PLAZA

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21320, 13 November 1934, Page 7

PLAZA

"THOSE WERE THE DAYS" Sir Arthur Pinero's sound comedy "The Magistrate" has been brought to the screen as "Those Were the Days," and the packed audience which saw it at the Plaza on Saturday agreed that the change has done nothing to detract from its many merits. The film has every chance of being a great one. because there is a particularly strong cast, and the very most is made of the abundant material of the book. The setting is the naughty nineties, when London was a city of spontaneous gaiety, and when the last remaining shreds of that exaggerated Victorian chivalry made flimsy points of honour the main preoccupation of the leisured classes. A slice has simply been taken from the life of the London of the time, and the film is successful on its merits alone. This department of the film is excellently done. There was in the house of this time a vast amount of peculiar furniture, and on the persons of the people of the time a vast amount of clothing, and every smallest detail has been faithfully revived by the director. . The story is the best type of British comedy, not the ultra-sophisticated modern type, but that honest mirthmaking that is seen too seldom in these days. The story tells of the domestic complications set up in the house of the magistrate through a lie told him by his wife, a widow when he married her, about her age, and the age of her son. The son is the leading spirit in the scrapes into which the family is thrust, but the comedy is sustained by each member of a large cast. The plot is involved, but it hangs together so well that interest never for a moment flags, and there is not a moment when something to laugh at is not presented to the audience. Many of the old songs of the time are revived with great success. "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo." "Champagne Charlie," and "A Little Bit Off the Top" are but three of them. Will Hay has the part of the magistrate, and handles it with tremendous humour and understanding. Claude Allisler is a crystallisation of the popinjay military officer of the time. The short features are admirable.

REGENT "OF HUMAN BONDAGE" There is some superlatively good acting in "Of Human Bondage," an adaptation of Somerset Maugham's novel, which is the attraction at the Regent Theatre this week. A young medical student. Philip Carey, a sensitive, gentle boy, whose physical disability (a club-foot) has already made him the butt of his fellows, becomes infatuated and obsessed by a cheap little waitress in a cheap little London cafe. Leslie Howard plays the main part with remarkable sensitiveness and sympathy. He is always restrained; yet every detail of his acting makes a wonderfully strong impression. So, also, Bette Davis's portrait of the waitress is perfect.

"VIVA VILLA" "Viva Villa," Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's spectacular story, which will open next Saturday at the Regent Theatre, is classed as a great screen masterpiece. Filmed largely in Mexico, with Wallace Beery heading an exceptional cast, "Viva Villa" has emerged as one of the truly great productions of recent years. Its battle scenes, including the storming and capture of Mexican cities, which were in the newspaper headlines during the dozen years of Villa's turbulent reign, have been classed with the march of the clansmen in "The Birth of a Nation," with the chariot race in "The Ten Commandants," and with the Oklahoma land rush in "Cimarron," as soul-stirring spectacles. Added to the lavishness is a fictional, romantic story which runs through the photoplay, presenting Beery for the first time in many years as a lover. The large cast includes Fay Wray, Donald Cook, Stuart Erwin, and George E. Stone.

CIVIC "SORRELL AND SON" Now in its second week at the Civic All-British Theatre, the British and Dominions talking triumph, "Sorrell and Son," continues to leave a lasting impression on delighted audiences. The silent film version of Warwick Deeping's famous story was an outstanding success, but it is safe to say that the present talking version has not only heightened the intense dramatic effect, but has made the whole production really a splendid epitome of one of the greatest novels of the day. Sir Cedric Hardwicke, leader of the English stage, has written: "I never hoped to see a picture so fine as 'Sorrell and Son.' It's unforgettable." The interpretation of "Sorrell" by H. B. Warner may be classed as one of the film acting triumphs of recent years, and outstanding support is rendered from such well-known stars as Winifred Shotter, Hugh Williams, Margot Grahame, and Donald Calthrop. Box plans are open at the Theatre from 10 a.m. daily, where seats may be reserved at no extra cost.

GRAND "TUGBOAT ANNIE" "Tugboat Annie," which is having a return season at the Grand Theatre, is a gloriously amusing film. In her previous screen plays Marie Dressier proved herself, again and again, to be a' brilliant actress, but her powers, whether in comedy or in more serious vein, have never been more finely displayed than in "Tugboat Annie." Tugboat Annie is a manysided old creature, gaunt, ugly, sentimental, humorous, and formidable. Wallace Beery also scores one of the greatest successes of his long career as Annie's inebriated husband.