AMUSEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24421, 5 October 1940, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS

THE NEW PROGRAMMES ST. JAMES THEATRE DRAMA OF THE OIL FIELDS A tense drama of the Oldfields the quality of which is enhanced by the fact that it has Edward G. Robinson in the leading role, is unfolded in " Blackmail,” which is the leading attraction on the new programme at the St. James Theatre. The appearance of this great character actor in any film is a guarantee that there will be in it at least one portrayal which is faultless, and in " Blackmail.” Robinson fully lives up to the reputation he has won among picturegoers. The story, which has as its background the oilfields of California, and the prison swamps of Louisiana, is a grim one. It tells how Robinson, having escaped from a chain-gang after being imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, rehabilitates himself in new surroundings and lives happily, secure in the knowledge that he is the best oil-fire fighter in the State. Just as he discovers a well of his own and looks in a fair way to becoming independent, there appears on the scene an old acquaintance—actually the man guilty of the crime for which Robinson was sentenced —who immediately commences to apply the " screws ”of blackmail. He makes a bargain that if Robinson will pay him a large sum of money he will sign a confession, but the confession goes astray through a trick of the blackmailer, and Robinson as a result of the act of treachery is hauled back to the chaingang, It is at this stage that some realistic shots of the hardships endured by convicts in the gang are incorporated in the film, and these, as well as the graphic uhotographs of flaming wells, are no less interesting than the actual story iteslf. It is while Robinson is in the chain-gang for the second time that he hears that the blackmailer has cheated him of his well, and. fired by thoughts of revenge, he again escapes and seeks out his enemy. He goes home, but his wife shows him the futility of murder, and the hopelessness of the whole situation is borne on him. Finally a plan strikes him, and how he works it out and finally finds happiness again bring the picture to an exciting and entirely satisfactory climax. Besides the work of the star, there are other parts which help to make the picture the fine entertainment that it is. That inimitable team of funmakers, Laurel and Hardy, occupy the first half of the programme with an hour’s nonsense that is ludicrous, but diverting. The film has no plot to speak of, but consists of a series of fantastic incidents that could be dealt with satisfactorily only by comedians of the calibre of the droll pair. The box plans are at the theatre, at Jacobs’, and the D.I.C. OCTAGON THEATRE SONJA HENIE TRIUMPH With each film in which she appears, that delectable little personage, Sonja Henle, proves that she does not have to rely on her undoubted prowess as an Iceskater to carry off acting honours. Since she first flashed across the screen, fresh from her triumphs as world’s champion figure skater. She has turned out to be a competent actress, whose winsome smile and charming personality have endeared her to thousands of picture-goers. Her latest starring vehicle is " Everything Happens at Night.” which commenced a season at the Octagon Theatre yesterday. With much of its appeal lying in the attractiveness of three people who dally with love In romantic surroundings, the production is easily the brightest in which Miss Henie has so far appeared. If it has a melodramatic thread streaking its gay texture, it has a topical note echoing something of the International intrigues that led to the war. The film is firstclass entertainment. The story is satisfying and with a charming setting, and, effortless and often polished, the acting, combined with the personalities of the three leading players, is the chief enjoyment of a film graced by the direction of Irving Cummings, who has easily escaped over-directing - his production. Sonja Henie has one superlative skating sequence, probably the best in which she has figured, when a young American day dreams. The setting for her exquisite display is palatial. And in addition, her face is still as fascinating to watch as is her prowess on the ice. Miss Henie has two leading men in this film. < They are Ray Milland and Robert Cummings, both cast as journalists, the former English and the latter American. They lend a gay sophistication and insouciance which keep the romance on its light-hearted level. That old hand. Maurice Moscovlch, has a small part, which he plays with characteristic tenseness, and Alan Dlnehart appears at the end of a telephone as the brusque head of a news agency. Dr Hugo Norden, a famous figure at peace conferences, and thought to have been assassinated, is recognised as the writer of a series of articles on the grave political situation in Europe. To trace Norden, who is hiding from the Gestapo in Switzerland, a New York paper sends one of its Paris correspondents to investigate. So does a London daily, whose reporter, a typical " old chapping ” and " by-jovlng ’’ Englishman, poses as a botanist. Neither newspaper man is really fooled by the other, possibly because they have to share the same room. Yet they cannot share the beautiful young nurse who sweeps them, literally, off their feet when they get in her way while she is ski-running. The rivalry for the attentions of the girl takes amusing twists which finally lead to the finding of Dr Norden very much alive and very much shaken by his discovery. The story alternates between comedy and drama, working up to an exciting and fast-mov-ing climax in which sleighs, trains, and steamships play a part. Of particular interest on the supporting programme is a newsreel which shows an Inspection by the King of the second echelon in England. A ” Fashion Forecast ” in technicolor will appeal to the feminine mind, while a Terrytown cartoon and a travelogue dealing with Tunis completes a varied programme. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg’s.

GRAND THEATRE STORY OF A GRIPPING TRIAL Headed by a remarkable picture of a murder trial of unusual dramatic force, the double-feature programme at the Grand Theatre this week is one that should prove most attractive to all types of theatre-goers. The principal film is "A Woman is the Judge," which tells a gripping story of a woman judge who is called upon to try her own daughter for murder. She resigns her position as judge in order to defend her daughter, of whom there had been no trace since she was three years of age. Frieda Inescourt is cast as the judge, Otto Kruger as a district attorney in love with the judge, and Rochelle Hudson as the daughter, whose crime is that she accidentally killed a blackmailer who was trying to wreck hei mother's career. The associate film is " Outlaws of the Prairie," a fast-moving story of a gang of bandits who are brought to justice by a young ranger. Charles Starrett is in the leading role. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg's. REGENT THEATRE ANOTHER DR KILDARE SUCCESS Essentially a " family " entertainment, " The Secret of Dr Kildare," which is now being screened at the Regent Theatre, is from all points of view an excellent production. If is the third of a series of films dealing with the life of a young interne in an American Hospital, and it should be sufficient to say that it is well up to standard, if it does not actually exceed it. It is a straight forward drama, with no frills and with little in the way of sensations, but it is replete with those human touches of pathos, comedy and good-humoured tolerance which make the most profound appeal .to theatregoers. There is, moreover, a pleasant suggestion of romance which is refreshingly treated. The success of the film is fairly well assured by such ingredients, but it is made certain by the brilliant work of the two principals, Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore. This is the pair which has been starred in the previous Kildare films and, working most harmoniously together, they both enhance the credits which they have won. The story commences with the two men —Dr Gillespie, the ageing physician, crippled in body, crusty and gruff but shrewd and mentally active, and Dr Kildare, his ambitious, idealistic young assistant —working on extensive research in connection with pneumonia. The continued strain is exhausting the older man, who indomitably refuses to give up until, Kildare, realising that the only way to husband Dr Gillespie's strength is to stop work himself. The introduction of the interesting and unusual case of a neurotic young heiress gives him his chance. To the old man's disgust, he pretends that the lure of a wealthy practice is too much for him. He takes the case and, robbed of his aid, Gillespie is forced to take a rest. When the girl is suddenly smitten with blindness, Kildare's affairs reach a crisis and he goes back to his old coworker to ask his advice. He is abruptly rebuffed, but he is unaware that he is being played at his own game, for Gillespie finds a way to assist him. The cure, which Kildare imagines has been given to him by a coincidence, proved successful and, with this obstacle out of the way, and with Gillespie's health restored, the two happily set to work again on their task. Lionel Barrymore has a rich characterisation and he handles it with all the ability he is capable of. As he has so often done before (and at times with stars of the highest ranking), he steals the honours of the picture by his lovable portrait of Dr Gillespie. Lew Ayres has a part which seems to fit him like the proverbial glove. A reigning favourite some years ago, Ayres suffered a slip in popularity, but in the Kildare role he ha.« made a highly-successful recovery—a rare thing in Hollywood. Laraine Day is competent and charming as the nurse who is in love with the young doctor, and other supporting roles are filled by Lionel A twill, Samuel B. Hinds, Nat Pendleton, and Helen Gilbert. The supporting programme is full of interest. Newsreels include the arrival and ceremonial swearing-in of the Duke of Windsor as Governor of the Bahamas, and the air warfare over the British Channel is presented in some of the most vivid sequences which have yet been presented in Dunedin. A Pete Smith specialty dealing with ski-ing thrills, an Our Gang comedy, and a colour cartoon are also included. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. STATE THEATRE DRAMA OF THE COAL PITS

Among the most notable films to come from the studios of the British producers is " The Stars Looked Down," which commenced a season at the State Theatre yesterday. Faithfully following the narrative of Dr A. J. Cronin's novel of the same name, the film is at once the most dramatic of entertainment and a stirring indictment of the system which allows private enterprise to exploit the resources of nature at the risk of human lives. The author has dealt sympathetically with the never-ending struggle between the miners and the owners. A section of a mine is dangerous and the men refuse to work it. The mine manager poohpoohs their objections and enforces his own wishes at the end of a long and bitter strike. There is a disaster. Water breaks through a seam and the mine is flooded. Some men are rescued but many are killed and wounded, and a small party is entombed and starves to death. That is what the rapacity of private enterprise entails. In the end, the mine owners repent and the manager dies trying to save the entombed men. But " The Stars Look Down " is not merely a propaganda play. Human passions beat through it, and their pulse has been accelerated by a fine cast of actors. The triangle formed by Michael Redgrave. Margaret Lockwood and Emlyn Williams bears little relationship to the mining problem, but it serves to give the story a core of personal interest'. The main theme is the story of David Fenwick, a young man of mining stock whose intelligence is above' the average. He wins a scholarship and goes on to a university with the object of eventually devoting his energies to the fight for better working conditions for the people among whom he has lived his life. Then there is Joe Gowlan, who starts off with the same handicap as David, but is frankly an opportunist, and gets a start in life when striking miners loot a butcher's shop, the till of which he empties into his own pockets. David is embroiled with a husband-seeking daughter of a boaFding-house keeper, and marries her, taking to school teaching to support the home. Here is further disappointment for his ideas on education are at variance with those of the head teacher. Not only in his work is David unfortunate, but his wife proves less than decent, and the marriage is complicated by her love for Joe Who reappears in a state of obvious prosperity. Thes.*' affairs, bad enough in themselves, ,pn&s crowned by the arrival of the news '■ y the mine where David's father and brother work has at last been flooded and his near ones are among those entombed by a heavy fall. Redgrave is David, the student and idealist at odds with the poverty and self-seeking which surround him. His mouth quivers and his eyes flash when he thinks of the crusade he must lead. Margaret Lockwood gets her chance in the role of the girl, Jennie. Turning away from the parts she has filled before, she presents a hard-natured vulgarian with sincerity and effect. As Joe, Emlyn Williams provides a clever performance. He is just as untrustworthy in love as in everything else, and though they ruin David's romance, Joe and Jennie cannot come together permanently. The girl is filled with a great longing for him and she suffers a burning discontent with the shabby gentility of the student. The scenes of work, strife and terror in the mining village have been presented with deadly force. Most prominent on a fine supporting programme is a " March of Time " issue which is in the inimitable manner of these productions. The box plans are at the theatre and Begg's. EMPIRE THEATRE VIGOROUS WESTERN DRAMA Film stories of the wide and open West, when horses gallop indefatigably and men discharge thousands of rounds of ammunition in furious volleys, with remarkably little effect, will always have their own particular claim to popularity, largely because of the unflagging action which helps the themes along. Sometimes, however, there appear pictures in which a deviation from the deep-worn groove of orthodoxy in matters Western is apparent, and of such is "Wagons Westward," which commenced a season at the Empire Theatre yesterday. In this production, although the traditionally furious racing and chasing on horseback, to the accompaniment of a drumfire of revolver shots, forms one of the major action sequences of the film, a narrative angle not usually associated with Westerns as a whole, is exploited with a good measure Of success. The film opens with an Indian attack being repulsed by an isolated pioneer

family. During this one of the two small sons shows a definite strain of cruelty, the other, of course, being the antithesis of his brother in temperament. The father is killed in the attack, and " Hardtack," an old friend of the family, agrees to take the less likeable of the two ooys with him into New Mexico and bring him up. The following years, which include the Civil War period, pass, and the instinctively vicious son is found heading a gang of outlaws which is terrorising the neighbourhood, as well as indulging in violent rivalry with two other nests of outlaws". Unable to apprehend the criminal. Tom Cook, the military authorities arrange with his twin brother. David, to capture the outlaw by trickery. This done, David decides to impersonate his arrested brother so that he can trap the other two bandit leaders by a pretended amalgamation of interests. So soon as he attempts to pick up the thread of brother Tom's nefarious existence in wild Mesa City, David finds himself beset by innumerable dangers, not the least of which is the intense infatuation for him of a young girl who imagines him to be his notorious brother. Her elder sister, moreover, is determined that the supposed Tom will not break the young girl's heart, and the impostor has to walk very warily to save himself from falling into a dangerous trap. After he has partially completed his plans for the elimination of the outlaw chiefs, David is compelled to keep up his masquerade by marrying the infatuated Phvllis. although by this time his real identity has been discovered by sister Julie, who is genuinely in love with him. Then Tom escapes from prison, and word reaches the bandits' headquarters that a spy is in their midst. This is the signal for the crystallisation of growing suspicions harboured against David, and he is captured by his enemies. The intervention of a friendly Indian when he is about to be murdered, coincides with an attack, which he himself has engineered, against a strongly-armed bullion train in a lonely gulch. The battle is devastating. The murky light is ablaze with gunfire and the terrain alive with galloping horses, but eventually the desperadoes meet their deserts. Then David discovers that Tom has returned to town and has murdered Phyllis, and the meeting of the brothers Is fraught with the most dramatic possibilities, which are fulfilled to the letter. Chester Morris has the dual role of Tom and David, and Anita Louise is the unfortunate Phyllis. Ona Munson is attractive as her elder sister Julie. George Hayes, popular as " Windy " in the Hopalong Cassidy series, is the humorous highlight as the shaggy, toothless, and voluble old " Hardtack," and veteran Buck Jones, as the inevitable crooked sheriff, rides his famous white charger. There is an entertaining supporting programme, which includes some good newsreels, and a ludierecs comedy featuring the Three Stooges. t. : box plans are at the theatre and the •'-Cf.C. STRAND THEATRE MYSTERY AND WESTERN FILMS An unusual mystery film, " Double Alibi," and an excellent " Hopalong " Cassidy picture entitled " Hidden Gold " comprise the new double-feature programme, which commenced a season at the Strand Theatre yesterday " Double Alibi " has an extremely interesting plot. There are murders, mystery, and plenty of excitement to hold the interest throughout. Wayne Morris, Margaret Lindsay, and William Gargan are in the major roles. Morris plays a triple role very cleverly. He is a murder suspect, a detective, and a reporter. Miss Lindsay is another reporter who has captured the love of her editor, Gargan. In support of these three players are Roscoe Karns. Robert Emmett Keane. and James Burke. " Hidden Gold" is a thrilling Western film which concerns an innocent man who is accused of holding up a stage coach and carrying out a gold robberv. Things look black for him until " Hopalong" Cassidy and his companions clear the man's name and bring justice to the district. Before " Hopalong " does this, however, exciting incidents follow one another in quick succession. The box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C. MAYFAIR THEATRE CLARE BOOTHE'S " THE WOMEN " Clare Boothe's magnificent staire on women, entitled " The Women," will come to the Mayfair Theatre to-day, with an imposing list of stars—Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, and Virginia Weidler. " Mystery of the White Room," released by Universal, is a " Crime Club " thriller, starring Bruce Cabot, Helen Mack, Constance Worth, and Joan Woodbury. Box plans are at the theatre and the D.I.C.