PICTURE THEATRES

Evening Star, Issue 22440, 10 September 1936, Page 4

PICTURE THEATRES

SINISTER BORIS KARLOFF THRILLS FOR GRAND AUDIENCES Picture patrons almost without exception enjoy, a ; production that curdles the blood and that has as its central figure one who is only associated with exaggerated fantasy. The picture that constitutes the major offering of the Grand’s new programme, which began yesterday', satisfies to the full all those qualities, and especially so from the viewpoint of acting. . Boris Karloff, Hollywood’s most sinister figure of the films, is a magnetic attraction in himself, and doubly so when delineating a role that offers • such scope as in 1 Invisible Hay.’ The story is essentially impossible, but that does not detract from the appeal of the- picture.' The other film' is ‘ We’re Only Human.’ The plot of, * Invisible' 'Ray ’ is based on the, march of science, and is laid in the year 1937, so as to include accomplishments on the very threshold of which science finds itself at the present moment. Karloff is cast as Dr Janos Rukh, a brilliant scientist, whose inventions are so far ahead of the times as to be almost incomprehensible. He convinces a party of wealthy and influential scientists of the soundness of his theories, and Sir Francis Stevens sponsors an expedition into Africa to advance Rukh’s researches, in the party are Diane, Rukh’s beautiful wife; Dr Benet, another scientist; Sir Francis and Lady Arabella Stevens; and young Ronald Drake, their nephew. Rukh makes a marvellous discovery in a great luminous pit created by a fallen meteor. It is a subtance far more powerful than radium, of which ho has dreamed for years, and Which draws light from heavenly bodies. Rukh names this chemical . Radium X, and remains for months perfecting its use. Meanwhile, his wife and Drake have fallen in love, although they fight against it. Diane, realising this, goes to her husband’s camp miles away, but he refuses to see her, and senus her back, uncomprehending. The truth is that a horrible' tragedy has befallen Rukh, for in his experiments, with the insidious Radium X, his hands and face have become affected so that they are luminous, and shine ,a't night. _ A touch of his fingers will kill any living thing instantly. Rukh secretly returns to the main camp, and, giving a bit of the Radium X, to Dr Benet, receives from him an antidote for his luminosity, which he must inject into his veins at regular intervals twice daily to prevent the liminosity and lie horrible results. He then leaves to finish his experiments with the chemical, i which is powerful enough to destroy a city a thousand miles away through its rays. The party returns to Paris'without Rukh. There Dr Benet and. Sir Francis prepare to present the marvellous discovery to the Scientific Congress. Rukh returns, cures his old mother’s blindness by the Radium X, but discovers Dr Benet using the discovery as his own. Rukh becomes maddened at this perfidy, murders a man who resembles himself, and the next morning' the newspapers proclaim Rukh’s death, Drake and Diane marry. Rukh conceives -the fiendish scheine' of killing each one of the party of six who were in Africa and whom he considers have betrayed him. Rukh’s body is consumed with the poisons of the Radium X, and suddenly becomes luminous and his clothes begin to smoke. Suddenly he flings his arms wide, bursting into a flaming cross, and crashes through a window to his death.

‘ We’re Only Human ’ is a new type of detective story, starring; Preston Foster. Its swift pace will keep audiences at a feverish level of excitement. The story opens with the capture of a notorious gangster by Detective-ser-geant M'Caffrey (Preston Foster). The gangster escapes, and the rest of the story concerns the efforts of the officer and of a-girl reporter (Jane Wyatt) to recapture him. The climax is reached in the bandit’s “hideout,” where the detective achieves success after a thrilling. gun battle. Preston Foster, who established his film reputation in ‘ The Last Days of Pompeii ’ and ‘ Love Before Breakfast.’ gives an excellent portrayal. STATE ‘ Captain January,’ which is having an extended season at the State this week, is a Shirley Temple picture with a nautical tang. Shirley plays the part of the orphaned daughter of an opera singer, lost in a wreck off the rocky Maine coast, where Shirley, who was washed- ashore when a baby, is given- a home-by Guy Kibbee, a lighthouse keeper. As a merry, light-hearted child 'of six: she is the old man’s sole light and joy in his old age. Slim Summerville, as tke captain’s companion, aids’ in the •upbringing of the child, “ Star;” as, she is known. The dramatic episodes surround the efforts of a truant officer (a typical Sarah Haden part) to take “ Star ” away from Kibplace her in a school, and the subsequent loss by Kibbee of his job as lighthouse tender. The book ‘ Captain January ’ was a favourite some years agOj and is an ideal vehicle for Shirley, .as it, has been adapted to the little star’s talents and yet loses none of its original charm. The climax is a perfectly timed one. One has almost given up hope for “ Star ” in the hands of the truant officer when a delightful turn .of events leads to her rescue, and the end could not have been more delightful, although it differs here from the book. There is an excellent supporting programme. ST. JAMES Leslie Howard and Bette Davis, two of the finest players on the screen today, are the principals of ‘ The Petrified Forest,’ which concludes at the St. .lames this evening. The story tells how a disillusioned writer finds beauty in a service station on the barren Ariadna desert. He also finds: and falls in’ love with Bette Davis, and finally gives’ his life that she may have the advantages shfe desiresi' A strong supporting cast adds considerably to the success of this picture. ‘RIFF-RAFF.’ Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy, two popular screen stars, are cast together for the first time in the thrilling drama of the waterfront, ‘ BiffHaft,’ which commences at the St. James to-morrow. An unusual film of quarrels, strike-s, love, and intrigue, the picture is reported to be one of the best released from American studios within recent months. Two people. Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy, the one a daughter of a drunkard fisherman and the other a bombastical tough of the waterfront, are married. A former lover of the wife’s, however, who is a professional agitator, interferes, and until the conclusion of the film there is a continuous period of excitement. Tracy becomes an agitator, and is separated from his wife, who is eventually imprisoned. He comes to

her rescue, but sho will have nothing to do with him until he has reformed, and it is not until the final scenes of this thrilling film that they are reunited. Jean Harlow eclipses even her stirring performance in ‘ China Seas,’ while Spencer Tracy makes a perfect partner. Others in an outstanding cast include Una Merkel and Joseph Calleia (of ‘ Public Enemy ’ fame), and J. Farrell MacDonald, Victor Kilian, Mickey Rooney, and Vince Barnett. EMPIRE Superbly acted and hilariously funny in dialogue, ‘ Mr Deeds Goes to Town,’ which will conclude its local season at the Empire to-night, provides excellent entertainment. Gary Cooper, as Mr DeedSj the small-town gentleman who inherits a fortune and is plunged headlong into the fast-moving life of New York, portrays his role with characteristic ability. Opposite him is Jean Arthur, who first plays up to him in order to gain front page stories concerning the “ Cinderella Man,” but ultimately falls in love with him, ‘THREE LIVE GHOSTS.’ ‘Three Live Ghosts’ became something of a tradition in the early days of talking* films, but so great is the appeal of this evergreen comedy, that it has been made into an entirely new production, which vividly illustrates the progress -made by the sound film since 1930. The new production, which comes to the Empire to-morrow, is a splendid achievement. It presents a story constructed on the lines of broadest farce in a way that will appeal to all filmgoers. Briefly, ‘ Three Live Ghosts ’ concerns three soldiers—an American, a Cockney, and a titled Englishman “ queer - ” from shellshock —who return from the war after imprisonment in a German camp, to find themselves officially listed as “ dead.” For varying reasons they decide to remain hidden behind this official cloak of anonymity. Their adventures as they - move through London as living dead men, without names or identity, provide moments of hilarious comedy. Claude . Allister, Richard Arlen, Charles M'Naughton, and Beryl Mercer head the brilliant cast. Beryl Mercer, incidentally, recreates the role which made her famous on the stage—that of a Cockney mother who gets into a pickle by collecting her boy’s war insurance, only to have him bob up hale and hearty, when sh© has spent the insurance money. REGENT Fred. Mac Murray and Sylvia Sydney are the principals in ‘ The Trail of the Lonesome Pine,’ which heads the entertaining programme concluding this evening at the Regent. Filmed entirely in natural colour, the picture depicts the adventures of a young engineer who attempts to build a railway line through lonely mountain country in which feuds are rife to open up coal mines in the district. Henry Fonda heads the supporting cast. An excellent selection of short features gives support. ‘THE AMATEUR GENTLEMAN.’ Jeffery Farnol’s most fascinating and exciting romance, ‘ The Amateur Gentleman,’ has been made into a film which both English and American critics hail as a triumph for the new British studio of Criterion Film Productions Ltd. It will commence at the Regent to-morrow. The amateur tentleman is the son of an ex-prize-ghter, but he had been brought up as a gentleman. He breaks sensationally into the society of Regency England in order to discover the truth about some stolen pearls, on account of which his. father had been clapped into the condemned cell. In the course of his quest he becomes a friend of the Prince Regent, the worshipper of the proud but romantic Lady Cjeone, and tlie enemy of the sauvely villainous Chichester. At various stages he is the hero of a bare-knuckle fight, the instigator of a gaol-break, and the quarry of Bow Street runners. Douglas Fairbanks, jun., is well east ns the hero of these varied escapades. Ho looks the part, lias a virile and romantic air, natural ease of bearing and speech, a dash of chivalry, and the ability to suggest an underlying strength of purpose. STRAND Two excellent features conclude this evening at the Strand in ‘ Death at Broadcasting House’ and ‘Desert Gold.’ Having an unusual plot, with its locale .the 8.8. C. headquarters, the first film is an intriguing mystery story centred round the murder of a broadcasting actor. lan Hunter, Austin Trevor, and Mary Newland are the principals. ‘ Desert Gold ’ is a thrilling'Eane Grey western story filrmsation,. with “ Buster ” Crabbe, Marsha Hunt, and Robert Cummings as the principals. ENTERTAINING features. A drama which lias the fury of a typhoon will be screened at the Strand to-morrow, where the Columbia production, ‘ Heli-Ship Morgan,’ has that powerful screen personality George Bancroft in the title role. Bancroft pounds his way through a red-blood story of the two men battling for the love of a beautiful woman. Victor 'Jory is cast as Bancroft’s opponent in love, while Ann Sothern is the charming prize. D. Ross Lederman directed this turbulent drama of human emotions and raging seas. Other important members of the imposing cast include George Regas, Howard Hickman, and Ralph Byrd. Billie Seward, brunette Columbia actress, is again teamed with Colonel Tim ’ M‘Coy, virile Western star, in Columbia’s ‘ Justice of the Range,’ a hard-riding, exciting romance of the eai-ly West, which will be the associate feature in the programme’. ‘ Justice of the Range,’ which was directed by David Selman from an original story and screen play by Ford Beebe, gives Miss Seward her fourth role' opposite M’Coy. She previously played with him in ‘ Law Beyond the Range,’ ‘ The Revenge Rider,’ and ‘ Voice in the Night.’ OCTAGON Comprising ‘ Painted Veil ’ and Shadow of Doubt,’ the programme concluding at the Octagon this evening, is entertainment of high order. The first film has Herbert Marshall, George Brent, and Greta Garbo in the featured roles, each being responsible for brilliant characterisation and collectively make a brilliant and intriguing picture. ‘ Shadow of Doubt ’ gives Ricardo Cortez and Virginia Bruce an opportunity to demonstrate superb control of dramatic roles in a fine mystery drama. DOUBLE-FEATURE PROGRAMME. The brilliant musical film ‘ Roberta,’ starring Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, and Irene Dunne will commence a return season at the Octagon to-morrow. ‘ Roberta,’ produced by RKO-Radio, which made ‘ The Gay Divorcee,’ features the singing of Miss Dunne and the (lancing and singing of Astaire and Miss Rogers in a swift-moving story said to be replete with romance.

comedy, and colour, Jerome Korn wrote the music lor the production. In .addition to several of his hit songs from the stage show, including ‘ Smoko Gets in Your Eyes,’ new numbers which he composed especially for the film are introduced. A brilliant fashion show, in which original creations are displayed by a select group of America’s beautiful girls, is an outstanding feature *of the production. Another of the popular detective-mystery stories by Stuart Palmer, author of ‘ The Penguin Pool Murder ’ and ‘ Minder on "the Blackboard,’ comes to the screen with Edna May Oliver and James Gleason featured. Titled ’ Murder on a Honevmoon,’ it is based on Palmer’s ‘ The Puzzle of the Pepper Tree,’ and will be the associate feature on the programme. HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE Shakespeare, with a splendour and faithfulness which has neyer before been possible; Shakespeare, with not one, line of the text altered! Nearly three and a-half centuries after he wrote Ins famous fantasy, ‘ A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ coming to His Majesty’s Theatre on Wednesday, the greatest dramatist comes into his own. Science, art, the storied culture of centuries, and finally the stage, supplied Professor Max Reinhardt, the famous Continental producer, with the means to interpret this wholly delightful play, packed with whimsical and human emotion for mankind through Warner Bros., who spent over £250,000 upon it. Giving freest rein to his astounding and creative imagination and sense of humour, Shakespeare baffled the stage and the finest actors, the Alleyns and the Garricks, the Irvings and the Holloways, for'the size of any theatre severely restricted both directors and actors. But with all the world for his stage, and not confined by physical dimensions, Reinhardt’s genius for the superlative in presenting the immortal playwright has achieved alike the incredible and the impossible in his films. Distinguished people who have had the privilege of seeing the film and are intellectually in a position to sing either its anthems or its anathema, are universal in unanimous praise of its general excellence and the happy assignment of the roles. MAYFAIR 1 I Found Stella Parish,’ 'at present being shown at the Mayfair, is an ingenious and unusual story of an actress and her secret. Kay Francisi has the name part, and admirable support is given by Paul Lukas and a strong subsidiary cast. This tale of a popular London actress who disappears after the opening of a play which is headed for success, and then becomes the centre of a most remarkable quest, provides excellent material for the favourite actress to display her ability. Stella Parish has a secret. She lives in dread, She will not go out; she has a country house which is hidden from everyone, and she is never seen off the stage. With the years she has built up a great reputation, too great. For nows of her reaches a man in the United States who remembers her past. After that she has no resort hut flight. It is at this point that the film begins. Thereafter the story is told with brilliance, and the mystery of Stella Parish, when it is cleared up, does not rob her of her happiness. Miss Francis has never been better than in this film, and lan ’Hunter, who will he remembered with Bette Davis in The Girl from Tenth Avenue,’ reveals a force and charm that must make him a popular star. The supporting programme is a long one.