ENTERTAINMENTS

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21363, 6 March 1941, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

TONIGHT’S PROGRAMMES STATE THEATRE “ Varsity Show,” with its humour, romance and melodies, is an ideal feature for popular Dick Powell. It tells how the undergraduates of a college try to put on a show under the supervision of a dignified and gloomy professor, only to realise that he is ruining it with his highbrow notions. Then they go to the city and find a graduate who by now is a successful Broadway producer (Dick Powell), and induce him to come back to school and supervise a real show. Dick and his partner —none other than Ted Healy—take over the job, with diverting results. “ Prairie Thunder,” an exciting melodrama of the days when hostile Indians tried to prevent the white man from linking coast and coast with his railroads and telegraph lines, is the second feature, with the handsome, hard-riding Dick Foran as its hero* and lovely Ellen Clancy r.s the heroine. REGENT THEATRE •' World in Flames ” is the true' story of the development of conquest by force in the last few years, and clearly indicates the urgency for free men and women to throw their weight into the scales. Filmgoers who like dramas of international intrigue will be thrilled by “ Mystery Sea Raider.” “PRIDE AND PREJUDICE” The superb dialogue, the charm of Greer Garson, and the generally fine acting of the principals, make “Pride and Prejudice,” to be screened tomorrow, one of the most entertaining films of the year. In a little English village not far from London is a family consisting of mother (Mary Boland), father (Edmund Gwenn), and five eligible daughters (Greer Garson, Maureen O’Sullivan, Ann Rutherford, Heather Angel and Marsha Hunt). To the village come two immensely wealthy and cultured young men, Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy (Bruce Lester and Laurence Olivier, respectively), with entertaining results. CIVIC THEATRE “Cross Country Romance” keeps an audience in hilarious mood throughout with its intriguing situations and witty dialogue. Interwoven in its comedy are deeper moments of sentiment, and the whole production is sparkling and delightful. Gene Raymond and Wendy Barrie have the romantic leads. The Walt Disney cartoons are always a popular feature, and “ Bill Posters ” is one of ■ the best of the series. It continues the amusing adventures of Donald Duck, who is even funnier than usual. The cartoon is in technicolour, which adds to its attractiveness. “THE MARK OF ZORRO ” What is undoubtedly one of the most famous and colourful of all screen roles—the characterisation that brought Douglas Fairbanks fame—is also the perfect role for Tyrone Power in “ The Mark of Zorro,” to be screened tomorrow. And Linda Darnell, who is featured opposite him, has never looked lovelier or appeared to greater advantageROXY THEATRE This Man is News,” the story of English newspaper life which was so popular, has an equally intresting sequel in “ This Man in Paris.” Barry K. Barnes and Valerie Hobson as “Mr and Mrs Drake,” the newspaper re-porter-hero and his wife, continue their successful screen partnership, and Alastair Sim is once again the harassed news-editor. “Angels With Dirty Faces” concerns the effect of environment on the lives of slum boys. One became a gangster and was idolised by the hoodlums of the younger generation. The other becomes a priest, fighting to make good citizens out of the slum boys. “SPRING PARADE” “ Spring Parade,” with Deanna Durbin, Mischa Auer and Robert Preston, and “ Rootin’ Tootin’ Rhythm,” starring Gene Autry, will head the new programme tomorrow. THEATRE ROYAL “ Society Smugglers ” is a timely, realistic drama that might find its counterpart in the crime investigation files of the United States Treasury Department. it features Irene Hervey and Preston Foster. “ She Married a Cop ” is a merry romantic comedy, in which Phil Regan is seen as a light-hearted policeman, who is unsuspectingly lured into service in an animated cartoon studio as the sound track voice of “ Paddy, the Pig.” When his initial screen effort is unrolled on the screen, at a special preview for his colleagues of the force, he is naturally the victim of some pretty strong ragging, and his efforts to justify himself provides plenty of comedy. “ SCATTERBRAIN ” “ Scatterbrain,” a very funny comedy, and “ Zanzibar,” with thrills from the heart of Africa, will be screened tomorrow.