Cinema Reviews

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21123, 26 March 1934, Page 3

Cinema Reviews

CRYSTAL PALACE 1 "LOVE'S Ol.n SWKKT ; The titles of films arc an indication of the response expected by the producers. "Love's Old Sweet. Son.-; dei marids a sentimental response, and as any person's mood and taste of the 'moment dictate what lilni he wishes to see, those who ,t;o to the Crystal , Palace this week will expect to ho provided with sentiment. They will ! ;jet it. but not in the over-lar.ee doses ! that sometimes make sentimental pic--1 tures Here is a lover who . has the -entmiental Victorian view or ' love, and who expects the same view ! from tile woman concerned. He is . disappointed. but remains faithful, even tltou'-jb she marries a waster, and Helps lie l- i" troabli. In the end when j he husband is out of the way, "but [the woman falls in love 'another man, the sentimentalist's troubles are solved by an oppoitutie i death The beuinnini; of the film is ! sentiment, but it quickly becomes societv drama, and then melodrama, I complete with a murder, a trial scene 'with the v.'i'oii;; man condemned, and i ibu lly an exchatu'o oi revolver shots j in which the villain is killed outright land the wounded hero rescues a child i from a blanns cottage. The most i pleasing acting is not by any of the i st but bv Mario Wright, who plays part oi the nurse with a whimsical ! a s:-ur;nuv. \i';^r her coiiU's Juan ! Wviuiham as the woman, and John Sll k 1 rt a ifit' 1 man he lina Ily 1 nai i irx The support imi programme L- t;oo<l, 1 \ presentation of the Pool of Pondon \i< unusually interesiiutf. both factually

: and as photography. U iiives a bet- , ter impression ot the ni."i-o ot acti\ ity ial the centre ot" the Umpire's trade : i |i;ni any recent, film record. Aloiift : With it' I'O two news-reel* ;nul a short. ! cornedv about two men in an hotel j who are outwitted by escaped enn- | viels. This lihn play i-■ sli;;ht. but it valuable as an indication ot what.

can be done with s!i<Hi plays - t lit' lilm Kiuivalcut 01' the one-net play. Well i'i i u-triii'U'd ill amatu'ali y, v.'itn few i haraeters. and aiming at a sninle -harp fli( if. .■!•'' li :> "short" i< ,; ir more pleasm- than the n-ual eomphrnteii ami indefinite i'i>;::nly. Mure like it would bo v. rU'"!,ir. ST. JAMKS' TMKATIii; "I'kosi'p in "

there ' : < in aln.o.'t i'Vi'it pet ,on n 11' i' m -lii.iiv "i sentimentality. a .Ml ah. whl e h 0:1 tin- happy end- • • ~n vii !!>•• triumphant, iiii'i a roii;;h , p.,7i, I. .i 11 i' 11 ra:' t 1 en'iim 'I. talis' In-' i."me ..f l in- ■ , (•(•! V I -iai'l I'M I ailei-P. to ! : (■ n11111• • 111 aii!y. ami n:n ■ ! have «j['., ~ iif (arc : fiAvi! t■. illm with MibMetv, <ii- ho is it tri>tn him will* haiii wenh ii. r all \vh" a.-' is'iCil to v. .'i;it he eeii-aier.; an unjustified i::i.iirea ir::;i;e ui h,s mental powers. ' Thiol-;iinis i.f Amoriean, ami Hntij-b. | j. 111; s o>!»«» tin.' tin .i! n - every year :v,;: h a frankly .»er»tininital theme. b;r iheiv V. 1-y !<".v ;i«-t..rs wh» ••an hamlic th'.- tvpe .<1 play n.nvim'iiir.ly. : Head ami !i. >ii 11 )<ts above li.e re.:» ; !aii I Mavir Dressier, and in her him "Piwperitya most emotional no. ■ ,-ia eeeii ; as :he ah', a;., ha:: S; 1 1 a'- ei ie( i ||! til!.- I. p e I.f liita. She i.. .' .*! i: 1,! y -I in/'anr'; ' aiioW:- iier P. iTi dibs •• ' 'i; a. le.e !11 f> 'lie a! r ie - in.ii e' i■ ■ r ami :e'ie. •. "I'm • -per Py" !•.!•» rs M.iiae liii.'.-ier ever;,' epportimi'l r 1" keen her Word to : i-e that their rne:i.-y !-• -a!". Her on hath r> away 11 .mi - \. ha h an- n.-v: :r: iiiy P i : a|o;::,;in i the none v t ! t lie i iepi >- it i irs of '•:e bank. She i.a: therefore the mm. pate 1 )ri*rsjer situation: a whole town in liioShc: , a fm;l a-ii i- en to mother; ami a family filiation whieh call.; for piaetieai vP sentimental handiin:: la' him i> a lamil one. ami Marie iJre .ler p. in. t ; 1; , dependable a* ever. | I'.-'.ly M'.iai: an «»!'! Uain mate, 11||s 1 a eon.-a h runie pertM.n of the film, arid , :,i„ii. i/ii: hardly the Polly .Mora!: of earlier ,'ilna. The programme preeeded by an excellent i-ollivtioti of

CIVIC THEATRE DOUBLE Fl-AITRK IMUKJRAMMF Edgar Wallace's plays, like Ins novels, are clever arrangements o! stock plots and stock situations rather than records of original observation "Should a Doctor Tell?" at the Civic Theatre this week, is typical of Ec.tat Wallace. C .ice that fact has been recognised, the lilm must be judged within Us convention. It is interesting in the same degree as a light novel is interesting;, and it is entertaining after the t'-ion of melodrama Saturday night's audience found m ;!> nuvhaiiical development and m tin behaviour of its actors strictly m accordance with the Wallace tradition.- - an element of !' -ve not intended by its author, but it is a healthy sign when an audience laughs at a lilm as well as with it. The plot is simple. A girl become; engaged to the son of a doctor. The doctor, who happens to have attended the girl a l'ew years before, when sin was betrayed and had an illegitimate child, has to decide whether he shv.U break his professional oath of secrecy in an endeavour to save his son —althoug i he knows that the girl was victimised. A situation fortunately arises in which the girl is forced to tell the story in order to save a friend, and the doctor's problem is solved. His son, in the best tradition, "beats up" the betrayer, and all ends happily. The besl acting is by Norah Haling as the girl. Tile second lilm is farce—Claude Allister in "That's Al.v Wife." Some of the dialogue is witty, some of it is strongly flavoured, but there is a fair amount of rough and tumble fun of the practical joking order. The British studios have produced bettor farce, but for an audience in the right mood "That's My Wife" is amusing. Allister has a foolish grace, and a knack of

colli rivimr awkward ritual inns, and of makim; them more awkwar<! ni his endeavours to .net (Hit of them. There are i;ood farcical character studies of a tv- , tired and polity niajor with a «ad-about youmr wife, and of a self-made Yorkshire inauiifaclurer who entertains the wile. Allister contrives to mix things for everybody. The linal scenes-in a beauty parlour—with the major and a detective chasim; the manufacturer, and A Ilisfer plum;im; all three into a milk bath, is an imitation of the sor! ' 'him; I to] ] \ wood h;i.s done mini j 'l"!"' bcl (or i for year- | TIIKATRK ROYAL i j "(' \PTi ki:D"—a w\ i; rir.M I j "Captured," which be-an a sea..mi m j the Thcalre Ko\al on Saturday can jhe recommended as j;oed cntertamt men! for those who like adventure pre- | sented a. melodrama. It can also be re- | eommendi d for those who appreciate jl.eshe IP.ward's polished aetim;. which i in tins liim is assisted be a Ltood plot. I a better ca.-t, and lavish At'iertcan product ion. "Captured," i an adaptation (>f I'hilip Cibbs' Fellow I'ri-o-ners, and it i - certainly one of t!m most : uccr. sful war lilm.- of recent \ ea r.s. Most of the action takes place m a Oerman concent rat ion camp m-t behind tile I me-., and the at Unisphere ut this liiitvl ii, pi !M« place i■ : o com. \ inciiii: t!iat one feels it to be ;i reasonably true picture. The experience of the pre one! s <MI It !, !i and Frer.i 1; ■ j "ire at titl ■■t represented as m 0..: I ha i rov.-i"';, list one":. i".i, 11 ■, ii, hum:.:, j nat in e i- al lowed to nvi vo a 1 hr the | rude-.t of shock.". Conditions iu 1 can.ps, it ,'ippi in, , niu:l have varied j vastly with dili'eteiil commandant J■evi ia I of whom are caricature. I if "Captured." The tii-t i : the traditional brute of the war-time cartoon:-, who spit, in a prisoner's face and throws scaldim: coffee in his orderly's ithis latter display of arrogance much to Ills: si lbs eq lieu t d i'Tun; fort i. Hut the second commandant is as humane a. - lie is disnhied. I'nder Irm the priso- | tiers are allowed !i. build comfortable ! hut . where before !*"ii >■ were confined wholesale in a fetid hole. I? seems almo-t an act of ingratitude when they murder half their .uuaids and hit ot! with a do/en or so Herman aeroplanes m nerfect formation. straurclv eic ush. as one would not have picked | is,any skilled airmen anion:; them. I The < lerman.- are treated quite fairly i 'one :s led to reei is ni -e ma nl i lie. he- : ne: 11! i both itc.v and kh.ak; a:;d the ; Ii; ■hi 1111m-ciios are :;ha;"t !y enomth to j revolt even tr.e rottiani ically warj minded In 'ant ured" one feel., that j the (ierniaii soldiers are ,;ood follow.-. I lii;h!int' for the . ame vacate reasons as i their ni, niii': acknowleditim: u:ii' v 'l.e-'lie Howard ha- an eminent!'." ion - itenial role a.- l.ieutei.ant Alii- on. tieprisoner of war whose wife discovers her love for another man only in In:-ah-eiice. J>ou::las Fairbanks. .Itui. plais the part of the ot'ner man 'also a c..nII \ i ■ but a much more hot-headed onei with lie lirh l i'u I stra i; 111 for ward nc --. and I'aul I.ukas. as the C.erman comniandan! w iio w,o- educated at Oxford, is an mtcros'in,:.; and unprer ive I'I.AZA THKATRK "lIAM.ANT LADY" Am: I lar.i m;: ami flive P.r.».k are Marred m "(iallau! Lady," a story of ! mother-love, which bss entered the second week of it. season tit the T'lara ; Theatre. The lilm tells a dramatic; story of a woman who loved unwisely.. The lather of her child, an aviator, is j lulled iu a crash, and the i rl, Sally j U'ynyard. is befriended by a down- j and-out doctor who has defied modi- j ea I and lethal law by puttim; an incur- ) able patient out of his misery. The! two enter into a kind ot platumc part- i nership, and the child is adopted,! through Dr. Dan's eflorts, by a wealthy friend, Philip Lawrence, and I his wife. \ Sally becomes a fashionable decora- j tor of homes, anil a leader ot tasliion i iu women's clothes. A visit !o Italy ; brings hi'r thi' mtatuation ol a I'ouut. I)ilt in Paris she meets, accidentally; in an 1 lot el, her own son. Faced Willi \ the possibility of bene; reunited with j her boy. she is compelled to decide ' between keepim; silent regard',ul: her j real identity as iho child's mother; ni order to be with him. or rcvealim.'. the facts in order to piay fair with the man she loves. The role '_'Ycs Ann llardn;:; .unpin scope for the exi rcise of her t.il"ut for the portrayal of deep ami sincere emotion. A line cast has been ciio.-ca to support the star. CRAM) THEATRIC •'A.MA'I Kl li DADDY" . "Amateur Daddy" bet-tat', a return j season at the Grand Theatre on Sat- j urdu.v. It. is a romantic drama, based i on Mildred Cram's" popular novel, j Scotch Valley. Warner Baxter plays the role o.f father to a family of waifs, and his leading lady is Marian | Nixon.

RECENT THEATRE

"I WAS A STY" ■ ■ Si v." v. hioh ha.- bf.um the i-ioond v.c-l, of Us Micci* v sful soa.-nn Jit the '•« Theatre. It recapitulates tho i uariri:; deeds of Mart ho McKenna, who 1 v-a. .i Bi:I:';an mir.-e in a Gorman hosi? durin;; the war. Gaunu-nt-Hnti.-h adapt* <1 the lilm trom :ho woman spy's own reminiscence ami Victor Savillo lias directed a Bim-h picture that ha:, been acclaimed a triumph of reah.-m. It js a wartime -tory. dramatic, ful! of su--pei.se. and thrillim;. 'l'ho brilliant <'a i lieade I by Madeleine Carroll, tiii- cup.ihlo ant! popular British semen actrt Herb- ri 'Marshall, a tavourite; l onrad Vcidl, the (.'niiittn nt.il actor, tamous m two continents; Sir Gerald da Maura r, one ri Knu!;nui'.s greatest i --'aye artists; and F.dmtmd (Iwcnn, • character studio:-- are always , , W.«. a Spy" is a reablifc story. 1 he n.-'-oio co;n-criicd :u'e iivin;; their live: . tea aotiin: upon >}»•• huiiit.ii reality of the whole pro- : titioi !<>!•„ Tho plot is simple. but full ; darinjj and heroism; full of human- : i'y and . I !i:e war at its worst; 1 P"y A-r the wounded, deatTi for the enemy. UIiKIM'Y TIIKATRi: I I "M\<; I'm; a Mcirr* and ! i "i' \i<now \ ! I's-cll.-ia o-.tortummcnt of a, kind 1 i is provided a> the Liberty Theatre this { , week bv the camible-1eature programme i i winch t.' hem::. . !>.own. "Kim; tor a j ' Xitilil" i. v a uran.a of a pri.<e-t'n;hler's : rise to tame, while "Cnknown Vallov." ' which ha.- Buck .lotus as the star, is a : traditional tilrn of Western adventure.! The popularity of Western films i» i .-aid to be wanm;;. hut it is dithep.lt to i understand why, mile: -- it i- that the I : paihlic has been surleitod with them.; In their way they contain many of the! essentials of coed film entertainment, j ; Their stone.- move rapidly, contain; plenty of action and excitement, and, i sue fri (incut opportunities for benu- ! i tiful photoi;raph>' of scenery and thrill- i pictnies of action. Buck ,lone>, ! ; in "I'nkiMwn Valley." is the eoiivett- i tioiial Western !iim star, and the story ; > el" the picture is not out of the or- i I dmary. but the lilm is eood entertain- j j men!. j | The story is about an isolated and ! | forc.otten community hidden anions j I the deserts of Western America. The! j hero stumbles into it by accident, al-I I most overcome by the (ioscrt which he j I has crossed in search of his hither, ; S who disappeared while on a prospect-; | in;; trip. The littie community, jeal- j ous of its isolation, attempts to detain j I the hero by lorce as it has already de-) i taincd his father, and the story is! | principally concerned with his escape ' ; and his father's rescue. Tho seed.- of) ! dis ciiMon have already been sown : ami >' i: • Ihe brethren of'the village bv I ; tho villainv of two of its leaders, and • j llh- hero escapes, carrying oil' a sub- ! | slant ia I quantity of .cold, his father, ! ■ and the prettiest mrl in the place. *| I "Kim; for a ,\i;;ht" stars Chester j I Morn., and Helen Twelve!roes. Ted j William-., the hero. j s the son of aj :nia 11 tow n inn lister. Ah\ ay.-. in ' trouble o'" one kind or another btraiiH: 1 of '!!• loiaine.--: for ti:;ii: inhe rm .s ; away to New York and gradual iv < wani.s hi . n-a> up in the pi i.'o-th;h! ml; j wo! Id. until lie is matched w.th tl-.c I ln:ht-wen;ht champion of -America. His. sister follow'-, him to the city and in aidim; bun to nam fame falls' into the har<*-; of an unscrupulous tkiht-prc-moter. Sis- .-hoot* linn on the eve of lie;- brother* meat tiaht and. m truly ; heroic :-\!e. he- accepts the blame, j bom;; arrested in the moment ot win- j iiin;; the championship. Curiously enough. and perhaps unfortunately, i there is no liappy endinc:. The hero is executed in an appropriately mora! j atniOfphere of sentiment. j

TIVOJJ THEATRE |

Tiie popular English actor. George Arlis.-. is tiie star of "Voltaire," vhich iis being shown at the new Tivoli | Theatre. J! '.'- a truism to .say that Ijaiiy liim in which Arliss appears is '.[ worth seeing, for tiie polished efficiency 11 of his acting, the humour of his char--1 j actcrisations. and, particularly, the attraction of his personality are prob- | ably not equalled anions screen actors. | If "Voltaire" is not his most successi fui picture, only "Disraeli" will be | placed before it —the film in which ' i Arliss leapt at once to eminence; and there will be loyal admirers of that first triumph who will agree that he has now. at last, equalled or surpassed it. Arliss is still Arliss, elderly but unconquerable; lie stiil carries the weight of whatever play lie appears ; in on his own shoulders. That praise, [ also, perhaps points to a weakness in 1 "Voltaire." Though all the scenes in j winch tie appears are immensely sucI cessful, the scenes from which he is i absent are not so good. : But. of course, it is excellent enteri lainment. Voltaire's cozening of the km.:,', Louis XV.; his battle with the kind's chief minister, the Count do! Sarnac; his enlistment of Madame romp.-.do'jr on his side; his presentation of a play at once attacking the I km:- and trying to win him over to : his side in the very gardens of Veri saille.-: and the final, last minute bluff 1 by which he causes the downfall of' ;de Sarnae are all excellent cinema .■material, full of humour, of. excite- | ment, and of emotion. J The supporting programme has one ' excellent feature, "Scrappy's Party," ; a cartoon in which various famous film i stars, politicians, and sporting figures i are invited, in caricature, to a birthj day party. It is extremely amusing. I There is also a good news reel, a film : of Appolan's Russian balalaika band, ! and a new edition of the "Strange as • it Seems" series.