AMUSEMENTS.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 455, 24 June 1937, Page 8

AMUSEMENTS.

PLAZA THEATRE “Men Are Not Gods” This intriguing, pic/ture, scheduled for screening on Thursday and Friday, stars the popular Mariam Hopkins and Gertrude Lawrence. It is a riotious comedy drama of a woman stage critic who made an adtoi- famous but lost her job as a result. The ntory is an unusual one. In the offices of the London “Daily Posit.”' works Ann Williams, secret tary to Mr, Skeates, famous London dramatic critic. One'night London is presented with a new production of "Othello” with a newcomer, Edmond Davey, in, the title role. Skeates, attending the first performance, arrives late at night at his office and distates to his secretary his criticism of the production. This criticism is a scathing attack upon the young actor When Skeates leaves, Ann Williams sits down at the typewriter and rattles off the article Twenlty minutes later the newspaper goes to press.

Next morning this critique presents itself to readers of ithe "Daily Post” as one long hymn of praise for Edmond Davey. London marvels, and is aware that with this praise from Skeates, a nsiw artist has been discovered for the English stage. Mr. Skeates too, reads the newspaper and stares aghast at the lines. From this point things start to move, and the story works its hilarious way through a series of fascinating situations to a perfect climax. “The Plainsman” Jimmy Ellison, of “Hopalong Cassidy” fame is, astride a horse again in “The Plainsman,” the Cevil B. De Mille epic of empire building which begins on Saturday. Ellison plays the role of “Buffalo Bill” Cody, famous western scout and showman. The elaborate cast is headed by Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur, and includes 2000 Cheyenne Indians and 250 regular army cavalrymen.

“Secret Agent”

Director Alfred Hitchcock, the 18stone genius who puts realism into every reel, demanded real types in “Secret Agent,” the spy-thriller that features Madeleine Caroll, Peter Lorre, John Gielgud, and Robert Young, screening next week. For one of the most spectacular scenes Hitchcock had built a giant setting of a frontier railway station, between Greece and Bulgaria, in 1916. Swarms of peasants, soldiers, guards, refugees, and officials were needed ta populate the huge station.

From Soho, the. Continental quarter of London, the types were gathered, and forsaking their usual occupations, they donned the uniforms of Greece and Bulgaria, the tatters of Albanian peasants, the equipment of frontier guards and the coloured shawls of the near-East.

Among the great company gathered at Shepherd’s Bush were men and women of Italy, Cyprus, Malta, Palestine and Greece.

“Girls’ Dormitory”

Although a number of screen personalities still adhere to the custom of having an orchestra on hand when they are performing before the camSias to “create a mood,” it remained for Simone Simon (pronounced Seemoan See-moan) to introduce an innovation that startled even blase Hollywood. The brilliant star, who is making her debut with Herbert Marshall and Ruth Chatterton in “Girls’ Dormitory," Twentieth Century-Fox production showing on Thursday and Friday of next week, appeared on the set with a wide variety of rare and exquisite perfumes. "To a sensitive nature perfume can create every variation of mood,” says Simone. "It can make you feel exotic, sophisticated, gay demure or tragic.”

Constance Collier, J. Edward Bromberg, Dixie Dunbar, John Qualen and Shirley Deane are featured in the cast of “Girls’ Dormitory.”

KING’S THEATRE “Night Waitress” A British actress from Cape Town by way of London and a minister’s son from lowa are brought together in real life in the teaming of Margot Grahame and Gordon Jones as the featured players in RKO Radio’s adventure picture, “Night Waitress,” to be screened on Tuesday and Wednesday next. Miss Grahame, who appeared in some forty British films before making her American screen debut in “The Informer,” was born in Canterbury, but received her education m South Africa, where her father was a theatrical producer. Jones was born in a litle lowa town where his father was a Congregational minister, and was educated in Colorado and California.

The two players, with their widely separated backgrounds, appear together for the first time in “Night Waitress,” a stirring tale of mystery and action on the San Francisco waterfront.