ENTERTAINMENTS

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21057, 8 March 1940, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

. TO-NIGHT'S PROGRAMMES STATE THEATRE Dedicated to thousands of slum boys of the great cities who must choose between crime and honesty, “Angels With Dirty Faces,” is a powerful human document dramatically enacted by James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, the “Dead End” Kids, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan and 1 George Bancroft. It tells the story j of two boys—ordinary dirty-faced youngsters bought up in the teeming slums of a great city—who took opposite roads, one to the shadowy realms of the underworld, the other to priesthood’s serene light. The conflict between these two characters, witli the lives of thousands of boys as the grim stake, is strong dramatic fare and carries with it a deep social message. The film starts with the two boys committing a petty crime, then running for freedom, with police in hot pursuit. A split second—a single stride—and one of them was made into a killer. He returns to the slums to get his vengeance on the world. The other devoted his life to humanity. THEATRE ROYAL “Git along L/.tle Dogies,” Gene Autry’s musical western, is the first film Autry has made since his recent record-breaking personal appearance tour. The story deals with the heroic efforts of Autry to protect fellow ranchers against a deceitful oilwell manager, and combines melodies and adventures in excellent combination. Three excellent melodies were written especially for this film, including “In The Valley Where The Sun Goes Down,” "If You Want To Be A Cowboy,” “Honey Bringing Honey To You,” “Git Along Little Dogies,” “Chinatown,” and “A Tree In The Woods.” Lifted from archives of the past, the spectacular story of “Mutiny on the Blackhawk,” depicts a daring mutiny abroad a slave ship off the California coast. The picture shows settlers in battles with Mexican forces which eventually resulted in bringing the territory into the Union. REGENT THEATRE “Achilles Day in Auckland,” to be screened tonight, will thrill all New Zealanders, for it shows the great reception given to the men who did so much to uphold the honour of the British Navy. “Four Girls in White” pays a tribute to the great profession of nursing, the strong cast including Florence Rice, Una Merkel, Ann Rutherford, Mary Howard and Alan Marshal, with Kent Taylor. Buddy Ebsen, and Jessie Ralph. “Four Girls in White” is the story of four girls who enter upon nursing with different purposes. J/ treats mainly with Norma Page, played by Florence Rice, whose real purpose in embracing the noble calling is to win a rich doctor or patient for a husband. The story works up to a very dramatic climax.

CIVIC THEATRE “The Housekeeper’s Daughter” is a fast? moving lively romance smartly fashioned to contain all the elements of entertainment. Joan Bennett, portraying the housekeeper’s daughter, leaves her underworld boy friend to return to her mother who works for the socially prominent Randall family. Learning that the family has left town for the summer, the heroine is pleasantly surprised to discover that the young and handsome scion has decided to stay in town. Randall is determined to break into newspaper work and he accomplishes this feat very easily by using his father’s influence. Aided and abetted by the housekeeper’s daughter, he attaches himself to a murder mystery and from then the new film proceeds at a terrific pace. Hal Roach personally directed as well as produced “The Housekeeper’s Daughter” from the famous novel of the same name by Donald Henderson Clarke. Joan Bennett is excellent as the glamorous brunette who causes collective commotion in the lives of five men. Adolphe Menjou is extremely amusing as a newspaperman, and William Gargan gives a fine performance. ROXY THEATRE “Confessions of a Nazi Spy,” that stirring story of Nazi activities in America, and “Good Girls Go To Paris, an amusing comedy, will be screened today. Most impressive, significant and absorbing picture to come from Hollywood this year, Warner Bros’. “Confessions of a Nazi Spy ” arouses in the spectator the impression that he is seeing history in the making, and. at the same time, enjoying excellent entertainment. Had there been no Nazi spy disclosures, no trial, no sentences, this would have been a wellmade, incredible story of the screen. With substantiation, it becomes the most fascinating of experiences. “ Good Girls Go to Paris ” presents Melvyn Douglas in a new and distinctive characterisation, that of an English exchange professor slightly orpaq ‘qsijaAaj aq; Aq pajappAvaq activity at an American university.