DRAMA AND DANCING

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 841, 9 December 1929, Page 15

DRAMA AND DANCING

NEW MUSICAL SHOW AT THE REGENT NANCY CARROLL—HAL SKELLY Here is the logical successor to “Broadway Melody,” a lively, interesting pot pourri of light drama and dancing with yet more catchy melodies and fascinating bevies of pretty girls. "The Dance of Life,” starring Nancy Carroll and Hal Skelly, opened at the Regent on Saturday evening in a manner that left no doubt as to the success of its season. The show was an excellent one throughout—as bright and varied as a Barnum and Bailey circus. Picturegoers who cherish memories of "Close Harmony” and other outstanding early talkies may be recom•nended with confidence to see "The Dance of Life," which is definitely all that a good musical comedy-revue should be. The music and dancing are excellent, the thread of story sound and uncommonly interesting, the photography ambitious and the general tempo speedy and lilting. The Zeigfeld Follies’ sequenc, shown on Saturday evening on an enlarged screen, was beautiful. In addition there are a number of superb technicolour scenes, which impart remarkable novelty to the general presentation. These scenes are genuine works of screen art, drawing the production out into bold relief. In the usual run of musical shows adapted for talkie purposes it is scarcely necessary to detail at length the twistings and vagaries of plots which so obviously are made to fit spectacular circumstances, "The Dance of Life," however, is an exception. The attractive little tale, which begins its unfolding in a small-town theatre, and traces its course to the bright lights of Broadway, is both sound and exceedingly well acted. The colourful and often gorgeous ensembles and interlude numbers are kept within reasonable restraint, with the result that one does not sense that peculiar jerkiness that is introduced when such a show is merely one grand scene after another. Foremost among the personalities in the picture is one Hal Skelly who, if memory serves aright, is making his bow to Auckland audiences in "The Dance of Life." Skelly is a comedian with a fine sense of the dramatic and a clever assessor of the value of light and shade in character work. His acting grips and, true to his stage reputation,—a not by any means inconsiderable one—he sings and dances exceedingly well. NTancy Carroll, attractively young, yet, by this time, almost a talkie veteran, plays opposite Skelly in the role of a loyal little partner in a vaudeville act who, for the sake of her lover, fights her way to the top of the Broadway ladder regardless of obstacles. "True Blue Lou.” "Ladies of the Dance,” "Flippity Flop,” and “Cuddlesome Baby” are some of the special numbers which increase so greatly the entertainment value of “The Dance of Life." The Regent's short subject programme included an excellent Pathe sound gazette, a good talking comedy and a clever and amusing song cartoon. In addition, Mr. J. Whiteford Waugh and his orchestra played, Ray Jury, an accomplished xylophonist, contributing a solo.