PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 21752, 21 June 1934, Page 6

PICTURE THEATRES

OCTAGON'S NEW PROGRAMME TWO OUTSTANDING PICTURES Two features tliafc arc of sufficient merit to provide entertainment in themselves comprise the excellent programme that was shown for the first time at the Octagon Theatre last night. Such attractive fare is a recommendation to any picturegoer, but the wide field which these two films embrace stamps the programme with the mark of quality. Judging from the manner in which the audience received them, the Octagon Theatre should be a popular rendezvous during the coming week. It requires magnificent acting to make a film based on a hackneyed story attractive, but this Carole Lombard and Gene Raymond succeed in doing in' ‘Brief Moment.’ Unacted against a background of Park Avenue apartments, smart night clubs, and the luxurious life of the idle rich, the life of this great city is splendidly depicted. Women will find this new film particularly appealing. It delves romantically into the strained matrimonial venture of a hard-working night club singer and a wealthy ne'er-do-well. ‘ Brief Moment ’ is an adaptation of the play of tho same name, which ran for several months last season in New York. . The scene is New York, which must surely loom large in 90 per cent, of American films, and tho background is the night life of the city. As for the story it concerns a young married couple—a millionaire’s son and a cabaret singer. The marriage starts under a parental ban and, eventually, tho wife is faced with tho question of whether the effort of saving a worthless and rich young man from himself' and his friends is worth the reward. As one would expect things turns out for the best, but the actors and actresses carry the audience with them from start to finish. They have a difficult task to avoid an overdose of sentiment, but they succeed admirably. Mystery pictures will never lose their audience attraction, providing, they are well-made, intelligently motivated, and contain sufficient suspense and thrills. Direct proof of this statement is offered by ‘ The Ninth Guest,’ the other picture. A comparatively new formula is used in ‘ The Ninth Guest.’ Eight guests, all of whom dislike each other intensely, are summoned by mysterious telegrams to a party in a smart New York penthouse. Once there, they can-, not discover the identity of their host. A strange radio voice' announces that they are all to die unless they can outwit him. All tho action of the picture takes place during that one evening in that one setting. And sure enough, before the final fade-out six of the guests have met with strange and horrible ends. Only two survive. The climax is an unusual and unexpected one. ■ Donald Cook and Genevieve Tobin, both popular screen stars, again give convincing performances. Less wellknown are Edward Ellis, Helen Flint, and Nella ' Walker, all three comparatively recently from the stage. Roy William Neill directed, from the screen script of the Owen Davis stage play. EMPIRE Fifty beautiful chorus girls, A:.cast •which includes such popular screen players as James Dunn,-.Lilian ; Roth, Cliff Edwards (“ Ukulele Ike ”), and Lona Andre; a battery of-song writers and lyricists, and expert direction combine to make ‘Take a Chance,’ which concludes to-night at the Empire, one of the delights of the current season. Take a Chance ’ must not be classified as “ just another back-stage romance.” Its scenes range all the way from a carnival sideshow, through a lavishly-appointed gambling club, out to the homes of the socially elite on Long Island and back to Broadway. STATE Sparkling Ginger Rogers tops all her film roles for thrill, comedy, and romance in R.K.O. Radio Picture’s inusical extravaganza, ‘ Flying Down to Rio,’ at the State, when she straddles tho fuselage of an airplane and gallops through tho skies over beautiful Rio de Janeiro. Her performance is .part of the spectacular film’s climax when some 200 beautiful girls soar aloft to stage the world’s first aerial musical show, dancing and singing on the wings of planes, tripping the light fantastic on thiii air as they tumble earthward in parachutes. Ginger Rogers acts as the master of ceremonies, announcing the numbers over a loudspeaker system. The cast of all-stars includes Dolores del Rio, Fred Astaire, Gene Raymond, and Raul Roulien. GRAND Both the old and modern are vividly depicted in ‘ Romantic New Zealand,’ which will have its final screening after a two weeks’ season at the Grand Theatre. The scenes include the discovery of this country by Captain Cook, some of the dominion’s oldest buildings, the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the glories of lake and bush, and the habits of the Maoris. The audience is transported by air over Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, and Christchurch. In tlie first city the harbour, which permits huge liners being berthed at the end of the main street, is the main subject of interest, while Wellington’s charming seaside suburbs, Dunedin’s stately architecture, and the beauty of Christchurch’s willow-bordered Avon aro tho main features of the other cities. REGENT The popularity of tho Regent’s current attraction, ‘ Roman Scandals,’ has merited an extension of its season, and that this further period of its screening is justifiable, is seen in the large crowds that aro attending every session. Eddie Cantor is right up to his brightest and best form, giving a performance that eclipses any of his previous work. When the story opens he is found as a grocer’s assistant in the small America town of West Rome. Falling into trouble frequently and often crossing tho path of the high authorities, ho is very quicklv run outside the town boundary by Sie police. At that stage time Hies backward for the grocer’s assistant, and he finds himself in the city of ancient Rome. Adventures follow thick and fast. His pop-eyes and comical little figure set about by the pomp and indulgent luxury of the emperor’s palace give everyone something to enjoy. The slave market and other scenes arc beautifully mounted and wonderfully effective, reaching new heights in originality and setting. The star moves through the ballet scenes with the same * power of amusement as he does in other yihases of the film, and it is doubtful whether the screen has ever contributed anything more amusing for the entertainment of mortals than the scenes in ‘ Roman Scandals,’ wherein the comedian accidentally blunders into the beauty parlour, where the ladies of the emperor's court aro making themselves ready to greet another day.

Among the supporting films, Walt Disney’s latest Silly Symphony in colour, ‘ The China Shop,’ has pride of place. ST. JAMES Vaudeville entertainment of a high order is provided in ‘On the Air,’ which will conclude, at the St. James Theatre to-night. Many of the bestknown radio artists are seen in their favourite performances. A slender story has been ngenionsly introduced to link up the acts and give the picture a smooth, flowing continuity. Roy Fox and his band are seen in some popular numbers, while the other players introduce humorous and instrumental items of a varied and most enjoyable description. The excellent supporting programme includes ‘ Tembi,’ the pictorial record of an expedition to Central Africa. STRAND All the elements of successful melodrama are contained in ‘ Bombay Mail,' which will be finally screened at the Strand to-day. A luxurious express train, speeding between Calcutta and Bombay, forms tho unusual background of the film, which has a mysterious murder as its motif. Circumstance points to several travellers as the probable perpetrators of the crime, but the identity of the murderer is not revealed until the final scenes. Edmund Lowe. Shirley Grey, and Ralph Forbes are the principals. There is an interesting supporting programme. KING EDWARD A searching study of modern life is given in ‘ The AVomau in His House,’ the current attraction at the King Edward. Ann Harding and Leslie Howard are the principal players in. this drama, which proves conclusively that a woman with rather loose values of morality can he respectable, and in a role such as that one, Ann Harding plays the mistress of a man who falls to her charms. Myrna Loy plays tho seductive wife. Others in the cast are Neil Hamilton, Henry Stephenson, Leni Stengel, and Donald DiUoway. The picture has been beautifully staged, and, with four beautiful women in the cast, and the background one of culture and wealth, the gowns.are some-; thing to rave about.