AT THE PICTURES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 3 September 1942, Page 4

AT THE PICTURES

State—Friday's presentation: Ilona Mas«ey, George Brent and Basil Kathbone in Edward Small’s ••International I.ady.’’ a thrill-packed spy melodrama highlighting the activities of a gang of international saboteurs with action in London. Lisbon and New York. The supporting oast in the film features Gene Lockhart and George Zucco. Briefly the story of "International Lady” concerns the activities of a radio’ ainger who is suspected of belonging to a sabotage ring bent on crippling the flow 01 . American planes to England. The F. 8.1. in Washington and Scotland Yard in London both assign detectives to shadow the young "lady. This job starts in London, shifts to \ Lisbon where they embark upon the clip- ' per ship and winds up in New York. How the gang is rounded up provides many thrilling sequences and a smashing climax Among the forty settings is a huge Long Island mansion. There is a drawing room so feet long and HO feet wide with marble columns and brocaded panels and a fireplace big enough to house a Boy Scout camping troop. There is an entrance hall and foyer and curving staircase. aJJ oi them impressive enough to interest am millionaire. Among the other sets are a row of buildings in Berkeley Square, the Pan-American terminal in Lisbon. the tians-Atlantic Clipper and the F.B I. offices i in New York. Resent, to-nifihl —Double feature, finest Night: •*T ,, e Flying Deuces” with Laurel and Hardy: Jean Hersholt and Dorothy ! Lovett in -The Courageous I)r. Christian.” Hardy falls in love with the pretty daugh- ; ter of the keeper of the inn where they a;e staying, and is helped by Stan. The Ij lady, vivaciously portrayed by Jean Parker, parries these attentions as long as she can and then confesses that she has a husband in the Foreign Legion (Reginald £ Gardiner). Hardy prepares to end all in the Seine, accompanied by Laurel, but • Gardiner interposes and persuades the two to enlist in the Foreign Legion, "where men. quickly forget women." "The Courageous Dr. Christian” proves to bo even more entertaining than the first of the series. Jean Hersholt enacts the title role of a kindly small town doctor whose 1 life is dedicated to helping the people of i River's End. He endeavours to house dc- . cently the impoverished folk of an u.n- ’ healthy "squatters’ town.” His project is frowned upon by members of the town ■ council, but they agree if the doctor can •induce a wealthy widow to donate her valuable lot to the cause. Majestic Theatre. Motueka: Friday. ‘•Rangers of Fortune” and “Dancing on a Dime.” The former describes how three desert marauders fugitive from a Mexican firing squad intervene in a private feud . between an heroic newspaper publisher ! end a land pirate in a small Texas town. 1 “Dancing on a Dime” tells of a group of ambitious youngsters unable to pay rent w ho move into the old Garrick Theatre in New York, eventually producing a successful show. Saturday and Monday: in "Saint in Palm Springs” "The Saint” is cneaged as bodyguard to a man who is going to Palm Springs to deliver to his niece three very valuable stamps. The .hero runs into three murders, an attempt- ' ed kidnapping and many personal conflicts with gangsters who are after the stamps. "The March of Time” gives a glimpse of . the technique of the underground revolt against Hitler. Wednesday: "Moon Over j Burma” with Dorothy Lamour, Preston \ Foster and Robert Preston. a thrilling ! jungle story in which two partners in a teak logging business persuade a beautiful entertainer to accompany them to where 1 they operate their business. Complications . end in a climax including a forest fire j and a log jam. Majestic, finally to-night: Rosalind Rus- I sell and Don Ameche in “The Feminine S Touch.” Commencing Friday, William -■* Powell and Myrna Loy (“Mr and Mrs Thin _ Man”) in riotous comedy. “Love Crazy.” .« When William Powell ar.d Myrna Loy are j billed together, audiences are sure of ; J laughs. But never was the promise of j 5 laughs more bountifully filled than in ! i their latest "man and wife" adventure. \ Miss Loy becomes jealous of Powell and J decides to divorce him. Powell discovers r that a wife can't divorce her husband if j he's crazy, so sets out to convince her 5 and all and sundry that he’s mad as a / March hare. His method takes the form j of a series of antics such as chewing up 5 nhonograph records and digging a hole : ? in the middle of a city street. But when % the alienists arc called in. the antics fool } J them and they take his craziness serious- ■' ly and commit him to an asylum. Then •. Powell's struggles to extricate himself j make him look all the crazier, until he J finally escapes, dressed as a woman, to 2 work out his salvation and be reconciled J tf> his wife. Powell's handling of the ab- 5 vurd situations is engaging and hilarious, j 2 and Miss Loy's penormance as the wife. ; J as usual, leaves nothing to be desired. Gail J Patrick plays the “other woman” convincingly. and Jack Carson adds comedy % as the rival lor Powell's affections after . J his separation. Florence Bates also garners 2 ■nany laughs as Powell’s mother-in-law. }