Cinema Reviews

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22906, 30 December 1939, Page 4

Cinema Reviews

STATE “BACHELOR MOTHER” When a really good comedy is made in Hollywood the whole film-going world very soon hears about it; when Garson Kanin made “Bachelor Mother” for RKO Radio this year the world very quickly learnt that this young director had made his third successful film, this time a first-rate comedy. The stars are Ginger Rogers —dancing only once and then in a jammed swing contest in a crowded and cheap dance-hall —and David Niven. They are assisted by a baby who proves himself a satisfactory actor, Charles .Cobum whose dream is to have a grandson, Frank Albertson, and E. E. Clive. Garson Kanin is one of the youngest of Hollywood’s directors; he first caused a sensation among American critics with his film “A Man_ To Remember”; he followed this with another RKO Radio film, “The Great Man Votes,” and again won high praise. Now he has turned to comedy, and as everyone who sees “Bachelor Mother” will agree, he can handle comedy as well as many of Hollywood’s well-known and experienced directors. The choice of the Ginger RqgersDavid Niven team will be interesting to all who have previously seen Ginger Rogers only in her dancing films; she has had acting parts before, but this is the first film in which she has had to take so much responsibility for the action of scene after scene with very little support. David Niven has been seen in many comedy roles already; and in “Bachelor Mother” he gives an amusing and polished performance as the young man “who burns the candle _at both ends and in the middle,” as his father complains. It is Christmas Eve when the film opens, and Ginger Rogers (Polly Parrish) has just received her dismissal notice from the toy department of the store in which she has' had temporary employment over the holiday rush period. As she goes home she passes a foundling home where a woman has just left a baby on the steps. As Polly picks up the baby the matron of the home opens the door, and from that moment on no one believes that the child does not belong to Polly. Worse than this. Merlin and Son take up the cause of the wronged sales girl, restore her job to her, raise her salary, and make her a forced Christmas present of the child. Polly holds out till she is exhausted and at last cons ants to bring the baby up. Merlin junior (David Niven) frequently calls th read extracts from a learned book on the bringing up of children and in other ways to be helpful to Polly.' And gradually he falls in love with Polly. As this happens Merlin senior (Charles Cobum) believes that the child is his grandson, storms at David, orders him to marry Polly, and threatens to get lawful possession of the baby by some means or other. With this situation even indifferent dialogue would be funny; but the script of “Bachelor Mother” has been extremely well' written, and the actors have given full value to the cleverly worded lines. This comedy Is one of the funniest seen in Christchurch for many months; it is neatly constructed and well acted and can be fully recommended. In the supporting programme, “The Ugly Duckling,” Walt Disney’s latest coloured cartoon, is the Hans Andersen story translated into delicate colours and beautiful movements and shapes. This is probably one of Disney’s most successful and charming cartoons. CRYSTAL PALACE DOUBLE-FEATURE PROGRAMME A spectacular romance and an adventurous Western film make up an interesting double-feature programme at the Crystal Palace now. “Winter Carnival,” in which Ann Sheridan and Richard Carlson are the chief players, is a scintillating spectacle with the famous winter snow spoils of Dartmouth College for a background, and an engaging story, the adventures of a divorced duchess and a college professor. George O’Brien, the handsome horseman, in his distinguishing black clothes, rides again in “The Fighting Gringo,” which is a thrilling film of action and drama, with its scene laid in the south-west Texas of 60 years ago. It is an unusual Western and removed from the ordinary run of such films, and. therefore is well worth going to see for its own sake, though “Winter Carnival,” as the main feature, is the more important attraction. Ann Sheridan is a glamorous divorcee in “Winter Carnival," and is found on a train with all the girls who are going to the winter carnival, her young sister among them. Miss Sheridan, once Queen of the Carnival herself, wants to avoid her former husband, a Russian duke, but it is by chance only that she goes to the carnival herself and meets her former lover, the professor (Richard Carlson), who had been her sweetheart when she was Queen of the Carnival. The carnival itself provides dazzling screen material and the best is made of it. The highlight is the selection of the queen, and this honour falls to Ann Sheridan’s sister (Helen Parrish) t who is chosen from hundreds of beautiful girls. Her selection brings her into contact with a Norwegian’ ski-cham-pion, himself a count, and she forgets her former swain, against the advice of her elder sister, Ann Sheridan, who knows enough about dukes and counts after her own divorce. , Meanwhile the Russian duke is on the trail, determined to win her back, and this he means to do by making a scandal of her renewed friendship with Carlson, the professor. ' In' a last-minute rush, all romantic and other difficulties are cleared up, and. the film reaches a happy ending. It is a different, sort of ending to “The Fighting Gringo.” This formidable person is George O’Brien, as bold, brave, and strong as ever, and with his usual resourcefulness in difficult- situations. His two guns arid his two fists flash violently in this film, which is a breathless sequence of exciting moments, dare-devil action, and powerful drama. The story reveals the honourloving O’Brien’s chosen mission to right the wrong done to an innocent Mexican ranchowner. The latter has been the victim of clever criminals who have managed to attach the blame for a murder of their own doing on to the Mexican. The adventures of O’Brien- arid his picturesque band of vagabonds, as they outwit and overcome the criminals, make an exciting story for, a well-produced film.

MAYFAIR “GOLDEI. BOY” Combining emotional drama with colour and action of New York’s metropolitan life, “Golden Boy,” Clifford Odets’ famous stage play, is brought to the screen by Columbia Pictures, and, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, it makes one of the most powerful films issued from American studios in recent years. It is now at the Mayfair Theatre. The delicate handling of intense emotional conflict among all the principal players calls for unbounded admiration, while the character acting equals the best brought to the screen. The supporting cast gives an outstanding performance. In the title role. William Holden justifies the reputation claimed for him when he was chosen for the part after months of searching by the producers. Barbara Stanwyck gives probably the best performance of her career, in a very sincere interpretation of a poor girl who fights with “Golden Boy” between the materialistic and idealistic sides of life. “With music I am never alone.” “I’ll dazzle the eyes out of him.” These two statements would scarcely be expected from, the same person, but it was this complex personality which led Joe Bonaparte (William Holden) into experiences which made his career one of the most unusual which has ever been portrayed on the screen. Brought up to the traditions of fine music from childhood, the boy bids fair to become a master exponent of the violinist’s art, but in his turbulent spirit there Is a desire for something more materialistic than the slow climb to fame as a concert musician can bring. So on his twenty-first birthday the lad obeys an impulse for quick fame and fortune, and forsaking all that his. father has striven so hard to make him prize, Joe Bonaparte enters the realms of professional fighters. His struggle with himself to ascertain that his decision has beep for the best and his parting from home are made all the more poignant by the fact that his father has. spent 1500 dollars of hardearned savings to buy a new violin for his son’s birthday. A most convincing role is played -by Lee J, Cobb, as the boy’s father, and the restrained grief he shows in the failure of the boy to realise his dreams is one of the finest scenes produced for the screen for some time. Under the management of a likeable character, Tom Moody, played in a familiar role of a harassed cynic by Adolphe Menjou, “Golden Boy” makes rapid strides to fame, Jput his meeting with Lorna Moon, the girl from Newark, who is waiting for Moody’s wife to divorce him, adds new complications. The youth has a subtle fascination for the girl, and when he tells her of his dreams, she realises that his soul is not that of a prize-fighter, but for the sake of Moody she urges him on on his crazy career. Believing her to love him, Joe Bonaparte is enraged when he finds her with Moody, and he transfers his sponsorship to Fuseli, a suave crook of the underworld, played by Joseph Calleia. He contracts Joe to fight a negro, the “Chocolate Drop,” at Madison Square Gardens, but too late the boy realises that he is in the power of the underworld. He accidentally kills his opponent in the fight and is himself injured, but with this misfortune comes the realisation of the worth-while things of life, and his reunion with Lorna, his father, and family makes a happy and dramatic climax to the film. 1 ~~r~ ' AVON “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” Charles Dickens’ popular story of “A Carol” makes an excellent 'flim, especially as it is presented exactly as it was written. Metro-Goid-wyn-Mayer has produced this favourite classic of Christmas with faithful regard for the touching drama in its original form, and the film has well earned the popular acclaim that has caused it to begin a second week at the Avon Theatre.

Scrooge, Tiny Tim, the Cratchit family, arid all the other lovable-charac-ters come to life in “A Christmas Carol.” An added attraction to New Zealand audiences is the appearance of Ronnie Sinclair, formerly of Dunedin, as the boy Scrooge, Reginald Owen is the sour old miser, Scrooge. The role was to have been played fay Lionel Barrymore, but when this actor had to turn down the part because of ill-health, he recommended Reginald Owen. “My friend, Owen, is a great actor,” he said, “and I can think of nobody who could play the part, as well. In addition, he is an Englishman, and I can only see an Englishman playing Dickens.” So Owen played the role.

Gene and Kathleen Lockhart are cast as the Cratchits, father and mother of a typical English family of last century. Barry Mackay and Lynne Carver are the lovers, and Terry Kilburn is the beloved Tiny Tim. Leo G, Carroll plays Marley’s ghost. The story of the change that came over old Scrooge is well known to everyone; how he decries everyone who says, “A merry Christmas,” or indulges in the Christmas spirit. He overworks his clerk, Bob Cratchit, then sacks him on Christmas Eve because Bob accidently hit him with a snowball. But Cratchit decides not to let this bad luck spoil the family’s Christmas, and cheerily goes on his way. Scrooge, however, goes to his lonely house and soon has a visit from the ghost of his former business partner, Marley, who comes to warn Scrooge against his way of living. Then Scrooge is visited by three other ghosts, those of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. He sees again his happy childhood days, then pitiful waifs on the street, the cheery home of the Cratchit family, the pathetic delicacy of Tiny Tim, who cannot live to. see another Christmas unless he has the necessary medical care that only money can buy. The remorseful Scrooge then sees his future; his own unmourned death and unhappiness among the Cratchits. He wakens in his bed, realises it is not too late to make it a happy Christmas Day for those whom he could help. He goes out and buys all the best he can procure ~for the Cratchits, gives money to a charity he has already refused, and makes it possible for his nephew, Fred, to marry his fiancee; and the niggardly, unhappy old man enjoys a happy Christmas. HOLLYWOOD, SUMNER “Straight, Place ■ and Show,” which features the Eitz brothers, is the main attraction at the Hollywood Theatre, SUmher, to-day. On Monday and Tuesday next, the popular comedy, “You. Can’t. Cheat, an Honest Man,” with W. C. Fields and Charlie McCarthy, will be the main feature. There will be a special matinee on Monday at 2.15 p.m. REX THEATRE Screening at the Rex Theatre, Riccarton, to-night are two very exciting pictures, “The Vampire Bat,” starring Lionel Atwill, Melvyn Douglas, and Fay Wray, and “Ambush,” featuring Gladys Swarthout, Lloyd Nolan, and William Frawley.

PLAZA DOUBLE-FEATURE PROGRAMME A dramatic story of a woman lawyer, “Disbarred,” is coupled with a new Hopalong . Cassidy picture, “Sunset Trail,” in the new double-feature programme at the Plaza Theatre. The main film, which is second on the programme, Is a revelation of the rackets conducted by America’s crooked lawyers, who, behind a screen of apparent good intentions, make murder and destruction safe. It has an especially strong cast of favourite actors, including Gail Patrick, Robert Preston, Otto Kruger, and Sidney Toler, better known for his re-creation of the “Charlie Chan” role, formerly played by the late Warner Oland. Hopalong Cassidy and Windy Halliday come up against treacherous gamblers and gunmen- in their latest film, “Sunset Trail,” which is in their , usual excellent manner.

"Disbarred” was inspired by a pronouncement of J. Edgar Hoover, chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who made a stinging indictment of a certain section of America’s legal profession. "In the background of almost every crime is a crooked lawyer,” Hoover said, and this startling film aims to reveal to the public how readily it might be deceived. The foremost character of a powerful dramatic cast is a real-life Portia, Gail Patrick, who plays the part of a brilliant young lawyer, lured from her small town practice to work for a gang of racketeers, who operate in a refined and lucrative manner, protecting killers, and obtaining their acquittal in court. Gail Patrick unknowingly is employed as an advocate to sway juries in a state where no women are allowed on the jury, and her brilliance brings success. Her work also brings her Incontact with the District Attorney’s young assistant (Robert Preston), who concludes that she must be working, without the knowledge of it, for criminals. Otto Kruger is her employer, but though she knows him well, she does not even know that he is the man she works for. This popular actor plays an interesting role in an impressive way, and with the other characters convinces the audience and makes the action and dialogue seem real. Gail Patrick, when she at last discovers her own position, walks straight into danger, but just in time Robert Preston arrives with police, and he and Miss Patrick are led by a friend to the Marriage Licence Bureau, Clarence E. Mulford’s popular characters, Hopalong Cassidy and Windy Halliday, are at their best in “Sunset Trail,” the latest film of the series, which is also showing at the Plaza. William Boyd and George Hayes are the actors who play these two favourites of the audiences of western films, and the adventures that they meet this time are new and exciting.

LIBERTY

DOUBLE-FEATURE PROGRAMME

The successful film version of A. E. W. Mason’s famous romance, “The Four Feathers,” has been transferred to the Liberty after an extended season at the State.

The actors who take the main parts are Ralph Richardson (the awardwinning star of “Clouds Over Europe” and “The Citadel”), John Clements (of “South Riding”), June Duprez (in her first and very successful screen part), and C. Aubrey Smith, well known for his numerous "colonel” roles. With this gifted team of players, thousands of native troops mounted on fast-rid-ing camels, and the genuine Egyptian scenes in natural technicolour, the film has much to recommend it to all tastes.

The actors, photographers, production staff, and directors all went to the Sudan to produce parts of this film; and there the first-battalion of the East Surrey Regiment, 500 members of the Camel Corps, and 4000 natives took part in the very vigorous action of the desert sequences in the film.

The story of “The Four Feathers” is, briefly, that of Harry Faversham, who; convinced of the futility of war, resigns his commission on the eve of the departure of his regiment for active service in the Sudan in Kitchener’s army. Everyone, including his fiancee and his three closest friends, believes that cowardice alone has caused him to resign. And" so he is forced to do something to prove that every person is wrong—particularly those four persons who sent four white feathers to him. He goes to Egypt and hy disguising himself as a member o'f a famous tribe whose members have all had their tongues cut out, he at last reaches the scene of battle between one branch of Kitchener’s army and the native army. He comes to the rescue, first, of Captain John Durranee, who is blinded by sunstroke during the fighting. Harry Faversham (John Clements) leads Captain Durranee (Ralph Richardson) to safety and then escapes without disclosing his identity, leaving only the feather Durranee has sent him to show who the rescuer was. A similar action of bravery later leads to the release of the other two friends who sent feathers. How Harry Faversham was able to return the fourth feather is shown towards the end of the film, in a humorous and happy episode.' To all who enjoy fast-moving pictures, “The Four Feathers” will appeal most strongly; but it will please numbers besides these. The second film in this double-fea-ture programme is “Woman Chases Man,” a comedy starring Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea. Miriam Hopkins persuades Joel McCrea to drink champagne so that she can induce him to give away a great deal of money. But Miriam Hopkins is dressed in a curtain, is pretending it is her birthday, drinks champagne herself, and mixes business with pleasure by falling in love with the wealthy young man. The result is a film with a laugh in every scene. CHRISTCHURCH CINEMAS, LIMITED “Lucky Night,” with Robert Taylor and Myma Loy, opened at the Regent yesterday, “Valley of th 4 Giants,” starring Wayne Morris and Claire Trevor, began yesterday at the Majestic. Jeanette Mac Donald, with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, in “San Francisco,” is the new attraction at the' Tivoli. The two new features at the Grand are “Polo Joe,” with Joe E. Brown, and “It Happened Out West.” Opening at the St. James’ Theatre yesterday were “I Met Him in Paris, *•' with Claudette Colbert and Melvyn Douglas, and “Hopalong Cassidy Returns,” with William Boyd.