STATE THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 November 1939, Page 2

STATE THEATRE

“CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO.” Earl Derr Biggers's renowned Oriental detective, Charlie Chan, will be at the State Theatre tonight in his cleverest case to date, the murder of a glamour girl in “Charlie Chan in Reno." With Sydney Toler in the role of Chan, ihe 20th Century-Fox picture features an unusual cast, surrounding the wily sleuth with three of Hollywood's most beautiful women: Phyllis Brooks, Pauline Moore and Louise Henry. Also in the excellent cast are Ricardo Cortez, Slim Summerville, Kane Richmond, Sen Yung, Eddie Collins, Kay Linaker and Robert Lowery. Summoned from Honolulu by the strange murder in Reno. Chan flies half-way around the world to the playground of lovely women to save one of the loveliest from death. It is definitely Chan’s most thrilling and ingenious case and makes fine entertainment. Norman Foster gave the film fine, fast-paced direction. Prize fights in which two battlers hammer away at each other are apt to be pretty exciting affairs. But when seven of them get inside the squared circle at the same time, there is plenty of xcitement. That’s what happened of excitement. That’s what happened picture, featuring Tony Martin, Gloria Stuart. Henry Armetta, Slim Summerville and Kane Richmond. Spurning the services of a "double,” Tony Martin squared off against six of the film colony’s most able scrappers. Three of them, Mickey McAvoy, Joe Gray and Charlie Sullivan, had gained fame as fighters. Harvey Parry is one of movieland's ace stunt men. Dutch Hendrian played with the New York Giants and Pat McGee was a member of the "grunt and groan” fraternity, politely known as wrestlers. Although the fight turned out to be a “knock-down-and-drag-.out” affair, no one was injured. Henry Armetta, acting as referee, was dowiped by a couple of misplaced “haymakers,” however. Incidentally “Winner Take All” presents a new adventure of the popular Gambini family. Unquestionably the most interested spectator at the ringside was Gloria Stuart. For, although she plays a woman sports reporter in the film, and later the manager of a ring champion, she had never before seen a prize-fight!