CRYSTAL PALACE

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21578, 14 September 1935, Page 12

CRYSTAL PALACE

SECOND WEEK OF "G-MEN" Gangsters had to be suppressed. It was obvious to everyone in America, and yet the Federal agents whose job it was to check the nation's crime went unprotected. Finally, with unarmed men shot in the line of duty, policy changed as it must change. The Government agents, better known as the "G-Men," were armed, and the ruthless war against all gangsters and particularly the "public enemies" began. The story of the rooting out of the gangsters is known briefly from cable news, to everyone in New Zealand, but anyone who is interested in a page of modern history, rather than a milestone in the history of police work, should see "G-Men," which yesterday entered its second week at the Crystal Palace Theatre. It is exceptional entertainment, and not to be judged on ordinary film standards. The acting is as good, or better than in most films, but the story itself is an amazing and a thrilling record. For sheer speed of action, and for realism, "G-Men" is remarkable. The scenes are nothing short of amazing, and yet the film sounds right through it the note of sincerity. Excellent acting—so good that one forgets the merits of the actors in the interest of the story—is a great aid to the success of the film, as it is with any production, but "G-Men" is remarkable in its very plot and story. Even if the story had been the mere romantic fancy of a sensation-minded scenario writer "G-Men" would still be amongst the most exciting of films, but because it actually is based on fact, the interest is the more intense. There is not a dragging moment in the story, and so swift is the action that events follow one another-with breath-taking rapidity, and without seeming in the least improbable—as they are not. James Cagney as a lawyer whose honesty prevents his success, turns into an unforgettable detective; From beginning to end, his performance impresses, and yet he is as unlike the traditional melodramatic hero as Charlie Chaplin would have been. But even his acting is subordinated to the interest of the story, and perhaps that is the highest compliment that could be paid to a film. Margaret Lindsay, Ann Dvorak, and a host of minor characters are almost as good as Cagney,, and the weaving of a romance in between a tangle of murders, machineguns, and master criminals is an in-

teresting and integral part of a good story.

It is said of many films that they work to a thrilling climax, of others that they are packed with excitement, but of few can it be said that they present a vivid and accurate record of almost unbelievable warfare that actually happened in a country at peace. The film as entertainment is remarkable, as an exhibition of good acting i£ is meritorious, but as a record of the history of our own.day it is unforgettable.