MAJESTIC THEATRE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20115, 8 December 1939, Page 5

MAJESTIC THEATRE

TAMIROFF IN “THE MAGNIFICENT FRAUD.” AND “PARDON OUR NERVE”

Is the dictator dead? That burning, provocative question arises in the course of the new Paramount drama, “The Magnificent Fraud” which opened to-day at the .Majestic Theatre because Akim Tamiroff, in the role of dictator-actor, has been placed at the head of a government of a mythical South American country by Lloyd Nolan, who is cast as an adventurous, reckless, romantic American —the man behind the dictator! Nolan makes this bold move because the real dictator of the country has been assassinated in a bombing, and Nolan realises that the country will not get the big loan needed to put it on its feet unless the dictator is believed to be alive. That grand actress, Mary Boland, is piesenl as the ex-friend of the dictator, and' Patricia Morison adds romantic interest, cast opposite Lloyd Nolan. George Zucco plays the role of an honest statesman, while the supporting cast includes Steffi Duna as a fiery dancer, and Ernest Cossart as a French detective. Robert Florey directed from a screenplay bv Gilbert Gabriel and Walter Ferris. Lynn Bari and June Gale say that a. girl must live, and, it possible, live very well, and they set about to prove it in "Pardon Our Nerve,” the second feature. The film finds the gii'ls as two hungry little workers in search of prosperity. They are sent horseback riding by the Elite Escort Service. The patron happens to be the light-heavyweight champion of the world and' the girls make a bad irapression. The horses run away and the picture opens with a flying start. To tell of all that happens from here to the end of the film—how they meet Guinn Williams, manage his fights in the ring, tie-up with Michael Whalen and run foul of Edward Brophy—would require too much space and do no justice to the film. But there is no slackening in the lively pace until the story ends amid laughter and romance. “Oregon Trail” will be screened 10-dav and Saturday, and “The Lone Ranger,” a new serial, will commend next Monday.