MAJESTIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1000, 17 June 1930, Page 15

MAJESTIC

LAST DAYS OF “HIT THE DECK” Eerie, fantastic spring steps—primi- j tive “snakes hips”—jazz gymnastics— I in fact, the entire routine of the terpsichorean art, are presented in “Hit the Deck,” which is now in its last days at the Majestic Theatre. The first dance stars Polly Walker, the nimble Follies' beauty, in the “coffee shop” scene. Miss Walker also sings “Loo Loo,” supported by a dancing and singing chorus of 16 sailors Jack Oakie is at his best in the next number, “Sez You, Sez Me,” in a street number with eight pretty girls. The elaborate “Shore Leave'” number follows, utilising 24 girls and 24 men and all the principals. The finale presents a galaxy of mermaids being dragged aboard the battleship by sailors —a unique dance in technicolour. Who says that women can’t agree when working for a common cause? There is no proof in support of that theory in “Sarah and Son.” the Paramount Picture which comes to the Majestic on Friday. For in this romance-drama of mother love and high ambitions, two women are tho principal collaborators. First there is Ruth Chatterton, the charming star, in the role of Sarah. Then there is Dorothy Arzner, the talented director of the picture. Here were two women, each an artist in her own field, but yet not one of them temperamental that she could not work in pleasant concord with her sisters. “Sarah and Son” went through the hard days of production without the least hitch. Timothy Shea’s best-selling novel, “Sarah and Son,” will thus be seen in its all-talking filmised version. Ruth Chatterton. star of “Charming Sinners,” “The Doctor's Secret,” “Madame X,” and “The Laughing Lady,” plays the role of Sarah, the neglected wife who, by sheer force of ambition and mother love, rises from pathetic poverty to glorious romance and wealth. RIALTO, NEWMARKET At least three of the “reasons” for 1 leaving home, as seen and heard in “Why Leave Home?”—the Fox Movietone Musical Comedy at the Rialto Theatre—would make any man abandon his domicile in favour of the bright lights. An adaptation of the noted stage play, “Cradle Snatchers,” the alltalking and all-singing version, is even funnier than the original. The cast includes such stage and screen favourites as Walter Catlett, Kick Stuart, David Rollins and Richard Keene. Several new and catchy melodies include, “Doing the Boom Boom'* (a song and dance number), “Look What You’ve Done To Me” and “Bonita” (a snappy Spanish serenade). “Syncopation,” the second attraction, is a breezily entertaining tale of jazz featuring Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians’ Orchestra. “The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu,” now at the Hollywood studios, features Warner Oland in the title role, O. P. Heggie. Jean Arthur, Xeil Hamilton and William Austin. Rowland V. Lee, who made the previous “Dr. Fu” picture, is directing the new all-talk-ing production