHugh. CIVIC THEATRE. “Anthony Adverse,” which created a sensation as a novel, has j been brought to the screen very sue- j cessfully, providing a dramatic story, j The film resembles the book in its • great length—it runs for over two i and a quarter hours—but, neverthe- ‘ less, it holds the interest. The scene is constantly changing; from central France it moves to Italy, then to Havana, to Africa, then hack again to Italy and France. The cast is on the same ambitious scale as the film itself. From the nature of his role Fredric March naturally overshadows the other players, and his performance is ! one of the best he lias given. His I Anthony is a living, breathing person. I He is ably supported by Olivia de Havilland, who makes the most of her | opportunities, while an outstanding performance comes from the English character actor Edmund Gwenn, who appears as John Bonny feather, the Scottish trader. Among oilier players are Claude Rains, Anita Louise, Steffi Duna, Ralph Morgan and Donald Woods. ; THEATRE ROYAL. “The Man Who Lived Twice,” a thrilling melodrama, is developed into splendid entertainment. It traverses in dramatic fashion the life of Slick Rawley, enacted by Ralph Bellamy, from the moment when the gangstermurderer decides-to undergo the brain : surgery until the climactic courtroom j scene where, as Dr. Blake, he de- j fends himself against the crimes he is | told he had committed hut which he cannot remember. The production is | carried along from its sensational j start, through scenes of horror, drama j and romance. Particularly outstand- | ing are Marian Marsh, as the girl who ! inspires Bellamy’s great success as Dr. Blake, Isabel Jewell, as the vindictive sweetheart; and Thurston Hall, as Dr. Schuyler. STATE THEATRE. Lavishly produced, tuneful, sometimes madcap, and always gay. and boasting a cast which includes the j top names of radio and screen. “The ! Big Broadcast of 1937” is a splendid production. With .lack Benny .in llie i stellar role, llie east includes such ‘ talented people as George Burns and Grade Allen. Bob Burns. Martha Have. Benny Goodman and his Orchestra. Shirley Boss. Bay Milland. Frank Forest. Benny Fields. Leopold Stokowski amt his Symphony Grebes- , Ira. and a host uf others, all of whom blend perfectly into a delight ful melange of music, beauty and comedy. Another exciting romance of the : Wild West is unfolded in "California Mail.” with Dick Koran. Ihc "Singing ! Cowboy,” as the star. The picture is l crammed with thrills, including Ind an j battles, gun fights with 'highway j bandits, daredevil riding and a dramatic j stage coach race.