AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24416, 30 September 1940, Page 8

AMUSEMENTS

THE CURRENT PROGRAMMES GRAND THEATRE " The Spider," which heads the current programme at the Grand Theatre, is a murder mystery with some powerful moments and a spot or two of that domesticity made popular in crime films by ■' The Thin Man." These domestic touches are more successful for being handled by Derrick de Marney and Diana Churchill, who plav the parts of a Scotland Yard detective and his wife, both of whom are engaged in tracking down a mysterious criminal known to his associates and the police as " The Spider." This Jekyll and Hyde character is discovered in the suave person of a theatrical producer. It is not long before his appreciation of murder as a weapon of defence expresses itself, \lnis furnishes the film's substantial melodramatic appeal. The presentation of the murderer's second attempt to dispose of embarrassing persons is an indication of how well British producers can do this sort of thing. The second film is '* Free, Blonde and 21," an entertaining drama of life in a girls' hostel Lynn Bari, Henry Wilcoxon, and Mary Beth Hughes have the principal roles. The box plans are at the theatre and at Begg's. REGENT THEATRE •Juarez," the film which is now being screened at the Regent Theatre, has for its theme the tragic and romantic story of the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and of the Indian patriot whose name gives the film its title. The stars arc Bette Davis and Paul Muni, but another should be added Brian Aherne, as Maximilian ' gives an outstanding portrayal, and deserves a special mention Taking a part which might easily have been made priggish or unreal, he has handled his scenes so well that he manages in many ways to " steal " the picture. It is admitted in most history books that Maximilian was the dupe of Napoleon 111, and that the plebiscite which he took to be a genuine request from the people of Mexico that he should become their ruler and found an Empire, was false. It did not take Maximilian long to discover that he had been tricked Nor that the greatest enemy to his throne was Juarez, leader of the revolutionaries, and an implacable hater of the monarchy. The treatment of the story is admirable, giving ample scope for dramatic situations and scenes. The cast includes Claude Rains as Napoleon 111, Donald Crisp as Marechal Bazaine, John Garfield as Porfirio Diaz, and Gale Sondegaard, in a short but impressive appearance, as the Empress Eugenie. The hox plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C STATE THEATRE Filmed in excellent technicolor, " Drums Along the Mohawk," the current attraction at the State Theatre, is a film that cannot fail to appeal to all types of theatregoers. It is a picture that will thrill youthful audiences as much as it will entertain and delight older filmgoers. The photography is magnificent, the acting outstanding, and the whole story full of action and excitement. The romantic, adventurous days when America was young, with torch and tomahawk spreading their terror in the beautiful Mohawk Valley, are depicted with a zest that makes the film a rare treat. Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda are starred as a pioneer couple who, with the other colonists of the valley, make a desperate stand against the repeated attacks of the fierce Iroquois. Featured in the cast are Edna May Oliver, Eddie Collins. John Carradine, Dorris Bowdon, Jessie Ralph, Arthur Shields, Robert Lowery, and Roger Imhof. The screen play by Lamar Trotti and Sonya Levien is based on the best-selling novel by Walter D. Edmonds, an author who is steeped in the stories and traditions of New York's beautiful valley. Fonda also hails from that historic locale and one of his ancestors appears in Edmonds's book. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg's. EMPIRE THEATRE There is a wealth of entertainment and humour in " Charlie McCarthy, Detective, the feature of the current programme at the Empire Theatre, the detective in the case being a dapper little dummy motivated by that clever ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, who is one of the most popular entertainers of the day. The start of the story is at a night club, where a baffling murder takes place, and Charlie is involved in it. With Bergen as an aid he sets out to unravel a very tangled skein. There are gangsters and gunmen in the story, and romance figures as things run along to an exciting climax, when the killer confesses and the mystery is cleared up. Mortimer Snerd, Charlie's country cousin, has a' leading part in the film, and contributes a good part to a notable production. Well presented, well acted, and cohesion of exciting events not usually associated with a murder story, " Charlie McCarthy, Detective," sets a new standard in highly-coloured murder plots, in which swift action and ruthlessness are merely incidents. A strong supporting cast includes Robert Cummings. Constance Moore, John Sutton, Louis Calhern, Edgar Kennedy, Warren Hymer, and Harold Huber. There is an unusually strong supporting programme, including musical unit and newsreels. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. STRAND THEATRE In " Zanzibar," which is at present being shown at the Strand Theatre, Universal have taken a fantastic paragraph out of the Versailles Treaty and woven an adventure round it. This shows what happens when a noted woman explorer ana her Dartv seek to regain the sacred skull of a sultan, the theft of which by Germany has created unrest and antagonism among the tribes of a British protectorate. A ship with a cargo of caged big game is wrecked and some of along with the human survivors, are cast on the mainland. Here the explorers are menaced bv the starving lions and the usual jungle dangers. The destruction of a temple by an earthquake which follows a volcanic eruption furnishes an awesome climax. The inclusion in the narrative of a European spy who strangles a ship s captain and tries to thwart the explorers mission gives the tale its lurid melodrama. Lola Lane is the leader of the adventurous band, and James Craig is the hero who saves her from fiendish torture. The second picture is " Blondie," an amusing storv of family tife. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. ST. JAMES THEATRE Entertainment of an exceptionally attractive nature is provided in "Talking Feet," the new picture at the St. James Theatre. It introduces half a dozen worldfamous performers, two at least of whom have appeared in Dunedin, and, in addition, has an appealing story in which many spectacular incidents are woven. Th° whole thing revolves about the efforts of a little girl to raise funds to keep the local hospital from closing down, and the way in which she manages to do this makes an entertaining picture produced in a novel manner. Mark Hambourg, pianist, and William Heughan, Scottish baritone, are prominent. The box plans are at the theatre, the D.I.C, and Jacobs'. OCTAGON THEATRE •' Rebecca,' the film version of Daphne \ du Maurier's novel, continues to attract large audiences to the Octagon Theatre, where it is now in its fourth week. Laurence Olivier, who established an impressive reputation by his work in " Wuthering Heights," again gives a masterly portrayal as Max de Winter, a sombre Cornish'man and Joan Fontaine rises to inspiring heights in her delineation of the role of de Winter's second wife. The story is dominated by the influence of de Winter's first wife. Rebecca, who. though dead almost succeeds in wrecking the couple's happiness. Her influence is transmitted through Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper, who was passionately fond of Rebecca, and hates the young wife with a virulence that casts a blight upon the household. There is a good supporting programme, in which major place is held by a new March of Time, entitled " News Fronts of the War—l94o." The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. MAYFAIR THEATRE " Beau Gestc," P. C. Wren's most notable story, concerning the adventures of Ihree brothers after the theft of "Blue Water," a famous jewel, in the Foreign Legion, has been transferred graphically to the screen, and is proving the best of entertainment at the Mayfair Theatre with Gary Cooper, Ray Millahd, and Robert Preston in the leading roles. Another of the Clarence E. Mulford Westerns. " Pride of the West," completes the pro gramme with those three favourites, " Hoppy," " Windy," and " Lucky," in support. Box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C.