REGENT THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 May 1939, Page 2

REGENT THEATRE

“YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU.” The packing of the Regent Theatre to the doors on Saturday night on the occasion of the showing of “You Can’t Take It With You” was fully justified by the excellence of the picture and showed the sound commonsense of the picture patron who knows that quality will be the outstanding feature of the presentation of such a galaxy of stars whose names stand for the best that there is in pictures today. “You Can’t Take It With You,” while providing high class comedy, has a strong heart appeal. It is the story of everyday people, from snobs to the happy lower orders, and those who have the principal parts in the picture provide something particularly entertaining. Lionel Barrymore as Grandpa Vanderhof has a delightful part to which he does full justice. An actor of a brilliance rarely seen on the screen he immediately won the warm approval of the audience for the natural ability with which he carried out a most difficult role. The part which he plays in “You Can’t Take It With You” and in “Young Doctor Kildare,” are probably the two greatest presentations of his career. Those to whom Lionel Barrymore is the beau ideal of what an actor should be should not miss seeing him in his role of a great doctor - in “Young Doctor Kildare.” Jean Arthur makes a most charming granddaughter in “You Can’t Take It With You,” and her acting was of a standard rarely seen on the screen. Next to Lionel Barrymore probably the finest, portrayal was that of Edward Arnold, who had a most difficult role to enact in that of the elder Kirby—it was a masterful effort. James Stewart had the part of Tony Kirby to play and though he did it well he never varies his presentation in any picture. Mischa Auer’s performance as the Russian dancing master ranked as one of the best in the picture. “You Can’t Take It With You,” is the heart-warming story of two families whose philosophies of life are poles apart. One family, presided over by happy-go-lucky Grandpa Vanderhof, lives merrily and somewhat madly in a sufficient-unto-the-day atmosphere of untroubled fun. The other family, the social-conscious, moneygrabbing, power-mad Kirbys, are the purest of wealth worshippers. The two families clash when the Kirby son and the Vanderhof granddaughter fall in love. Tony .Kirby, not so dollarbound as his father, nor so class-con-scious as his mother, believes his parents are genuine at heart. He hopes that contact with the Vanderhofs will change their attitude towards his marriage to Alice. But the meeting of the two families is marked by an exhibition of typical Vanderhof good humour which winds up with everybody—the Kirbys as well as the Vanderhofs. There was a splendid supporting programme. \