ENTERTAINMENTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 119, 18 April 1940, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

METEOR THEATRE. “GOLDEN BOY." Unquestionably unique in treatment and in theme, Columbia’s “Golden Boy’’ opens t v on Saturday at the Meteor Theatre to ' prove that Hollywood, when it wants to, f can turn out definitely superior entertain- n ment. The new film, directed by Rouben 11 Mamoulian and starring Barbara Stan- 1 wvek, Adolphe Menjou and William 110 - ' den, is based upon Clifford Odet’s roman- 1 tie drama. “Golden Boy’’ tells of a young * violinist, impatient and tired of working to- ( ward the day when he will be a sufccess on - the concert stage, who rapidly lights his < way to the top in the prize-ring. In his j swift climb to pugilistic stardom, he ruth- 1 lessly tramples upon the hopes of his music- ' loving father, ignores the cryings-out of his 1 own conscience, lie becomes brutalised by 1 his new environment, until his love for a : disillusioned young woman—the only person who really understands the tremendous conflict raging within him —causes him to I give up the ring and return to the forI givencss of his family. Of the utmost importance in any consideration of “Golden Boy” is tlie performance turned in by new comer William Holden, making his motion picture debut in the all-important title role. This handsome youth is so convincing in his “Golden Boy” characterisation that we risk little in prophesying stardom and tremendous“popularity for him. Flawless performances by Barbara Stanwyck and Adolphe Menjou add charm and a certain exuberance to the picture. Miss . Stanwyck is'so ideally cast that one forgets her identify and remembers only Lorna Moon, the girl who finds romance for the first time when “Golden Boy” tells her his dreams. Mr Menjou is superb as the cynical, harassed fight manager. Other splendid performers in important roles include Joseph Galicia, Lee J. Cobb, Edward, Brcphy and Sam Leven e. KOSY THEATRE. “PENITENTIARY.” A prison story of unusual promise. Columbia's “Penitentiary” is scheduled to show to-day at the Rosy Theatre. This is the dramatic’talc of a politically ambitious warden who finds that life inside a State penitentiary goes deeper than mere individual desires. Walter Connolly. John Howard, Jean Parker and Robert Barrat play the leading roles in the picture, while Marc Lawrence, Dick Curtis, Ann Dcran and Arthur Holii arc seen in lesser parts. Connolly has lately been seen in “Nothing Sacred”: Howard has been playing in the “Bulldog Drummond” pictures, and Miss Parker has recently been seen in “Life Begins with Love.” The story concerns William Jordan, who is sent to prison by a district attorney aiming' -for the governor’s mansion. Jordan accidentally killed the son of the State’s most influential citizen because of an insult to a girl. So Thomas Mathews sends Jordan to" the penitentiary. Six years later, Mathews is appointed warden of the prison, another step towards the governorship. His daughter. Elizabeth, goes along. Tn prison, broken in spirit and in health, Mathews finds Jordan, the boy he sent away. A chain of griifi circumstances in which-'there are a murder, an attempted prison break, and a romance between Jordan and the warden’s daughter, brings Mathews fact to face with the most dramatic crisis of his life. John Brahm directed “Penitentiary.” Cheers of the crowd, thrilling exploits by college athletes, youthful romance and plenty of campus fun arc some of the features in Columbia’s “All American Sweetheart,” novel college picture which shows ai the Kosy Theatre to-day.