ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 44, 15 November 1940, Page 12

ENTERTAINMENTS

De Luxe Theatre. — Preceded by a community sing, with Roland Lavin at Hie organ and another chapter of "Flash Gordon Conquers the I inverse, a new double-fen tn re programme will begin at. the De Luxe 'Theatre today. Action is the keynote of the latest "UopuJong Cassidy” romance, "The Showdown." It lias action as the action Jans like it —hard riding. hard lighting, hard playing, ami William Boyd, who plays the part of the redoubtable ■•Hopalong." proves himself a master portrayer of Hie silent man of tlie west who sees justice prevail. The story concerns the machinations of a bam! ol crooked gamblers amt horse thieves who come into a frontier community ami alteinpt to run it—-till Cassidy catches up with them and winds up with a thrilling runaway and capture. The east also includes Russell Hayden, Britt Wood. Morris Ankrum. lovely Jane Clayton and "The King's Men." cowboy singing quarter of radio fame. The second film. •■The Night of Nights." stars Fat O’Brien, Olympe Brndna. and Roland Young in a moving story of Broadways theatre world.

Regent Theatre. —From the pen of .Tallies Hilton, author of “Lost Horizon ’ and "Good-bye, Mr. Chips," came tlie story of “We Are Not Alone," the screen version of which began yesterday at the Regent. Theatre. It is a powerful theme —that, of innocent people convicted of murder and condemned to tlie —and it the significance of the title is not. readily apparent it. becomes clear in the final conversation of the two who are about to be executed. Paul Muni, as a country physician who is brought to trial for the murder of his wife, together with a young Austrian girl, Jane Bryan, whom he has befriended, has his first modern characterization for several years. Miss .Bryan gives a sympathetic portrayal 'he Austrian girl who is caught in England on the eve’ of war. and Flora Robson, as Muni’s wife, plays the straight-laced, con-vention-bound Englishwoman of pre-vs ar days.

St. James. —"When the Daltons Rode, a story of frontier America in the days of the celebrated Dalton gang, will begin at the St. James Theatre today, with Randolph Scott and Kay Francis heading a distinguished cast. Based on the exciting book of the same mime, the film traces the careers of the Dalton boys as ranch owners who are led into spectacular crime by the persecutions of a laud. company. Miss Francis, portraying the first, action role of her career, appears as the winsome telegraph operator of Coffeyville, a character based on the real-life sweetheart of one of the Daltons. Scott plays a frontier lawyer who befriends the Daltons and helps to bring the land company agents to justice. The four Daltons are portrayed by Brian Donlevy, Broderick Crawford, Stuart Erwin, and Frank Albertson. George Bancroft is effective as the rich man of Coffeyville. The climax of the film is tlie celebrated Dalton raid on Coffeyville in 18112, when the. outlaws went to their destruction attempting the old West's only double bank robbery.

Majestic Theatre. — Myrna Loy and William Powell romp through "I. Love You Again,” which today enters its second week at the Majestic Theatre. The film opens on board a liner in which Larry YVilsou (William Powell) is returning from a trip to Europe. Larry rescues "Doc Ryan” (Frank McHugh) from a watery death and gets struck on the head. When he recovers consciousness he discovers that for nine years he has beep suffering from amnesia, that he is not the respectable Larry Wilson but George Carey, and that his past is not one that bears looking into.

Tudor Theatre.—Three people on a honeymoon usually is an awkward situation, to say the least, but when the trio consists of the groom and two wives there are apt to be amazing complications. Which is putting it mildly, according to the sparkling plot of the Irene Dunne-Cary Grant comedy romance, “My Favourite Wife,” which will open at the Tudor Theatre today.. The marital entanglements revolve around the plight of a young attorney (Grant) whose lovely wife (Miss Dunne) has been missing for seven years as a result of a sea disaster. He has her declamed legally dead and weds another woman. While the honeymooners are moving into a hotel suite they are avertaken by the first wife, who has miraculously been rescued from a remote desert isuand. The distraught groom successfully hides his beloved first, wife from his unkissed bride and returns home to find that his first mate spent seven years alone with a virile and handsome explorer on a Pacific island paradise. The associate film, “Dr. Christian Meets the Women, sets out to expose fake reducing diets.

State Theatre. — Those who have not seen “Pygmalion” shoul dtake the opportunity of doing so provided by the return season at. the State Theatre, and those who have will surely be entertained, if they go again. The story coueerns Eliza Doclittle (Wendy Hiller) and Professor Higgins (Leslie Howard). The professor is more than interested in voice, production, and when he meets Eliza, the flower girl, he is horrified at her dreadful Cockney accent. The idea of an experiment comes to him and he takes Eliza into his home, telling a friend that he will convert Eliza into a “lady” in a matter of months. A masterpiece of film magic, “Earthbound,” the associate film centres about a ghost who doesn’t know he is dead. Warner Baxter has the role of the ghost, and his surprising adventures as the man who couldn't stay dead provide him with an unusual role. Andrea Leeds portrays Baxter's long-suffering widow. She senses his presence though he is not visible or audible to her, and she strives to clear his memory so that: his spirit may find peace.

Plaza Theatre.— “Too Many Husbands,” which will begin today at the Plaza Theatre, stars Jean Arthur, Fred Mae Murray and Melvyn Douglas in a merrv marital mix-up. It is based on W. Somerset Maugham’s sensational stage success, and a supporting cast which includes Harry Davenport, Melville Cooper, Dorothy Peterson, Mary Treen, and Tom Dugan. Miss Arthur, in contrast to the dramatic finesse she displayed in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and "Only Angels Have Wings,” employs her gift fpr light comedy. As the lonely wife suddenly “bles’sed” with two devoted busbands, Miss Arthur expresses her appreciation of the flattering circumstance, as well as her perplexed and fearful recognition that its outcome might well mean a prison sentence for her. Except for its many comic implications, the latter note is not too greatly stressed. “Too Many Husbands” is, after all, a comedy.

King’s Theatre.— Cattlemen and homesteaders of the old West provide plenty of excitement in “The YVesterner,” which is remaining for a second week at the King’s Theatre. It is thrilling adventure against a spectacular background, and it can be classed as one of the outstanding Western pictures of the year. “The Westerner” is a great story, magnificently told, dealing with the old days of the cattle ranges, when the homesteader, who wanted to place sheep On what were formerly uufenced ranges, had to fight the cattlemen to gain his ends. It tells of the attempt, by the homesteaders to till the land that lies west of the Pecos River in Texas, and it contains all the best elements of the real Western drama. Many of the sequences arc tense . . . one sees the hard-shooting, hard-'drinking and hard-riding men with whom picture audiences are familiar. Then there are the cayuses, the sage and the mesa, and the bitter feuds that: were carried on in the cattle country when the gun was law. The scenery alone has a strong appeal, and the high standard of the acting is one of the features of the film. As the tall, hard-riding rancher, Gary Cooper, has a role admirably suitable to him.

Opera House.— Showing on the screen for the first time the method of restoring insane patients to normalcy, ‘‘Dr. Kildare’s Strange Case,” latest of the “Dr. Kildare” pictures, will open today at the Opera House. Fourth of the dram.-irie hospital stories, with Lew Ayres as the impetuous young student doctor. Dr. Jimmy Kildare, and Lionel Barrymore as the irascible but groat diagnostician Dr. Leonard Gillespie, “Dr. Kildare’s Strange Case” concerns Ayers's lone-handed tight

to prove that a surgeon-friend is unjustly accused of performing a delicate brain operation that caused madness in the patient. This picture shows for the first time the use of insulin shock treatment. to rouse a person out of insanity and bring him back to mental normalcy. Dramatic highlights of the feature include the administration of the insulin shock treatment, the reactions of the patient, and a bird’s-eye view of a delicate brain surgery. Laraine Day is again seen as Nurse Mary Lamont, in love with Ayres, desirous of being his wife but realizing that his judgment to become a great doctor like Gillespie is far more important than their own lives.

SUBURBAN THEATRES

Ascot (Newtown). —“Johnny Apollo,” Tyrone Powe; and Dorothy Lamour; “Manhattan Heartbeat," Robert Sterling and Joan Davis. Empire (Island Bay).—“Honeymoon in Bali,” Fred Mae Murray and Allan Jones; “Sandy is a Lady,” Baby Sandy and Mischa Auer. Tivoli (Thorndon). —“Primrose Path,” Ginger Rogers and Joel McCrea; “Opened by Mistake,” Charlie Ruggles and Janice Logan. Kinema (Kilbirnie). —“Judge Hardy and Son.” Mickey Rooney and Lewis Stone; "Secret Service of the Air.” Rivoli (Newtown).—“The Crooked Road,” Edmund Lowe and Irene Hervey; “Mv Little Chickadee,” Dine West and W. C. Fields. Vogue I. Brooklyn) .—“Al] At Sea,” Sandy Powell and Kay Walsh ; “Private Detective,’’ Jane Wyman and Dick Foran. Capitol (Miramar). — “Gulliver’s Travels”; “Emergency Squad,” Willbin) Henry and Louise Campbell. King George I Lower Hatt).—“The Man in the Iron Mask.” Louis Hayward and Joan Bennett. ■ Prince Edward (Woburn). —“Convicted Woman,” Rochelle Hudson and Lola Lane; “The Marshal of Mesa City,” George O’Brien. De Luxe (Lower Hutt).—“Golden Boy,” Adolphe Menjou and Barbara Stanwyck; “The Law West of Tombstone,” Hurry Carey and Tim Holt. Regal (Karori). —“Little Old New York.” Alien Faye and Fred Mae Murray; "Milliomu'rc Playboy,” Joe Penner,