REGENT THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 February 1939, Page 2

REGENT THEATRE

“PORTIA ON TRIAL.”

“Portia on Trial,” will be finally shown today.

LAUREL AND HARDY.

On the principle that where there is more cheese there should be more mice and more market for their mouse-traps, Laurel and Hardy go to Switzerland in their latest picture, “Swiss Miss,” which will head the new bill at the Regent Theatre tomorrow. The idea is fine but it does not work out quite as the two comedians expect, and a neat piece of work by a Swiss cheese factory proprietor lands them into a great deal of bother. Broke to the wide, they find that a valueless bank note is of little use to stay the wrath of the innkeeper whose meal they have just enjoyed, and they are condemned to serve in the kitchen until they have worked off their debt. Despite the warning of the chef that every broken dish will mean an extra day of servitude, they succeed in breaking an incredible number of utensils, in addition to getting into all manner of hilarious adventures. Oliver’s “romance” with the pretty prima donna Anna Albert, wife incognito ofi the composer who has come to the inn to work in peace, is one of the highlights of the picture. Another gem of pure comedy is provided by Laurel’s efforts to get outside the contents of a small brandy barrel hung around the neck of a huge St. Bernard dog. It is Laurel at his best. A chimpanzee plays a big part in another crazy sequence on a rope bridge over a yawning chasm. Della Lind,-as Anna Albert, sings delightfully, and Walter Woolf King, as her husband, is also in good voice. Eric Blore, Adia Kuznetzoff, Charles Judels. and Ludovico Tomarchio make up a fine cast of leading players,.and the picture is rounded off by beautiful settings in the Swiss' tradition. Pathe Gazettes, a cartoon. “The Captain’s Pup,” a historical mystery of unusual interest entitled "Strange Glory,” and an Our Gang comedy, “The Awful Truth.” complete an entertaining programme.