AMUSEMENTS.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19735, 27 September 1929, Page 18

AMUSEMENTS.

CRYSTAL PALACE. '"The Singing Foot," nnil' Al Joison as the star, i# in its second wca'.i a; tbe Crystal Palace. Much has. Ixien written ot this nim; it ioo'.i Engiaud and : America by and is assured oi an en- , tiiusiastic reception .i> Chnstehureh. 1 Ai Jolson is a wonderful actor, be be : cjriive or £h>\ it is ail the same 10 him. : With hib nu'iydiuus baritone voice, he sin t s ; his songs with an appeal uhich moved tho large aud.Vnce la*t night to tears. Lspcei- ; aliy was this? so 1 when ilia 4< *v.«uuy Boy" is • dying, and the tittle lad ask.i him uJ sing ; his lavouritu nu-K»dy. are sequences in the picture that are silent; there Ls uo • dialogue—the actor's lips move in silence . in the way we have beer, psed to. The effect lof ihat .silence makes the of Al , Jokon all the more appealing-. Tho scenes I in the cafes arc realistically staged, and tho music is exceptionally well played. Tho story of Al Stone (Al Jvisou), who » i.< iv in cate, and has to work a;i : a v.-aittT r*? well: but that dots not prel vent hiru from being: in love with Molly I <: Josephine Dunn), the *tar of the show, Al : "stone knows that ?-he diK-'su't rare for him, ) but he does not know that fjraee (Betty ' Hron.son), tho < ette-seiier, doe:-. A! is J crazy übout Molly. ni;d writes for her, and ai!o\«s her t«» tak<* the credit for j He *=o well that at last Molly and h-i ! become etftr& on Broadvu-o, and then J marries him. In time, AI becomes a biqj 1 feueeess hs a einjr-er, and ''Sonny Boy 1 ' ! comes along:. Uo has to be eared for, und I M his, boy to sleep, or te:ls him fairy stories. Molly has fo'jrd someone v, ho ati fraet* her, sod one night. Aj rornrs home I to tiftl her £.one. "Sonny Boy*' with her. I Al Stone is desperate with oniscry. Molly j informs her husband that tho- is off to i Paris to get a divorce. ?r.d he rings j her up and h<*v to allow Uim to &ay J good-bye to *'Sonry Boy." \ Stone loses interest in his v>ork, and for j a time drifts, jit?til Graee ♦•onies, into his life, j and once more he is a He is called ! to tbe hospital, where "Soauy Boy" is dangerously ill, and not expected to live. The child asks his father to sing him to sleep H'ith the bong that bears his name. His child asleep, Al leaves the room, but when he returns later "Sonny Boy'' is dead With his heart broken, Al goes to the theatre t\> sing his latest fcurcer:-, "Sonny Boy." When the curtain falls the audience <hee*", but behind the curtain Al lies weep ing, b,itterly, With his arm around Grace, he decides *o continue singing as »oo£ as they want. him. The supporting programme is one of excellence, introducing Giovanni MartoUi. oue of the best tenor einarers in the world, who Fines with much skill and artistry, "On With the Motley" ("1 Pagliacci" > : the Howard Brother?. vhu give a grand opera burlesque, the-"World News" in sound, and the "Tannhauser" overture, played by the world-famous ?Cew York Philharmonic Orchestra. most beautifully rendered and well r/orth hearinr.