REGENT THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 December 1940, Page 2

REGENT THEATRE

“GUNNER GEORGE.”

Never before has the world been in such dfre need of laughter—the kind of laughter which springs wholeheartedly from the antics of the character or characters presented on the screen. Today. more than ever, people in New Zealand look to the motion picture industry to take them away from the grim realisation of the present conflict. During the last war pictures were to a great extent in their infancy. The theatre was still the strongest force of entertainment, and yet from the crude attempts of that time, a film character became famous. The British soldier of that day speaks of Charlie Chaplin with a deep sense of gratitude. He not only provided a figure of fun at which disillusioned people could laugh; he not only created a fantasy world in which tired minds could escape; he became the most important psyychological factor in the morale of the army man. Today, another Englishman, in George Formby, has taken on the' mantle of Chaplin. In “Gunner George,” his latest mirthquake which will be shown at the Regent Theatre tonight, he is just as successful as a mirth-provoker as Chaplin was. The sure-fire hilarities of Formby are shrewdly interwoven into this story of the Secret Service and U-boat operations.

The featurettes include the latest Cinesound News, an all-colour classic, a Pathe Pictorial, and a most interesting study, “Men in Danger.” The plans are at Messrs Steele and Bull's shop and the theatre. “LONDON'S REPLY TO GERMAN CLAIMS.”

Tomorrow night in addition io “Gunner George,” the Regent Theatre will screen “London’s Reply to German Claims,” a frank review of the air raid damage. It makes no attempt to conceal any of the terrible havoc Wrought but inspires with -its message of the courage and bravery with which the heart of the Empire faces this terrible onslaught. Flown' out by air mail at a high cost, the management advise picturegoers not to miss this picture.