"GOLDEN BOY" RETURNS

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22922, 19 January 1940, Page 5

"GOLDEN BOY" RETURNS

Double-Feature Programme For Liberty

“Golden Boy,” the well-known play by Clifford Odets, has been brought t.j Christchurch for a return season at the Liberty. Barbara Stanwyck and a newcomer,. Wibiam Holden, are the stars,. sharing ■ honours .with. Adolphe Meniou."-"' “Gcldenßoy” is the stirring drama of .a youth with the sensitive soul of

a great musician, and the mauling fists of a Champion prize-fighter. Tired of working toward artistic triumphs in some nebulous future, the boy abandons his art to win for .himself a quick success as ;a prize-ring killer. “Golden Boy” i$ .the _ thrilling, tender story of that-decision; but, more important, it is the'screen portrayal of the tremendous'conflict :which rages when the. youth • attempts to force , both himself and his family to believe that his decision is -the ■ right one: Barbara.. Stanwyck, who shares

Btarring' honours, with Holden and Adolphe l Menjou, gives the most absorbing dramatic performance of her career.' : As Lorna Moon, the disillusioned, young woman who finds roh'ance in the adoration of the “Golden

Boy,” Miss Stanwyck’s characterisation has already made her a. definite contender fpf Academy award honours. The associate feature in this programme will be “Five Little Peppers and how they Grew,” starring Edith Fellows.' Columbia’s film version of the Margaret Sidney juvenile classic is a sympathetic and sensitive treatment that successfully transfers the humour and poignancy of the book to the screen. An excellent cast, headed by Edith Fellows as the dynamic little Polly Pepper, appear just as if they had stepped from the pages of the book and the result is a film that should be. every bit as popular as the amazingly successful literary series.

Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood, and Emlyn Williams . are the stars of “The Stars Look Down,” the new Gaumont-Britisii film from Dr. A. J. Cronin’s book. Th? featured players of a cast of thousands are Nancy Price, Allan Jeayes, Edward Rigby, Linden Travers, Cecil Parker, and Milton Rosmer. Dr. Cronin is enthusiastic about the way in which his book has been brought to the screen. ■