REGENT REVELS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 507, 9 November 1928, Page 15

REGENT REVELS

NEW VARIETY PROGRAMME Experiments are always interesting;* infinitely more so when their application to the entertainment world is followed by success. The idea of mixing vaude\ T ille with motion pictures is by no means a new one but its introduction on the scale now offered by the Regent management is decidedly novel, and most acceptable. - There is no doubt about the popularity of the new screen-plus-stage shows, and the fact that a strong variety circuit has been set in motion gives eloquent proof of public approval. Last evening the Regent offered for the first time its latest stage production, arranged by Maurice Diamond, whose specialty dancers and ballet arrived from Sydney a few days ago. Here was a unique dancing extravaganza, together with one of the best Clara Bow' screen vehicles that has yet reached Auckland. Colour, snap, polish and up-to-the-minute novelty—all the best dance ingredients have been tw'irled into the Regent Revels. They were displayed last evening with clever showmanship and in a rainbow setting of almost hurricane gaiety. Speed was the keynote of this lively interlude. The acts were presented at a tempo that must have taxed the muscles of every performer, and they followed eaeh other with dazzling rapidity. The performance was opened, as usual, with a pot pourri of syncopated novelties by Mr. Maurice Guttridge and his stage band, ensconced in a particularly. effective setting. Then after a preliminary musical whirl, the ballet appeared in a wooden soldier novelty. Ivy Towe and Freddie Hodges are two acrobatic and character dancers of much more than ordinary ability and their work last evening was a revelation of speedy graxre and difficult posing. The male member of the duo is one of the best solo dancers seen in Auckland for many a day, and his exhibition of the Varsity Drag fully deserved the enthusiasm it created. Millie Thompson, Nancy Bourne, Peggy Rockley, Julie Thompson, Jessie Best and Olga Satinover are all dancers of considerable skill and the interlude gave plenty of opportunity to each. “Ladies of the Mob” alone makes the programme much too entertaining to miss. It represents Paramount’s first attempt to exploit Clara Bow as a dramatic and, to some extent, emotional star. Frankly the work of the provocative little leading lady is a surprise. The showy and more or less “dapper” parts of her past career left room for doubt as to her real ability as an actress. It has needed “Ladies of the Mob” to remove this doubt. Set • in the underworld of a big city with its theme woven, round the lives ana loves or xnosc to whom crime is a logical means of livelihood, the picture is pure drama from beginning to end. It tells deftly and well the story of a girl who admires a man because he is a successful criminal and marries him to make him “run straight.” Naturally things do not work out as smoothly as they might, and the meshes of the law fold tightly when circumstances compromise the happy couple. In these moments Clara Bow’s artistry is really admirable. It may be mentioned in passing that “ladies of the mob” are the wives and feminine acquaintances of underworld men. The settings and photographic effects in the picture are excellent and Richard Arlen gives of his best in the leading male role. First-class supporting subjects are included in the new Regent programme. CLICK CLACK CABARET Dancing will be enjoyed at the Click Clack Cabaret again to-morrow evening, from 8 p.m. to 12 p.m. Clyde Howley’s Famous Internationals will supply the music. A Saturday afternoon tea dance, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., will be held tomorrow.