REGENT THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 October 1939, Page 2

REGENT THEATRE

‘•UNION PACIFIC.” The building of the Union Pacific railroad, a marvellous engineering feat which seventy years ago joined the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with hands of steel, and cut the journey from New York to San Francisco from months to days was presented to a packed house at the Regent Theatre on Saturday night, when “Union Pacific” starring Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck, Akim Tamiroff, Lynne Overman, Robert Preston and Brian Donlevy and a strong cast of several hundreds, commenced a season extending until Tuesday evening. Barbara Stanwyck is seen to advantage in her strongest role to date, as Molly Monahan, a daring, warm-hearted, fiery Irish girl of the West. As the daughter of the UnTon Pacific’s first engineer, and the post mistress of “end of the track,” she gives a great performance. Joel McCrea as a “trouble shooter” employee of the Washington Government and Robert Preston also give a good account of themselves. Akim Tamiroff as “Fiesta,” a Mexican body guard, who brings law and order with his bull whip, Lynne Overman and Brian Donlevy as a saboteur likewise give sterling performances. The-story deals with the efforts of a Chicago financier to delay the building of the Union Pacific railway in order to sell the stock short and make a fortune. At the “end of track,” the brawling town that moves westward as the iron rails one laid, Sid Campeau (Brain Donlevy) has been hired by the financier to sabotage the building by creating unrest. Campeau ruthlessly runs a gambling saloon, stirs up the Indians, and finally robs the pay train. The continual struggle between Dick Allen (Robert Preston) and Jeff Butler (Joel McCrea) for the hand of Molly Monohan provides romance to a picture which contains all the elements necessary to hold and keep the close attention of audiences throughout.