STATE THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 January 1940, Page 2

STATE THEATRE

BIG DOUBLE PROGRAMME. There was a large and more than satisfactory audience at the State Theatre last night when Jane Withers’s best picture to date, "Chicken Waggon Family,” was presented as one feature and “Charlie Chan on Treasure Island” as the other. “Chicken Waggon Fam- ■ ily” is a warming story that stirred the ! wanderlust in all who were in the audience. There is excitement, and romance around every bend of the road taken by the family and laughter enough to keep moviegoers happy for a long time. Jane Withers and carefree Leo Carrillo are partners again (as they were in “Arizona Wildcat”). They are a laughter producing pair. They’ll trade you for anything you’ve got—skin you, maybe—and throw in a lot of fun to boot. With Leo Carrillo the cast also features Marjorie Weaver, Spring Byington (mother of the famed Jones Family) and Kane Richmond. Jane Withers sports a new, up-to-the-second hair-design in the picture, but under that stylishly arranged hair j». the same old mischievous Jane, up to mischief most of the time and getting all the fun she can out of life. The chicken waggon is a mule-drawn Conestoga carrying a cargo of trinkets which are traded for farmers’ chickens. Travelling throughout the South, the waggon also serves as living quarters for the family. When the bartering is completed the waggon heads for the city, where the chickens are in turn sold to municipal dealers. It’s a pleasant life and it has its excitement, too. It is a picture that should not be missed by those who enjoy a good laugh in clean comedy with a strong dramatic touch.

In the other picture Charlie Chan crosses the ghostly path of murder by magic at the World’s Fair playground on the Pacific in “Charlie Chan at Treasure'lsland,” his newest and most exciting mystery thriller. Sidney Toler again plays the famous Earl Derr Biggers sleuth, who faces his most baffling case in the Fair’s Temple of Magic when death springs from the psychic arrow of a master of the occult —a mystery which Chan defies the supernatural to unravel. Murder by ghosts provides a new kind of crime riddle in "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island,” and the film is said to boast a twist at the climax that promises to lift you right out of your chair. This marks the third time Toler has played the popular sleuth, having previously portrayed him with signal success in “Charlie Chan in Honolulu” and “Charlie Chan in Reno.” Chan is again aided by his No. 2 son, played by Sen Yung, who is featured in a fine supporting cast, headed by Cesar Romero and also featuring Pauline Moore, Douglas Fowley, June Gale, Douglas! Dumbrille, Sally Blane, Billie Seward, Wally Vernon and Donald Macßride. Those who loved excitement will revel in this picture. There is a good supporting programme, the whole bill of fare being of a most satisfying nature. A matinee will be held at 2.15 p.m. on Monday.