ENTERTAINMENTS

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20921, 28 September 1939, Page 5

ENTERTAINMENTS

TO=NIGHT’S PROGRAMMES RED CROSS CONCERT Considerable interest is being taken in the concert to be given in the Theatre Royal tonight on behalf of the funds of the Red Cross—a very worthy cause, particularly at this juncture. The first appearance here of Mr and Mrs Tom Harvey, the former a tenor and the latter a mezzo-contralto, will add to the interest, for they have been acclaimed in the South Island and elsewhere as singers of distinction. Mrs Harvey will be heard in an aria from “La Favorita,” the popular “Goin’ Home” theme from the New World Symphony, the negro spirituals “I Got a Robe” and “Gospel Train,” the fine English song “O Peaceful England,” and some lighter numbers. Mr Harvey’s items will include an aria from “La Tosca,” “The Portrait,” Bonny Earl of Moran,” “Lord Randal,” and “Home to Our Mountains.” The two singers will combine in the Miserere scene from “II Trovatore” and the charming “Trot Here and There” from “Veronique.” Miss Cecilia McLaughlan, violinist, will play a Serenade by Sarasate, and Mr William Whitehead, pianist, will play “La Campanella” and a fantasia of British airs. REGENT THEATRE “Dead Men Tell No Tales” is a thrilling drama, with the distinguished English actor Emlyn Williams as a pedantic Norwich headmaster at whose school a series of mysterious deaths occur, commencing with the school mistress (Christine Silver) who disappears immediately following the announcement that she had won a big prize in a Continental Lottery. Equally mystifying is the sudden disappearance of a young master (Marius Goring) upon whom suspicion has also fallen following his confession to a false alibi and the fact that he was financially embarrassed and seeking the assistance of Friedberg. “THE LAMBETH WALK” “The Lambeth Walk,” a sparkling musical comedy featuring the dance craze of the same title, will be screened on Saturday. Lupino Lane, Sally Gray and Sir Seymour Hicks head the cast. STATE THEATRE “Polo Joe” is an amusing and exciting comedy, in which the popular Joe E. Brown plays the role of Joe Bolton, an American youth who, after several years in China, returns home with a solemn-visaged valet—and an unbounded supply of tall tales. He returns to the arms of his adoring, gushing and rich Aunt Minnie —who is a member of an extremely swa»u<y polo-playing colony. Joe at Calls violently in love with pret l } Mary Hilton, a neighbour, who recognises no hero but a polo-playing hero. The story works up to a thrilling climax. “Men in Exile” is an intriguing and romantic adventurous story of an island paradise in the Caribbean Sea, packed with thrills. It has an excellent cast headed by Dick Purcell, June Travis, Alan Baxter, Margaret Irving, Victor Varconi, Olin Howland and Veda Ann Borg. CIVIC THEATRE “The Mikado,” which is one of the most tuneful of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, has been brought to the screen very successfully, with all its melody, humour, drama and spectacle. The film is in colour, so that all the spectacle of the East is emphasised, and many of the scenes, especially the big procession, are very beautiful and impressive. The cast does exceptionally good work. Kenny Baker, the American tenor, is a satisfying Nanki-Poo and Jean Colin a sweet Yum-Yum. Several of the Savoy company fill other roles, and there is a strong cast, while a Symphony Orchestra gives volume and strength to the music. “The Mikado” will please only Gilbert and Sullivan enthusiasts but the general film-lover as well. ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE “Rose of Washington Square,” with Tyrone Power and Alice Faye in the leading roles, will be screened to-morrow. ROXY THEATRE “Mr Wong, Detective” shows how the Oriental detective unravels a triple murder that baffles San Francisco’s police. Three partners of the Dayton Chemical Company are killed, each alone in a room which has no access. Wong is called in to solve the crime and work with his friend, Captain Street, of the San Francisco Police Department. With the help of test tubes and a physics book, Wong discovers the murderer’s method—the use of poison gas in a glass receptacle which is shattered by vibration—but it takes time *to bring the murderer to justice. All the romance, colour and gaiety of old Mexico are brought to the screen in “Tropic Holiday.” Ray Milland, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Burns and Martha Raye head an all-star cast. “THE CROWD ROARS” “The Crowd Roars,” featuring Robert Taylor and Maureen O’Sullivan, and “The Personal Secretary” will be screened to-morrow.

THEATRE ROYAL

Owing to the theatre being otherwise engaged, films will not be screened to-night. “Hopalong Cassidy” stakes everything on his luck at cards and his ability to shoot a otraigh l cr bullet than the next fellow in the outdoor action romance, “Silver on the Sage,” to be screened to-morrow with William Boyd cast as the famed hero of the range country. Faced with the murder of a prominent rancher and the theft of “Bar 2G’s” prize cattle by a scoundrel with a double identity, Boyd fights it out with his enemies at the gambling tables and on the open range.