ENTERTAINMENTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 216, 12 August 1937, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

REGENT THEATRE. "EVELYN PRENTICE.” Life’s most potent dramas are wrung from the coui’troms. Thus, realising the value of story material to be found in A'morican courtrooms, Motro-Goldwyn-Mnycr studios again have teamed William PowoJl and Myrna Loy for tho third successive time, this time in tho gripping courtroom drama, “Evelyn Prentice,” which screens at tho Regent Theatre tonight. Murder, divorce, criminal plots of every kind, physical and spiritual victory, ruined enreers, despair, heartaches, frustrated ambitions, tragedy and humour —all these and muny more stark realities of lifo servo as inspiration for literary, stage and screen masterpieces. It is such a story that brings Powell and Miss Loy, accepted as the ideal husband and wife nf the screen, to the theatre public for the third time. Their first appearance together was in “Manhattan Melodrama”— Powell as tho gamin of the slums who rose to hecomo the Governor of a great Stnto and confronted with tho ordonl of condemning his childhood playmate to flic electric chair; Miss Loy as the woman ho had taken from that friend, to make her his wife. The success of this picture demandod a return of the Powoll-Loy team. Their second picture was the rollicking film of Doshicll Hammett’s humorous datcctivo novel, “The Thin Man.” After that there was no escaping a third teaming of Powell and Miss Loy. And now they again appear as husband and wife in the screen version of W. I'.. Woodward’s powerful novel of the courtrooms, “Evelyn Prentice.” As in their previous pictures, Powoll and Miss Loy nave been given an excellent supporting cast, including Una Merkel. Henry Wadsworth, Harvey Stephens, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Russell, Edward Bropliy, Cora Sue Collins and Jessie Ralph.

STATE THEATRE. “THE WOMAN I LOVE.” Promising one of the most, vital dramas distinguishing the motion picture screen, “The Woman I Love” screening to-mor-row at tho State Theatre, has been pro- ! duced as a romantic action picture starring Paul Muni and Miriam Hopkins and featuring Louis Hayward in a domestic triangle developed amid the frenzied days of the World War on the Marne front and mounting to a sensational denouement during a spectacular air battle fought by two Froncli flying heroes whose heartaches over one woman form the motive of the story. The picture comes from RKO Radio, which has lavishly mounted and cast the production as one of its major offerings of fho season, basing the magnitude of the affair upon the power of its theme and the eminence of its principal players. Particular interest is attached to Paul Muni s role, for Muni has won top honours for tho best performance as an actor during the past season. The award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences went to Muni for his title role in “The Story of Louis Pasteur.” The Minneapolis Journal’s national poll of critics also resulted in a victory for Muni and a gold medal award, the ballots being cast for Muni’s role in tho above picture. Inspired by the famous European novel “L’Equipage,” by Joseph Kessel, “The Woman I Love” dramatises tho susponseful emotional conflict arising out of the love of a young aviator for the wife of his elder friend and pilot. As played by Paul, Muni, the pilot; Miriam llopkins, the wife; and Louis Hayward, the junior airman, the three characters are all sympathetic. The night before departing for the front lines, Loui-j Hayward, as a young volunteer in tho French flying service, meets and protects a beautiful girl, Miriam Hopkins, during an air raid on Paris. He rapidly falis head over heels in love with her. When he arrives at the air base of his squadron, he is assigned to Pilot Paul Muni, and as the result of their harrowing battles in the air together, a strong friendship ensues. When the young flier returns to Paris on liberty, he is stunned to learn that the girl lie loves and who now passionately loves him, is the wife of his friend, ihe pilot. The action then races to a thrilling climax. An ambitious French picture from tho same them was produced by Anatole Litvak. This director was brought to America to work on RKO Radio’s picture ,with Albert Lewis in charge of production. because of his knowledge of French aviators’ psychology which plays an important part in the characterisations ns well as because of his intimate technical experience with the story’s background. RKO Radio had a small shipload of properties sent over from Franco to insure the authenticity of production. Many of the scenes are laid in and around Paris and in a small town in the Chanpagne country, as well as at tho front. Accordingly, hundreds of posters were included in the shipment—not only typical recruiting and War Loan placards of the period, showing poilus battling valiantly against a host of spikehelmeted Germans, but also sample theatrical posters advertising the talents of Sarah Bernhardt and Mile. Mistinguette, for the walls of the film sets. Several hundred uniforms, the horizon blue of the regular forces, the dark blue of tho flying corps, the picturesque garb of the Chasseurs Alpins and the Legion Etrangere and a dozen other corps ill the French service, were among the articles shipped over. So were articles of furniture, ‘aeroplane motors and propellers, flags, camions, motor-cycles, and hundreds of other foreign articles that would have been difficult to reproduce in America.