ENTERTAINMENTS

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20695, 4 January 1939, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS

CURRENT PROGRAMMES CIVIC THEATRE There is no more popular screen player than Tom Walls; therefore his return in the mystery comedy, “Strange Boarders,” is drawing large audiences. Mr Walls appears as an agent in the British Secret Service, and the interesting story deals with his work in capturing a gang of spies. There is plenty of excitement, but there is also plenty of the Walls humour, and of course one of those sophisticated romances in which Mr Walls excels. The manner in which the mystery is solved holds the tense interest of the audience throughout. “CAREFREE” Together again in what is probably their best film, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers give a sparkling display of their versatility in “Carefree,” which will be screened on Friday. Fred is cast as a psychiatrist, and in the effort to discover why Miss Rogers keeps putting off her wedding with his friend (Ralph Bellamy) he offers to psyoho-analyse her. Complications set in from the start, and the girl soon finds that it is her doctor that she loves. The dances introduced include the popular “Yam.”

THEATRE ROYAL Many and strange are the mysteries which have made their way to the screen. Among the strangest is “Yellowstone,” set in the picturesque grandeur of Yellowstone National Park, which concerns the murder of a man tossed up by the great geyser in that beauty spot of Nature. A burhd treasure worth £IB,OOO is sought by many of the figures in the story. This leads to the man’s destruction. There is a bullet through his spine, a gash at the base of his skull. But a doctor declares the man has been frozen to death 1 The method of finding the one who committed the crime, and how he did it, provides an interesting puzzle for those who are intrigued by mystery. “Ourselves Alone” is a drama of Ireland in rebellion, abounding in thrills and teeming with action, when love of country makes men do unbelievably terrible and surpassingly beautiful things. A character outstanding in its strength is that of Hannay, the uncompromising leader of the R.1.G., who has to hunt down the brother of the girl he loves. This role is strongly presented by John Lodge. Excellent work comes from Antoinette Cellier as the emotional Maureen, and John Loder as Captain Wiltshire of the Intelligence Corps.

STATE THEATRE Featuring a cast including Stuart Erwin, Johnny Downs, Arline Judge, P.ettv Grable, Patsy Kelly, Jack Haley, the Yacht Club Boys, Dixie Dunbar, Anthony Martin and Judy Garland, “Pigskin Parade” is a fast football frolic, punctuated with melodious tunes and campus romances. It tells the hilarious story of a small backwoods college, invited by mistake to play Boola-Boola in a big intersectional game. Through an error Yipee University receives the invitation meant for another school in the State. The coach (Jack Haley) and his wife (Patsy Kelly) hastily accept before the bid can be recalled, with amusing results. With one of the most gripping climaxes of any recent screen offering —when the stewardess of a big transport plane lost in a storm has to bring the ship down by herself after the pilot has half-killed the co-pilot and jumped out in a parachute—“ Without Orders” brings plenty of thrills to filmgoers. Robert Armstrong, Salty Filers and Vinton Haworth form the romantic triangle in this drama of modern aviation.

REGENT THEATRE Mr Bert Bailey’s appearance “in the flesh” is proving very popular. He has a likeable personality, and his talk on Australian films is very interesting, while his “Dad and Dave” stories keep the audience in roars of laughter. His appearance on the stage makes a pleasant introduction to the screening of the film “Dad and Dave Come to Town,” in which lie appears as “Dad.” In Dad and Dave Steele Rudd created immortal characters and they are brought to the screen by two actors ideally suited to the roles (Bert Bailey and ‘Fred MacDonald). The former is the blustering, shrewd and kindly way-back identity of Steele Rudd’s to the life, and Mr MacDonald is no less convincing. Easy prey though they appear to the city people, they triumph over difficulties and setbacks in a way that is wholly amusing and makes the picture one of real enjoyment. Pretty Shirley Ann Richards as the enterprising daughter shows great talent, and the rest of the cast are strongly placed.

ROXY THEATRE “Green Light,” featuring Errol Flynn and Anita Louise, and “Oh, Mr Porter,” with the English comedian Will Hay in tlie lead, will he screened to-day. “Green Light,” best-selling novel for two years has now been translated to the screen. Errol Flynn, the young Irish star who made such a sensational success with his first starring role. “Captain Blood,” and followed it with another hit in “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” has the role of Dr. Newell Paige, a young surgeon who sacrifices his career to save that of an older doctor. Costarred with him is the lovely Anita Louise as Phyllis Dexter, for whose mother’s deatli Paige lias assumed the blame. “Oh, Mr Porter!" the hilarious new Will Hay starring vehicle, presents this popular comedian in his most brilliant screen role. Directed for Gainsborough by the laughtermaestro. Marcel ‘ Yarnel, the film abounds in rich, spontaneous humour and moves in lightning tempo through side-splitting situations and uproarious complications to a climax as suspensefilled as it is mirih-provoking. The star is cast as William Porter —railway employee—the bane ul the com-

patty's existence, who causes as many vagaries on the railway as the famous Mr Porter in the old song.