ENTERTAINMENTS

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20986, 13 December 1939, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS

TO-NIGHT’S PROGRAMMES ROXY THEATRE “The Prince and the Pauper” is Mark Twain’s immortal classic about the heir to the English Throne and the thief’s son who were born at the same moment in the 16th century, and whose lives became entangled because of a close resemblance. The Mauch (Mowk) twins play the boys. Errol Flynn is co-starred with them, and Claude Rains, Barton Mac Lane, Henry Stephenson, Alan Hale, Phyllis Barry and Helen Valkis are featured in the cast. Finding unlimited thrills beyond the three-mile limit, “Gambling Ship” is an exciting and romantic drama. A convincing cast headed by Robert Wilcox, Helen Mack, Ed Brophy, Joseph Sawyer and Irving Pichel is featured. The story combines an expose of gambling racketeering with a romance between a girl gamblingship operator and a special investigator assigned to probe the racket. CIVIC THEATRE “Brother Rat” is essentially a story of exuberant youth, and the leading parts are filled by young players of considerable promise. Eddie Albert, who appeared in the original stage play, is cast as a cadet at one of America’s leading military schools, who finds himself in trouble because he has violated a strict rule. The cadets are forbidden to marry until their courses have been completed, but Albert has done so. His efforts to keep the marriage a secret provide a sequence of mirth-provok-ing scenes. At length he brings his fellow cadets to his aid and they endeavour to smooth things out for him, with exciting and amusing results. GRAQIE FIELDS “Shipyard Sally,” starring the popular Gracie Fields, will be screened on Friday. THEATRE ROYAL “More Than a Secretary,” starring Jean Arthur and George Brent, tells of the exploits of a bespectacled, prim proprietress of a business school, who is forced to take a position as private secretary to the editor of a health magazine, a violent health addict. What happens when the two undergo a mutual humanising treatment provides the comedy theme on which the amusing situations and dialogue are based. A submarine rammed in a fogridden sea, a desperate “crash dive” for safety and the heroic efforts of navy divers to carry a life-bearing hose to the trapped men serves as the spectacular climax to a lively, fast-paced tale in “Devil’s Playground.’’

REGENT THEATRE “Good Girls Go to Paris,” an entertaining romantic comedy featuring Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas, will be screened tonight. “Good Girls Go to Paris,” is one of the gayest comedies seen in Hamilton for a long time, showing what happens when a girl decides on the unconventional methods , which will take her to the city of her dreams. The witty dialogue and the amusing situations keep the audience chuckling throughout, while some of the situations in which the girl finds herself are as exciting as they are funny. Of course everything ends as it should, but not before the audiende has had a very enjoyable time. Joan Blondell is an ideal choice as the girl, and Melvyn Douglas plays opposite her with success. They are supported by a very strong cast. “Clouds Over Europe” “Clouds Over Europe” has a somewhat misleading title, for while it is filled with excitement it is also very funny. Ralph Richardson, Lawrence Ollivier and Valerie Hobson have the chief roles. STATE THEATRE “California Mail” is an exciting Western drama, in which Dick Foran, the “Singing Cowboy,” sings two catchy Western songs, “Ridin’ the Mail” and “Love Begins at Evening.” The picture is packed with dramatic thrills, in which the star plays the role of a pony express rider who battles Indians and white highway robbers to deliver the government mail. “Midnight Court” deals with one of those tribunals which many American cities have established to expedite the hearing of petty offenders. Ann Dvorak plays the part of the court stenographer, who, one evening is horrified to see in the line-up the brilliant lawyer who was once her husband—but now a confirmed drunkard. Her rehabilitation of him and the means by which they expose a gang of automobile thieves make a thrilling climax. ZELDA FAHEY’S RECITAL At the Winter Show Hall tonight Mrs Zelda Fahey will present her pupils in an entertaining programme of plays, sketches and tuneful numbers, interspersed with clever dances by the pupils of Miss Bettina Edwards.