CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 153, 2 December 1938, Page 4

CURRENT ENTERTAINMENTS

c KEGENI THEATRE. !> More vivacious and likeable than ever, . Deanna Durbin scores another hit in « her latest picture, "That Certain Age," now drawing large audiences to the Regent Theatre. As the daughter of 3 wealthy newspaper proprietor Deanna embarks upon a troubled romance when, although regarded by everyone as a child, she makes an unwilling hero of a returned war correspondent, a part admirably played by Melvyn Douglas. Jackie Cooper; r.s her boy friend of her own age, is ruthlessly rejected in favour of the sophisticated Douglas, and the climax of the picture is provided by the efforts of Deanna's parents and Douglas himself to talk Deanna out of her infatuation. Action, sparkling comedy, and music are about equally blended in this bright picture, which teems with memorable incidents. There is a ghost scene which is far better than the average and other wellproduced interludes are those in which the unsuccessful suitor talks with his mystified rival. Altogether it is a picture than can truthfully be said to suit all tastes. Included in a strong supporting programme is an illuminating review of Britain's troubles in Palestine, and a New Zealand "movielogue" full of interesting glimpses of the Dominion. MAJESTIC THEATRE. Everyone who knows "More Than Somewhat," vyhich swept all London into its engaging net a year or so ago, and "Furthermore," which followed it, will appreciate the fact that when Damon Runyon writes a story it is not like other stories. And Warner Bros.First National have had the happy idea of letting him take the gangsters and "dolls" and "citizens" of whom he has made such successful use and put them into a movie. The result is "A Slight Case of Murder," which is showing at the Majestic Theatre. The title itself is evidence of his system of under-statement, for the slight case of murder involves four bodies in one room. But the point is that they are found by a one-time racketeer, who has grown respectable since Prohibition (with disastrous effects to his business), but whose record is still not what it might be. The facts that the bank is threatening to take over his brewery, that his daughter is engag -1 to a young man who has just become a policeman, that there is the loot of a big robbery hidden in the house and a gunman lurking about in the effort to escape with it are woven into an ingenious story, full of surprises, replete with laughs. ST. JAMES THEATRE. "Wives Under Suspicion," a picture of souls in conflict, is one of the most gripping photoplays of the season. The fierce emotions that are released when ealousy enters the soul is the theme of this powerful drama, starring Gail Patrick and Warren William, which is screening at the St. -James Theatre. Directed by James Whale, "Wives Under Suspicion" presents William in the role of the district attorney who has become dehumanised as he devotes his entire mind and attention to securing convictions at any price. Normally a kind and just man, he finally reaches the point where his wife finds her love for him fading. He is saved from himself only by becoming involved in a chain of circumstances which leads him to the verge of killing her. His revulsion, when he finds lis suspicions were groundless, leads lim to save one of his "legal victims" from the electric chair, and by so doing he wins regeneration and ultimate happiness for himself. As the district attorney, Warren William gives a performance of tremendous force and penetration in this gripping story. Miss •Patrick is superb as his neglected wife and brings much beauty and tenderness to a grand role. PARAMOUNT THEATRE. Because of the popularity of "Dad and Dave Come to Town," it has been :ound necessary to extend the season for- a fourth week at the Paramount Ineatre. Comedy though it is, "Dad and Dave Come to Town," is a film tiat should appeal to all. In the way the typical characteristics 'of honest men and rogues, loving loyal women and gold-diggers, and the native wit and cunning of the out-back "Aussie" have been brought out there is something which places this picture on a new plane. And in the course of this achievement, there has been presented a most attractive study of home and city life in the great sandy continent. 3ert Bailey has always been the screen Dad, but he has mellowed and gained a smarter, quizzical outlook. His rages, from which wisdom emerges, are as appealing as his ponderous but genuine sentiments. Fred McDonald rivals the famous old stage actor in his own line, and the almost animal gurgle of delight when he is pleased is strictly exclusive. These two can do nothing right together the first time, and they provide continuous humour of a distinct sort. REX THEATRE. The comedy that adorns Charlie Chan's latest mystery-adventure, "Charlie Chan at the Opera," is extremely welcome to Boris Karloff, who plays the wily Chinese sleuth's maniacal foe in the new picture which is showing at the Rex Theatre. The supporting cast of "Charlie Chan at the Opera" features Keye Luke, Charlotte Henry, Thomas Beck, and Margaret Irving. Universal's "Air Devils," the second z ■feature, is a constantly exciting I comedy-drama of life and love on a t glamorous South Sea island. Thrills, c laughs, and breath-taking action are s interspered with scenes of sheerrr- t fantic glamour. Larry Blake, Dick E Purcell, Beryl Wallace, and Mamo jClark are in the cast. v a KILBIRNIE KINEMA. S "The Emperor's Candlesticks," pro- T duced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from l the novel by the Baroness Orczy, is showing at the Kilbirnie Kinema, with William Powell, and Luise Rainer in the starring roles. It is a daring film, not only because of its intriguing nar- I rative, but more because it gives these c celebrated stars a new opportunity to t prove their versatility. Three of the c screen's most popular saddle-mates, c "Hopalong Cassidy," "Windy" Halli- i day, and "Lucky" Jenkins ride to ad- c venture and romance again in Para- c mount's "Rustlers' 'Valley," which is c the associate film. i . j REGAL THEATRE, KARORI. f Presenting the beautiful interna- c tional star, Danielle Darrieux, in her s initial American screen role, Uniyer- s sal's "The Rage of Paris," a dashing romantic comedy, is showing at the Regal Theatre. Douglas Fairbanks, jun., is co-starred with the versatile French actress who appeared in some -, of Europe's most distinguished films, * including the prize-winning "Mayerl- J ing," before going to Hollywood. Four , song hits and sixty lovely girls form • portion of the numerous entertainment i ingredients which have gone into the making of "Paradise for Two," a scintillating musical comedy, co-starring r Jack Hulbert and Patricia Ellis, which S is the associate feature. EMPIRE THEATRE, ISLAND BAY. £ "The Perfect Specimen," starring J Errol Flynn, is showing at the Empire c Theatre. The story deals with an eccentric old lady possessed of many millions who has an ambition to see her grandson raised as an altogether perfect young man, and who for that <■ reason supplies him with an abundance of tutors but keeps him confined < to the limits of the family's vast es- ] tate. A young village girl—Joan Blon- * dell—manages to break into the virtual * prison and meet the young man. She t succeeds in getting him outside of his 1 bounds, and he begins to understand ' and love the world without. "Let 1 George Do It," starring the inimitable < comedian George Wallace, is the asso- \ date film. J

Cm AND SUBURBAN THEATRES

KING'S THEATRE. ■■ - When a personality such as Sonja ?, Henie achieves overnight stardom with a one picture—as she did less than two : years ago with "One in a Million"— ° I the temptation is strong on the part of Hollywood's movie makers to be satisfied with merely repeating the picture formula which won such sensational acclaim. This probably would have worked out all right in Sonja's case—except for Sonja herself. Far from being satisfied with that first brilliant success, the miraculous skating star set about to surpass it in every way—and did—with "Thin Ice" and "Happy Landing." And so it is easy to understand the enthusiastic advance reports concerning Sonja's newest 20th Century-Fox triumph, "My Lucky Star," which is showing at the King's Theatre. For one thing, "My Lucky Star" presents Sonja in an entirely new setting, far removed from Switzerland's alpine peaks and Norway's remote peasant villages. She is a radiant modern girl, having a modern good time on a co-ed campus. Sharing star honours with her j is Richard Green, handsome young British actor who gave such a splendid account of himself in "Four Men and a Prayer." PLAZA THEATRE. "Strange Boarders," starring Tom Walls, is the main attraction at the Plaza Theatre. The strange boarders are a motley crew from whom Tom Walls, in his role of Secret Service agent, hopes to discover the identity of an international spy who has been clever enough to obtain copies of new aeronautical plans from the stronghold of a Government office. The Palace Crescent (the locale of the boarding-house in this picture) is one of those thoroughly respectable thoroughfares just off the Bayswater Road where old ladies, retired colonels, and dull business men spend their days in bored contemplation of each other. One scene in "Strange Boarders" shows the star hopping nimbly from kerb to kerb of the crescent. Seven taxis, three vans, two horse-drawn vehicles, and four private cars, including Tom Walls's own Rolls Royce were used in this scene. After the first shot, when he was nearly run over by his own car, he ordered it off the set. Supporting Tom Walls in this picture is Renee Saint-Cyr, who appears' as his wife; Googie Withers as a vampish maid-of-all-work; Ronald Adam as a blind man; and Leon M. Lion in the role of a Cockney laundry manager. DE LUXE THEATRE. Boris Karloff stars in "The Man Who Changed His Mind," with Anna Lee and John Loder, a Gaumqnt-Brit-ish Dominions release, which is showing at the De Luxe Theatre. This is drama. Boris Karloff is a brain specialist who, in order to prove his theories in face of professional and public ridicule, experiments on human beings, with sensational results. A vivid, thrilling picture, it is well directed and acted, and should be a considerable draw. Boris Karloff, master of the sinister, has a part in which he has an opportunity of being much more human than usual. Though his experiments, and some of his less normal moments, are nicely calculated to chill the spine, he is a big character, deserving of sympathy and pity, a character which on occasion simply exudes human feeling and goodness in spite of the nature of the experiments he indulges in. Six consecutive years on the screen without a vacation or barely a breathing spell be"tween productions is Ruth Donnelly's Hollywood record. The well-known character player is seen with Joy i' Hodges, William Gargan, and Andy ; Devine in "Personal Secretary," which is the associate feature. Miss Donnelly as "Grumpy," Joy Hodges's confidante, gives one of the superlative performances of her career. s ( t STATE THEATRE. £ t A drama of world-famed Ellis Is- } land is "Gateway," the 20th Century- \ Fox starring vehicle for Don Ameche r and Arleen Whelan. The production, r which is showing at the State ( Theatre, is tense with violent emo- ] tions and keyed-up suspense; ' bright ( with the lightness of hearts buoyed E up with hope, and colourful with j its people from all lands. Don and t Arleen are thrilling with the strong, young romance of two who feared they had met too late. Their support is a cast of actors and actresses worthy of such a stirring story in the x most dramatic place in the world. Don ' is a homecoming newspaper corres- s pondent. Arleen is a young lass in the c second cabin, who is to meet her Jj fiance in America. Her beauty has attracted not only the newspaperman J but a gangster (Gilbert Roland) and \ a politically-minded mayor (Raymond \ Walburn). A famous divorcee (Binnie f Barnes) has aided the romance between Don and Arleen. Below decks are the } political fugitives and expatriates of 1 many lands who now seek refuge at America's "Gateway." Tense, human drama rises to compelling heights in the babel of tongues and the terror of people in an unknown land. ( ______ f NEW PRINCESS THEATRE. * ' Blending all the romance, fun, and s heartache of two young people in love, | Universal's new drama that gains * power from the simplicity of its theme, l "Youth Takes a Fling," is showing * at the New Princess Theatre. Joel t McCrea and Andrea Leeds register * the best performances of their careers in the picture. McCrea is aKKa- t sas farm youth fired with an ambition c to go to sea and Miss Leeds is a department store salesgirl whose one hope is some day to wear one of the wedding gowns she sells. The associ- h ate feature is United Artists' "52nd 5 Street," a gay, musical romance, star- c ring Leo Carrillo, Pat Paterson, and a s large cast. t _______ s PALACE THEATRE, PETONE. fc "There, but for the Grace of God, i I, Portia Merriman, would be facing s a verdict of life or death —instead of r this young, unfortunate victim of a c coward's infatuation." A sensational s ( outburst from the lips of the country's foremost woman barrister, forced by t circumstances to be a stranger to her i own son, and later ordered by Fate to | defend the murderess of that son's t father. This is the problem of Portia j * Merriman, played with illuminating j•' depth and insight by Frieda Inescort j*■ in "Portia on Trial," which commences at the Palace Theatre tomorrow. The supporting attraction, "The Gladiator," stars Joe E. Brown. GRAND THEATRE. PETONE. I "The Longest Night" and "Our Re- + lations" conclude tonight at the Grand + Theatre. \ "Four Men and a Prayer," the famous f Cosmopolitan Magazine story by David , Garth, spreads its vivid thrills across + the screen, and around the world, in I the 20th Century-Fox picturisation I opening tomorrow at the Grand The- \ atre. Loretta Young is featured, with \ Richard Greene, the new star discov- J cry, as her leading man. George Sanders, David Niven, and C. Aubrey " r Smith are also featured in the story c f of four gallant brothers pledged to a + quest that mocks at death. • STATE THEATRE, PETONE. £ "The Baroness and the Butler" con- r eludes tonight at the State Theatre. * Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell 1 are co-starred for the first time in the I lavish musical "Rosalie," which comes i to the State Theatre tomorrow. Nel- 1 son Eddy and Eleanor Powell supply t the romantic interest in this tuneful melange, which varies in locale be-' \ tween a football game, a military col- y lege, a transatlantic aeroplane, and the colourful, mythical kingdom of "Ro- \ manta." The pairing of Eddy and Miss , Powell was a happy idea. *

TIVOLI THEATRE. A comedy with lavish backgrounds, "Beg, Borrow, or Steal," featuring Frank Morgan, Florence Rice, and John Beal, is the main attraction at the Tivqli Theatre. "Beg, Borrow, or Steal" is the story of an American tourist guide who promotes a I chateau on the Riviera to carry out a bluff to his family in America. The idea is to use the place for his daughter's wedding, and he calls on his crook pals to pose as nobility. With one eye on the police, Morgan manages the plan all right up to a certain point. But the daughter, being a chip off the old block, upsets things by marrying the wrong man. The picture is filled with laughs, furnished by a cast of experts. Sylvia Sidney and George Raft 1 are the stars in "You and Me," which I is the second feature. The film has the background of a large department store owned by a philanthropist who gives jobs to ex-convicts. Raft anc Miss Sidney are two of his employees who try to find happiness together, going straight, after serving prison terms. < RIVOLI THEATRE. "Beg, Borrow, or Steal," now at the Rivoli Theatre, is one of the laugh hits of the season. With a cast running over with comedians, the picture offers Frank Morgan an excellent vehicle for his first top billing under the banner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Florence Rice and John Beal are featured with him. "Beg, Borrow, or Steal" is the story of an American in Paris wtio promotes a chateau on the Riviera to carry out a bluff with his family in America and to give his daughter a wedding in the manner to which she is not accustomed. Surrounded by crooks posing as nobility, Morgan gels into one difficulty after another and the climax is reached when the girl, being a daughter of her father, upsets things completely and marries the wrong man. The tangled lives of convicts on parole and forbidden to marry are told in the powerful story of Paramount's new Sylvia SidneyGeorge Raft film, "You and Me," which is the second attraction. OPERA HOUSE. "Sing Me a Loye Song," Cosmopolitan's latest musical comedy, which is showing at the Opera House, has James Melton, Patricia Ellis, Hugh Herbert, Zasu Pitts, Allen Jenkins, and Nat Pendleton in the stellar roles. It is a highly-entertain-ing song and dance test with three new catchy tunes by the famous Broadway and Hollywood composers, Harry Warren and Al Dubin, one by Jacques Wolfe, and two old favourites. But it is not all music. There is one of the most entertaining stories the screen has produced, written by Harry Sauber. There are laughs, some thrills, and a romance that will gladden every heart. The stqry concerns a wealthy young man who falls heir to a department, store. Knowing nothing about tho management of it, he leaves it »« the hands of two other men. When he finds out, however, that they are crooked, he enters the store as a clerk to find out what it is all about. He falls in love with a pretty clerk, getting into one scrape after another through his devil-may-care attitude. "Springtime in the Rockies," starring Gene Autry, singing cowboy, is the associate film. ROXY THEATRE. The Republic production, "Call of the Yukon," adapted from James Oliver Curwood's popular novel, "Swift Lightning," which is showing at the Roxy Theatre, is a thrilling epic of the frozen north. Woven into the narrative are many delightful incidents depicting the mateship between a colile and a savage halfwolf, half-Alsatian dog. Richard Arlen as the trapper and Beverly Roberts as the novelist are excellent in the main roles. Ralph Reader and Gena Malo play the leading roles in the supporting feature, "The Gang Show," Herbert Wilcox's delightfully different film of the attempts of a l "gang" of talented youngsters to stage a revue. OUR THEATRE, NEWTOWN. Love in the midst of the cradle of savagery; a romance amid the perils of the primeval jungles, spectacle, thrills, wild animals in their primitive state; a girl as savage as the beasts themselves, lured to civilisation through love of a man from the outer world— these are some of the oustanding elements unfolded in "Trader Horn," the i main attraction at Our Theatre. Harry s Carey plays Trader Horn, and Edwina F Booth appears as Nina. The comedy- _ drama "You're Only Young Once," starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney; and Cecilia Parker, is the associate feature. CAPITOL THEATRE, MIRAMAR. Fine, great dramatic situations in- t terspersed with hilarious comedy t moments march grandly across the I screen of Universal's John M. Stahl pro- p duction, "A Letter of Introduction," v which is showing at the Capitol b Theatre. Adolphe Menjou, Andrea f. Leeds, and George Murphy provide ( the drama. The comedy is excellently taken care of by that remarkable pair, s Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, p "The Bad Man of Brimstone," starring p Wallace Beery, an epic saga of the lawless West, is the second feature. n BEACH AFTERNOON. a Tomorrow afternoon at 2.30 the V.M.C.A. Swimming and Life-saving *' Club will hold a beach afternoon at y Oriental Bay. This occasion was post- 1: poned from last Saturday on account s of doubtful weather. There will be n I swimming and life-saving events, and v i short races on the beach for children. n Prizes will be given to the boys and 1 * the girls who wear the most original | c or the most humorous bathing cos- b tumes, costumes preferably to be home- *! made. This parade will take place at c 3 o'clock. There will also be a treas- , ure hunt, and free canoe rides, each canoe being in charge of an adult. KILBIRNIE WRESTLING CLUB. The Kilbirnie Wrestling Club will hold its final entertainment for this [year at the Rex Hall, Kilbirnie Cres- a cent, on Tuesday next, at 8 p.m. A 5 special effort has been made to make n this occasion a gala night. Radio per- y sonalities will give 50 minutes of bright o entertainment. In addition there will be eight star vaudeville turns, includ- „ ing Mr. Bert Hickford (character rsinger), Marist Bros.' Miramar Hart monica Band, Dorothy Lang (acrobatic \ dancer), The Strollers' Dance Band (in- £ strumentalists), Mr. Robert Cheyne (winner of the New Zealand test elocutionary scholarship), six-year-old " Raymond Clifford (song and dance), Brian Barstow (Wellington's Stanley f* Holloway), and a grand spectacular. P

--ntipfli Bcena of over 40 talented Tuveniles, pupils of Miss Margaret bates, entitled "The Fleet Returns."