LABOUR PARTY.

Upper Hutt Weekly Review, Volume I, Issue 2, 20 December 1935, Page 2

LABOUR PARTY.

The local Branch of the Labour Party held their monthly meeting last week, and in the unavoidable absence of the President, Mr. F. Whiteman (Vice-President) took the chair. Several congratulatory messages were sent to Mr. B. Roberts, the new member for the district. It is the intention of the Branch to hold a social evening and dance in the New Year.

The most famous of the world's musical extravaganzas, Folies Bergere, is being screened at the Mayfair on December 28th. A huge sum of money was spent in creating- the sensational effects for this 20th Century kaleidoscope of musical thrills, in which the singing- star, Maurice Chevalier, plays his first dual role. Chevalier is seen not only as Charlier, charming-, singing-, straw-hatted star of the Folies Bergere, but as the amorous, be-moustached, be-monocled French Baron whom Charlier impersonates in his act, as well. The scenes of the original Folies Bergere, so familiar to visitors to gay Paree —the auditorium of the famous music hall, the Folies bar and all the rest of the colourful settings, have been reproduced in this magnified screen adaptation. Merle Oberon makes her Holly-wood debut as the Seductively beautiful wife of the Baron, while Ann Sothern is cast as Mimi, the jealous partner and sweetheart of Charlier. Things begin to happen when Charlier is called in to impersonate the Baron in life as _

well as in the Folies, and a hilarious climax is reached when the Baron returns unexpectedly and tests his beautiful wife's fidelity by pretending- to be merely Char-lier's impersonation of himself. The big attraction at the Mayfair Theatre on December 21, "That's a Good Girl," is based upon the famous stag-e success which Jack Buchanan produced and starred in at the London Hippodrome. The film is musical, as was the orig-inal, but with the exception of "Fancy Our Meeting," retained from the stage show, all the music in the picture is specially written. The story introduces one Jack Barrow, played by Jack Buchanan—an impecunious young man-about-town dunned by creditors and besieged by bailiffs, -who suddenly hears that he can claim half a million pounds in the South of France from an aunt he has never seen. The one stipulation which qualifies the bequest is that he must take with him, when he goes to claim the money, some attractive and distinguished young men, this being to

protect Aunt Helen's ward, Moya, who also inherits half a million, from the attentions of fox-tune-hunting gigolos. The only even vaguely respectable companions whom Jack can take arc Timothy and an opera singer, Francis Moray. Moray is bethrothed to a jealous opera singer, Berata, who only lets him go on the understanding that Jack does not let him look at another woman. As soon as Moray gets to the South of France he falls in love with Moya—and from this fact, and the suspicions of Berata, the fun emerges. "Sanders of the River," screening at the Mayfair on December 26, is well worth seeing. It is an inspiring and exciting- story of spectacular adventure. It pays a fine tribute to British rule in Africa and the scenes of African dances and ceremonials are unique. The crowd scenes have been extremely well directed. The singing and dancing are strikingly effective and the friendship between white man and black adjusted to empirical nicety.

In "Thirty-nine Steps," being - presented at the Mayfair on January Ist, a girl is murdered in Richard Hannay's flat and he becomes involved in the search fox- a master spy, who contrives to obtain vital air defence secrets. On the trail in Scotland he finds himself wanted for murder, and in his efforts to escape meets the master criminal. Although left for dead, he gets away, only to be arrested, but again he escapes and, seeking sanctuary in a meeting-hall, is mistaken for the principal speaker. There he is betx-ayed to the gang by Pamela, to whom he had previously made love as a shield from the police, and when the car is stopped on a lonely moor-, his captors handcuff him to Pamela, but he escapes with hex-, and after a thx-illing-experience they spend a night at an inn under most awkward circumstances. Pamela succeeds in x-eleasing the handcuffs and during the night learns the truth. Hannay gets back to London in time to frustrate the plans of the spy.