ENTERTAINMENTS

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21226, 24 September 1940, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

TO=NIGHT’S PROGRAMMES CIVIC THEATRE “Dodge City” will be shown for the last time tonight, as the Theatre is sub-let tomorrow and Thursday nights. It is a thrilling Western story, filled with action, romance, and all the colour of that exciting period. The fact that it is in technicolour adds to the realism, some of the outdoor scenes being very beautiful. The film deals with adventures in the days when “West of Chicago there was no law, West of Dodge City there was no God!” It tells of the stirring pioneering days when the fight against evil was a thrilling busi- , ness. The cast is an outstanding one. Popular Errol Flynn and lovely Olivia de Havilland have the leading romantic leads, and Bruce Cabot, Ann Sheridan, Victor Jory, Alan Hale and Frank McHugh are prominent in support. ROXY THEATRE “Spies of the Air,” starring Barry K. Barnes, and “By George,” with the amusing George Formby, will be screened today. “Spies of the Air” is, as its title suggests, a thrilling story of adventure, with exciting happenings in the air. Spy stories have a special applicability just now, when people are reading constantly of exploits of airmen, and this one holds the tense interest of the audience from beginning to end. The popular English actor, Barry K. Barnes, has the leading role, and is supported % by a very strong cast. “The Forgotten Woman” tells a dramatic story, with an unusual romance. Sigrid Gurie appears with success in the title role. Then, to round off an excellent programme, there is “By George,” in which George Formby keeps the audience in hilarious mood. THEATRE ROYAL One of the world’s most famous night clubs is brought to the screen for the first time in “Cocoanut Grove.” The cast is headed by Fred Mac Murray and Harriet Hilliard, aided and abetted by the antics of the Yacht Club Boys, Ben Blue, Rufe Davis and Harry Owens and his Royal Hawaiian Orchestra. The story concerns itself with a swing band and its hilarious trials and tribulations in getting across the continent to an audition at the Cocoanut Grove in the Hotel Ambassador in Los Angeles. Another Bulldog Drummond picture that more than upholds the traditional excitement of the Drummond character’s pictures is “Bulldog Drummond Comes Back.” The story is of a chase over England, led by rhymed clues, that takes Drummond and his friends on the trail of a gang of criminals who have kidnapped his fiancee. STATE THEATRE “Submarine D-l.” a melodrama dealing with the exploits of undersea boats and the gallant lads who man them, will thrill audiences. The picture is authentic as well as stirring, for it was made with the complete co-operation of the United States Navy, which turned over all its facilities at Newport, Cocos Coco in the Panama Canal Zone, and San Diego. There are scores of battleships, cruisers, destroyers and aero-, planes taking part, and many hundreds of sailors and marines are seen going through their peace-time and war-game duties. Pat O’Brien and George Brent are co-starred, and in the cast are Frank McHugh, Doris Weston, Regis Toomey, Henry O’Neil and Wayne Morris. “Border G-Man” is a colourful story of the Wild West, filled with adventure and romance. REGENT THEATRE Mickey Rooney, one of the most popular figures of the screen, brings to light the boyhood of the famous inventor in “Young Tom Edison,” a film which shows the great inventor and scientist as he was when he went to school in a small community. To these small-town folk he was a “crack-pot,” his interest in doing things which had not been done was proof that he was crazy. And the restless inventive mind, the desire to find at first hand what happens when two chemicals are mixed, was just something which did not conform to the normal and thus was to be suppressed. So the film shows the adventures of young Tom. how he sets the school on fire and how he blows up another boy with gas, and later, when things seem to be going better for him, how he destroys all he has built up by discovering, all by himself, the “new” explosive of nitro-glycerine. j “YOU NEVER CAN TELL” “You Never Can Tell,” to be staged by the Hamilton Playbox at the Civic Theatre tomorrow and Thursday nights, should be very acceptable in these times of inter-

national stress, for it sparkles with those witty lines for which Bernard Shaw is famous and the audience is kept entertained throughout the play. It is Shaw at his best and most amusing. Very successful rehearsals have been held this week, and everything points' to a very enjoyable production. Some of Hamilton’s cleverest amateurs are engaged, and under the experienced guidance of Mrs Zelda Fahey they will doubtless give a good account of themselves. Box plans are open, and seats should be reserved at once. The proceeds will be handed over to the patriotic funds—a very worthy object, which should appeal to all.