MUSIC AND COMEDY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 709, 8 July 1929, Page 15

MUSIC AND COMEDY

NEW REGENT’S EXCELLENT BILL “CLOSE HARMONY” OPENS Music, comedy and romance, with music very much in the forefront, are the main features of Paramount’s alltalkie picture, “Close Harmony,” which had its premiere at the New Regent Theatre on Saturday evening. Nearly all the talkie supports introduced music as well, and murmurs of satisfaction were heard among the capacity crowd as the theatre emptied at the close of an excellent entertainment. “Close Harmony” is the best thing of its kind to come to Auckland either in the old silent pictures or in the new talkies. Its story is racy and true to life. The hour was late, but the drums boomed, the saxophone sobbed, and the various other instruments each gave forth its own particular sounds, while an energetic conductor danced on the sofa urging for more life. Round about, in other rooms, would-be sleepers turned restlessly from side to side. Still the melody went on, but the conductor was not satisfied, and he urged his players to put some life into it. But the new efforts did not please the landlady. In she bounced, as only a landlady can, and the music ceased as if by magic. The band hurriedly dispersed and the landlady, with a final verbal bombardment, left the room. A little later the conductor endeavoured to make his escape from the house with a large-sized tube round his neck and various other instruments hung about him, and the bass drum in one hand. Here the clock chimed and the cuckoo “cuckood,” the bass drum bounds from his hand with noise enough to wake the dead. Such is the commencement of the story. The meeting with the girl follows, and then there come the best parts of the show. Charles (Buddy) Rogers is the energetic conductor of the amateur jazz band, and his portrayal stamps him as

a star to be reckoned with in the new talkie field. As the shy beginner he is good, but his crowning effort comes toward the end of the film when, with all his hopes wrecked, he is accused of being “yellow.” He bounds on to the stage in a furious

temper, and conducts his band with vigour. In his present frame of mind he is ready for anything, and as some of the performers are not doing what he wants, lie shows them how to play. He starts by grabbing the trumpet from the player of that instrument, and gives a jazzy, syncopated interpretation, switches over to the trap-drum-mer, assists the pianist, while he sings and concludes by vaulting on to the piano and demonstrating how to make a trombone slide to the best advantage. His songs during the performance are good, and his rich baritone voice will be in demand for future pictures. Nancy Carroll plays a charming role. She is cast as a top-line singer and dancer, and her accidentally meeting with Buddy leads to her befriending him and getting him his first chance. Her singing is delightful, and her acting more so. One of the finest portrayals in the •whole picture is that of Harry Green, who is cast as the much-worried theatre manager. In addition to giving some very fine acting, he is funny in the extreme. Jack Oakie and Skeets Gallagher as the Harmony Boys, clever vaudeville songsters, do much toward the success of the picture. Their humour, both on and off the stage, and their back-bitings at one another is most entertaining. The supports are equally good. Ruth Ktting. Columbia recording artist, lifts a charming voice in two songs, and Smith and Bale, famous Hebrew comedians. aoneer «** ° ~-»”o«y>oi -Vatch

entitled “Knights in Venice.” The piece opens with the “Barcarolle” from the “Tales of Hoffman,” sung by soprano and contralto voices, and the of the dialogue is sung by the women and two tenor and two bass voices. A novelty item is that by Borrow’s Harmonica Band. concerted items played in a surprising way by a band of the much-despised mouth-organs. The harmony produced by the many little instruments is remarkable, and the introduction is novel and humorous. A sound scenic, with comical sub-titles, and a Patlie Review' complete the picture bill. At the Wurlitzer organ, Mr. I Arthur Frost plays the overture and ! entr'acte.

- Patsy Ruth Miller has the leading role in the Paramount release, “Beautiful But Dumb.” Miss Miller has play* *1 in many big pictures, notably T. Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Other players in “Beautiful Rut Dumb re Charles Byer George K. Stone aa4 1 Gretel Yoltz.