AMUSEMENTS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19997, 24 July 1939, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS

p KING'S THEATRE “SUBMARINE I’ATROL" The never-told-before drama of the heroic "Splinter Fleet" is the climax of John Ford’s Award-winning career in “Submarine Patrol. ’ the film Darryl F. Zanuck produced for 20th Century-Fox and which 'Will finish at the King’s Theatre to-night. It has been hailed as cxie of tne greatest pictures of the year. The submarine chasers are a branch of the navy that have received comparatively tittle notice and yet saw some of the most exciting action of the Great War. Manned by the strangest crews of civilian odds and ends ever to board a fighting ship, the “Splinter Fleet” provides a powerful dramatic theme worthy ot Ford s robust, toi thright technique.

“The Duke of West Point” and “Everybody’s Baby”: To-morrow

••The Duke of West Point." starving Louis Hayward. .loan anu Tom Brown, which opens at the Kings Theatre to-morrow, is' a really outstanding film. It tells of the thrilling adventures and romances of the cadets at the United States Military Academy. The other feature on the programme w ill be "Everybody's Baby." starrm;; the .Tones family in a riotous comedy. REGENT THEATRE EAST DAY: “STOLEN LIFE” Few ccrcen roles have been so flawlessly acted as that af the twin sisters in “Stolen Life," the dramatic him which is to cad its season at the Regent Theatre to-night. In an unusually difficult part Elisabeth Bergner. aided *by her wonderful flair for emotional acting, her restraint ana cubtle emphasis of minor details, noneat differentiation between the two characters, sad her smooth ana polished style, is responsible lor a magnificent performance. Tne twin.are identical to 'the casual ooserver. except for the fact that they choose to part their hair on different sides. However, their characters and outlook on life are the opposite in every way. and it is in this respect that the great actress is called upon to exercise all her wide array of talent. The plot takes a novel aa-d intriguing turn when one girl attempts to assume the personality of her sister with the change of her hair parting. This transposition of character is splendidly handled )y Elisabeth Bergner. who sustains the hi“h level of her actiag throughout the entire film. Michael Redgrave and Wilfred Lawson arc convincing in supporting roles.

To-morrow: First N.Z. ami Australian Screening of • .lack Buchanan in "The Gang's All Here” —

Those who c.ily know Jack Buchanan a 5 a.dapper musical comedy star will blink when they read that he is mixed up with jewel thieves and murderer-' and guns, spits cigar ends into the corner and mouths phrases a-oout

"rubbing - people out” and "washing them no" in "The Gangs All I-leie. which will have its New Zealand and Australian premiere at the Regent Theatre to-morrow. However, Jack has not really got into disgraceful company; he is a detective employed by a jewellery insurance company anc. oiler he lias been ceremoniously Farewelled by the chairman of the board of directors upon his retirement to write detective novels he rushes back to find Aho stole the crown jewels of a Continental country from Hoc company's own safe, murdering the guard. With Buchanan in it the film could never be more than half serious, and when he impersonates a gunman (“triggerman" is now the word) he is given all opportunities for burlcsqucing the American detective drama. The balance is held nicely between excitement and laughter in a film that is something like an English "Thin Man.' Googie Withers appears as Jack Buchanan’s wife, Edward Everett Horton is the entertaining detective’., butler, and Otto Kruger is perfectly sinister as the master mind behind the jewel thieves. One will' not have to be one of Jack Buchanan’s many admirers to enjoy "The Gang s All Here. —“The Citadel”— The management of the Regent announces that arrangements have been concluded with Metro-Golclwyn-Mayer Films to screen their most outstanding production for 1939. "The Citadel,” next Friday. The box plans open to-day at the theatre. MAJESTIC THEATRE SEASON EXTENDED—“SON OF FRANKENSTEIN” In name and in presentation, "The Son of Frankenstein” lives up to the fame which has preceded this great picture and the large attendance.which greeted the presentations at the Majestic Theatre an Saturday were a tribute to a world-lamed acltor and a unique, fantastic story. In similar films a high standard of producing has been .maintained and in "The Son of Frankenstein” any exaggerations have been carefully removed se> that the story and its presentation have been moulded into a splendid production to provide entertainment of the highest quality. Delicate and aweinspiring lighting effects have been used lo provide the correct atmosphere, while vast settings more than emphasise the immensity of the film. During the whole screening time o! 90 minutes the audience is treated_ to a film Which gives play to all the line revelations of the camera and portrays moot faithfully one of the finest and moot interesting stories yet penned. Then there is the exceptionally fine characterisation given, by Basil Rallibone, as the scientist who (ha-s inherited the Frankenstein castle and heritage. He stumbles upon, his father’s grim creation, the hair-raising Monster of destruction, played by Karloff. Lionel Atwill. Josephine. Hutchinson, Emma Dunn, four-year-old Donnie Dunagan, and Edgar Norton are outstanding in supporting roles, Alliwill as a police inspector whose arm has been torn off by the Monster and Miss Hutchinson as Frankenstein’s wife. The fcalurcF.es include "Old English Homesteads,” intimate scenes of the King and Queen in Canada; "Submarine Disaster," and “Scouts to the Rescue.” The season lias been extended to include Tuesday \