ENTERTAINMENTS

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21373, 18 March 1941, Page 7

ENTERTAINMENTS

TONIGHTS PROGRAMMES THEATRE ROYAL The story of “The Zero Hour” is all about a famous actress who has pledged her love to a man who was hopelessly crippled on the night they were to have been married. For nine years she denies herself a normal woman’s birthright of love, home and family. During this time she feels a strong yearning for a child, and has her mind set on adopting one particular little girl, only to learn that an attractive young widower has the same idea. Thrown in the company of this man she is torn between her love for him and her loyalty to her husband. Stanley Lupino’s stage and screen successes are so numerous that audiences have come to expect great things as normal from this gifted comedian. “Hold My Hand” lives up to the Lupino tradition. CIVIC THEATRE When Samuel Goldwyn announced that he would make into a motion picture the great Emily Bronte classic, “Wuthering Heights,” to star Merle Oberon as Cathy and Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff, lovers of this dramatic and romantic novel beamed at the new immortalisation which ' their literary idol, Miss Bronte, would receive in the additional medium of the screen. The story of “Wuthering Heights” unfolds on the wild and desolate moors of Yorkshire. It is a tale of a high-spirited, quick-tempered, beautiful girl, who is loved madly by two men—one, ' half-gypsy and half-gentleman, the j other rich and well born. Merle Oberon, playing Cathy, is desperately in love witn Laurence Olivier, playing Heathcliff. But the glittering wealth and esteemed social position of Edgar Linton, portrayed by David Niven, leads the girl into an unhappy romance. The strange three-cornered love story is told with dramatic impact, and in terms of stark human emotions, mysteriously influenced by the desolate moors. REGENT THEATRE “Golden Boy,” adapted from Clifford Odets’ stage play, seen in Hamilton recently, is the story of a young man raised in the traditions of great music, taught mastery of the violin and inspired to become a great artist who turns to the prize-ring where his magnificent physique promises to bring him quick fame and quicker fortune. His career is a succession of magnificent episodes, clearly etched against the turbulent background of a great city. William Holden, as the youth with the musician’s soul and materialistic yearnings, alternately hard-boiled and sensitive, gives a fine performance. Barbara Stanwyck, in a clearly defined, deftly drawn romantic role, is perfect. Adolphe Menjou is convincing as the glib, colourful prize fight manager. STATE THEATRE “Thanks for Everything” is a very amusing comedy dealing with a nation-wide contest to pick Mister Average Man, and the subsequent exploitation of this hapless fellow as a human barometer who can foretell the whole country’s reaction to everything from a brand of cigarettes to the next world war. The cast includes Adolphe Menjou, Arleen Whelan, Jack Oakie, Jack Haley, Binnie Barnes and Tony Martin.

When a pair of harum-scarum American newsreel cameramen get mixed up in an Arabian revolt, things begin to happen. That’s exactly the situation in “Chasing Danger,” the exciting comedy featuring Preston Foster, Lynn Bari and Wally Vernon. ROXY THEATRE “Earl of Chicago,” featuring Robert Montgomery, and “The Espionage Agent,” with Joel McCrea and Brenda Marshall, will be screened today. “ The Earl of Chicago ” is unusual in marking the second time Robert Montgomery has asked his studio to be allowed to enact a role chosen by himself. Tlie first time he did this was when he played the psychopathic murder in “ Night Must Fall,” a picture which won the star a nomination for the Academy Award. Edward Arnold heads a distinguished supporting cast in the new picture. Others in featured roles include Reginald Owen, Edmund Gvvenn, E. E. Clive, Ronald Sinclair and Norma Varden. “ Espionage Agen ” is a powerful and sensational drama of the unknown guardians of a nation’s peace during history’s most dangerous days.