ENTERTAINMENTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 129, 1 May 1940, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

MAYFAIR THEATRE. “NIGHT MUST FALL.”' Something decidedly now comes To the screen of the Mayfair Theatre to-day in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “Night Must Fall” with Robert iVlontgomery and Rosalind Russell. Skilfully directed by Richard Thorpe, this daring 6tory presents an entirely new technique for clinic fiction on tho screen. Without the element of mystery, the story introduces a pathological killer whose mission is known to the audience before he starts to act. Montgomery chose deliberately to step from heroic roles to this peculiarly difficult characterisation. lie saw the London stage play and urged M-G-iYI to buy it so that he might play the killer role. The supporting cast includes some members of the original London east who appeared during the run of 55 consecutive weeks. Dame filay Whitty, filerlc Tottenham, Maitthcw Boulton and Kathleen ■ Harrison acquit themselves brilliantly in their original stage roles. Also deserving of plaudits are' Alan Marshall and E. E. Clive. .Mysterious crimes, an amazing feat of detective work, and brooding bewilderment mingic with hilarious comedy in a unique blend in “Murder in the Fleet,” filetro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s new story of crime on a cruiser, now playing at the fiiayfair Theatre. Thrills blend into laughs and Vice-versa, as a naval lieutenant .follow's a criminal amid a crowd of civilian visitors and a ship’s crew, impounded on a sus-picion-laden ship. A sensational fight with a. murderer and an astounding climax in which the criminal is disclosed after which practically every soul on board has been undcii suspicion, mark high spots in excitement in the fasit-moving play. STATE THEATRE. “THE GIRL FROM MEXICO.” Romance, comedy and side-splitting mixups are woven together into a delightful film offering in “ r lhe Girl From Mexico,” a new Lupe Velez mirth-quake, showing to-day at the State Theatre. When a New York advertising executive imports a Mexican singer for a big radio programme, the fiery Latin damsel persuades her susceptible uncle to lake her around and show her tho sights. As n result, tho girl yells herself hoarse at a ball game and fails miserably at her audition for the programme. Undaunted, she argues herself in to a job at a Spanish night club, and also sets about breaking up the young advertising man’s engagement to a se|fißh society girl. How she accomplishes this, and involves all the principals in a hilarious tangle, makes for the high-speed climax to the film. Miss Velez, famous for her vivacity and . her temperament, is an ideal choice for the j role of the impulsive Carmefila, and her performance is one of the best efforts to date. Donald Woods is excellent as the harassed young man, and Leon Errol, as the. easy-going uncle, turns in another splendid comic portrayal. Telling an exciting tale of modern An- '

zona and its cattle troubles, George O’Brien’s latest picture, “Racketeers of the Range,” shows to-day at the State Theatre. The story deals with a resourceful cattleman’s single-handed battle against.a big packing corporation that threatens lo monopolise the packing field and bring ruin to himself and his fellow ranchers. The big corporation has \ convinced the girl owner of the local packing plant that she should* sell out, and when the cattleman finds his arguments useless, ho has the smaller outfit thrown into bankruptcy and gets himself appointed receiver. 1-Ie hopes to manoeuvre the company out of its financial troubles before the receivership ends, but finds unexpected opposition from his cattlemen associates, as well as from the corporation men.