KING’S THEATRE

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 131, 27 February 1937, Page 16

KING’S THEATRE

“The Plot Thickens” and “Without Orders”

Comedy and thrills combine in the double-feature programme which opened at the King’s Theatre last night. “The Plot Thickens” is a detective story—with a difference, for it brings together in muddle-headed sleuthing the team of ZaSu Pitts and James Gleason. The death of a wealthy collector, found in his own library with a bullet through his heart, sets them on an unconventional search for the murderer. By luck and a certain degree of intuition—ZaSu Pitts refuses to accept the guilt of the most obvious suspect because she “knew him since he was at kindergarten”—they steer their way through a tangle of clues. But they have only a half-glimmer of the real motive for the crime when the murder of a custodian at the museum provides an essential link in the chain of evidence, which convicts a gang of international crooks of the attempted theft of the priceless Cellini Cup. ~ “Without Orders” is an exciting and convincing aerial film that has for its theme the courage and carefulness of the commercial pilots flying along the great air routes of America. It centres round the romanpe of one of these men with an air hostess on his plane. He is detailed to drill the principles of “safe flying”, into his employer’s irresponsible son, a stunt aviator who has crashed his machine because lie flew it after a heavy drinking bout. The stunter, however, for all his instability, has a certain charm, and he and the hostess fall in love. She realises his weaknesses only when he loses his nerve flying a transport plane through a blizzard. The film is a stirring tribute to the ideals of modern aviation, and it is played with real sincerity by Sally Eilers, Robert Armstrong, and Charley Grapewin as the young stunt flyer.