Cinema Reviews

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22521, 1 October 1938, Page 10

Cinema Reviews

PLAZA

“‘MOONLIGHT SONATA”

Of late stars of varying magnitude from the musical world have been brought to the screen, but it is safe to say that few have made so signal a success as Paderewski, the master pianist, now appearing in “Moonlight Sonata” at the Plaza. The simplicity of his acting is never at fault, and his music permeates the whole picture. At the first the audience has the rare privilege of being present at a recital given by the master, then the story is unfolded. It is a story in harmony with the music. The setting is in Sweden, the early home of the two radiant young people who had been present at the recital. “It is the emotional reaction, the influence that music has upon the life of those who hear it that counts, Paderewski has said, and his music influences ttoe two, in particular. An aeroplane is disabled, and lands near the home of a baroness and her grandchild, Ipgrid. The passengers, Paderewski himself, his friend, and a fifth-rate actor, posing as a man oi fashion, are taken in by the baroness. Thence events move quickly. Ingrid falls in love with the actor, but-dis-illusioned finds herself safe with Eric, her first lover. It is a simple story, but therein lies its charm. Romance dawns at the end to the music of the “Moonlight Sonata,” played with the unforgettable mastery of the great Paderewski himself. The film, too, has the support of no less a person than Marie tempest, the famous English actress, who plays the part of the dignified, drily humorous baroness. It is her first appearance on the films, but not, it is to be hoped, her last.- Such characterisations as she can give are as sauce to the meat of the entertainment. . The supporting him. The Street Singer’s Return,” provides just th,e right contrast. Two famous stars o the entertainment world, Arthur Tracv and Arthur Riscoe, appear in the picture, and take charge of affairs, with humorous results. Richard King, an operatic star, has disappeared, driven from the theatre by the temperament of the leading lady. . joins a team of street singers, of which the leader is Sam, played by Arthur Riscoe. It is Sam who provides most of the humour, and he never fails to draw a laugh. In company with Sam Richard robs his own house, is arrested, released with apologies, and returns to the theatre with.Sam. s_mece. a very charming and dainty little lady. It an ends as A should do. and there is a memory of one particularly de lightful scene, where the stage re velvet, endlessly to the laughter of the audience, and the shrieks and hopeless singing of the players.

CRYSTAL PALACE

“BORDER BRIGANDS” AND “SHE’S GOT EVERYTHING”

A bright comedy and a stirring western comprise the which began yesterday at the Crystal Palace Theatre. The mam feature is “She’s Got Everything.” in which the leading parts are taken by Genenay mond and Ann Sothern and this is nreceded by “Border Brigands. in which an old favourite, Buck Jones, has the principal role. Each is good entertainment, and the sharp contras should give the programme a wider at Neither'picture lacks acti °”’ } f nd T h l i ! western has more than enough, ims is all to the. good, for the Jr the there are in a western the better the audience likes it; and those who follow with interest the films in which Buck Jones appears know that he will give them all they want in excitement. In “Border Brigands, he lives up to his reputation as one of the best cowboy stars. In this he is cast as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who adopts unorthodox methods to bring a gang of bandits to justice. There is plenty of hard riding and shooting, and in the end a well-staged rough and tumble, when Buck and the bandit leader come to grips. One of the features of this film, as in many of its type, is the beauty of the scenery and the excellence of the outdoor photography. All of the hurly-burly of Border Brigands” is entirely missing from “She’s Got Everything,” yet this picture, too, is notable for its swift action, gentle as it is by comparison. The “she” of this picture is Ann Sothern, who has everything but money. But Gene Raymond, cast as the bachelor head of a vast coffee-marketing combine, has the money that Ann’s creditors need so badly, and so they, try to work up a romance between the two. The creditors work well for a start, but their plans threaten to go awry when the two principals begin to understand that this scheming is going on. Of course, as eveiyone m the audience knows .everything will come right in the end, but there is plenty of fun before it does. Ann Sothern and Gene Raymond make a fine team, but some of the minor characters make a strong bid for the honours— particularly Victor Moore as the chief schemer and Helen Broderick as his willing assistant. The Americans are adept at producing entertainment of the type that is offered in this picture, and all the incidentals build the story into an engaging film.

CHRISTCHURCH CINEMAS, LIMITED

“That Certain Woman,” with Bette Davis and Henry Fonda in the lead, is now at the Regent. Georgd Formby, the popular comedian, is at his best in “1 See Ice, ‘ which will be shown at the Majestic for another week. Cyril Ritchard is also featured. „ , “Romance for Three,” starring Robert Young and Florence Rice, is now at the Tivoli, At the Liberty. “Smash and Grab,” starring Jack.Buchanan and Elsie Randolph. and “Nurse from Brooklyn.” starring Sally Eilers, are now showing. “Private Number,” starring Basil Rathbone. and “Half Angel,” starring Frances Dee, are now at the Grand.

REX THEATRE

George Arliss, in “Doctor Syn,” and Pat O’Brien and Henry Fonda in “Slim,” will be shown at Rex Theatre, R:#carton, to-night, and on Monday and Tuesday nights.

MAYFAIR

“BLOCKADE”

“Blockade.” a film which has been awaited everywhere with widespread interest, has begun a season at the Mayfair Theatre, and there is every indication that it will prove one of the most successful pictures that has been shown in Christchurch for a long time. It is an exceptional production in every way, matching a dramatic and artistic appeal with a sincerity of purpose which cannot be called into question. It would be treating the theme lightly to say that the fighting in Spain and the horrors of war by starvation are the background for an appealing, romantic story; the war and what it means to the people are as important a part of the picture as the love story of the hero and heroine, their misunderstandings, conflict, and the dangers they have to face. The success of the film is largely because of the manner in which it combines the personal interest with the broader interest and appeal. It presents both the romantic story and the harsh reality of the war in a manner which makes it impossible to see it without being deeply affected. Madeleine Carroll plays the part of a young girl, a foreigner in Spam, who becomes involved in a system oi espionage aimed at preventing the supply of food to starving people. Scarcely realising what she is doing, she finds herself entrusted with the task of conveying information whicn will mean the destruction of a food ship. She has to work among the people who are the victims of the blockade, and she finds that she cannot allow herself to continue to be the means of prolonging their miseries. She is working, s too, against a young men (Henry Fonda) whom she had met just before the war began, and. risking her life in a maze of political intrigue, she tells him what she has done, and shows how she can prevent it. From this point the story moves in a series of dramatic incidents which could not be surpassed for excitement and tension, and ends in a manner which focuses attention on the stupidity and misery of war. This is briefly the plot of the film, but it is not the story in itself, interesting as it is, as the way in which it is presented, that makes the production the outstanding one it is There is no over-elaboration of the emotional appeal or of the horrors of the war, but the incidents are so well chosen that they never miss their effect. There is an excellent cast m support of the principals. John Halliday, as an unscrupulous political adventurer, working for whichever side pays him most; Reginald Denny, who gives a most successful character sketch as a foreign journalist; and Leo Carillo as a good-natured and amusing countryman, have everything to be said for their performances. There is a good and varied supporting programme.

CIVIC

“STAND IN”

What is a “stand-in”? To those with only a nodding acquaintance with motion picture technique some explanation of the title of the Civic Theatre’s chief film of the week may be necessary. A stand-in is a.substitute—one who deputises for a star during arduous, uncomfortable, or even dangerous sequences in a film. There are, actually, two stand-ins —or should it be stands-in?—in this rollicking picture, one of them the very attractive Joan BlondelJ, who substitutes for a highlypaid star in the motion picture company concerned in the story, and the other thgt splendid actor Leslie Howard, who plays the part of a young, serious-minded banker, who takes control of a great film company in an endeavour to save the money of his bank’s stockholders.

Much of the picture is broad farce, but it has the important asget of a well-knit story Howard, the bank executive, whose god is mathematics, has to take charge of a huge motion picture company in order to justify his vaunt that only common sense and a knowledge of arithmetic are necessary to make the company pay its way. He arrives in Hollywood to And that the Colossal Film Company, which his conservative bank has acquired as an investment for its stockholders, is threatened by the underground attacks of rival Interests which are anxious to eliminate competition. The chief villain, Ivor Nassau, is played by C. Henry Gordon, but Alan Mowbray, as Kolofski, the foreign director who draws impossible salaries for ruining most of the company’s pictures, Marla Shelton, as the star, Cherie, and Humphrey Bogart, as Quintain, the talented head of the Colossal studio, all have a share in carrying out the designs of the hostile interests.

How Atterbury Dodd, the human adding machine, finds that the thousands who go to the making of a motion picture cannot be considered as “units” or as cogs in a machine, but must be regarded as human beings, makes an absorbing story, and one which presents opportunity aplenty for diverting situations. Lester Plum, the stand-in for Thelma Cherie, plays a big part in changing the banker’s outlook. The film reaches a climax of action and hilarity when the epic on which the studio has been working for months, “Sex and 'Satan,” is turned from a “flop” into a boxoffice sensation by the discreet removal of those sequences which feature Cherie, the jungle enchantress, and the building up of those parts which portray the antics of a most cynical and dissolute-looking gorilla. Vigorous measures are taken to save the company for its employees and stockholders, and there is, of course; a' happy ending for the stand-ins—or is it stands-in?

There is an excellent supporting programme.

AVON

“THE PERFECT SPECIMEN”

Bright, witty dialogue and hilarious situations provide first-class entertainment in “The Perfect Specimen,” which began last night its* third week at the Avon Theatre. The high standard that modern comedies have reached is maintained in this release of Warner Bros., which, incidentally, is the first essay into comedy acting of Errol Flynn, costume actor and suave hero player. The story of this film alone is new enough to remove it from the ordinary category of modern comedies, and throughout one perceives that it has been handled with a light and agreeable touch. All the important players are established favourites, too. At the head of the cast are Errol Flynn and Joan Blondell, and supporting them is an excellent comedy team, Edward Hverett Horton, May Robson, Hugh Herbert, and Allen Jenkins. The “perfect specimen” is Gerald Beresford Wicks, brought up in seclusion by his multi-millionaire grandmother, and the fun of the story is provided by his reactions when he comes abruptly out of his seclusion. Gerald surprises everyone, for conirary to expectations, he is no mambypamby, but a husky, athletic fellow with a surprising talent for fisticuffs, and many other desirable attributes. If would be hard to find an actor more suited to this part than Errol Flynn. It is to the credit of those who made this picture, too,, that the. casting of the other characters is equally *»und. Joan

tempts Gerald from his seclusion and leads him into a series of amusing adventures; Hugh Herbert is the eccentric poet at whose house the “perfect specimen” and his new-found friend stay; May Robson is the grandmother, and Edward Everett Horton ii her secretary. All of them make great play with the material that is given them in this picture. There is action all the time, for when > the “perfect specimen” disappears in his search for freedom the police forces of three countries are brought into action o find him.

Mixed up with this are the exploits of the “perfect specimen” during the moments he is not concerned about pluding ■ -the police. He becomes embroiled in a roadside fight, then deputises for his opponent in this fight in a boxing contest, and in the end comes to a complete realisation that the dominance of his grandmother must be broken. In all these stages cf his education there is very bright ,comedy indeed.