MAJESTIC THEATRE

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 136, 5 March 1938, Page 16

MAJESTIC THEATRE

* “Topper” Novelty is the keynote of “Topper,” the M-G-M production which began yesterday at the Majestic Theatre. It is indeed one of the most original comedies ever made, but whether it is too original must depend on the viewpoint of the individual spectator. There can hardly be a half-way house in your appreciation of this picture. If the subject appeals to you, then you should enjoy one of the best laughs for a very long time. “Topper” is based on the novel “The Jovial Ghosts,” by Thorne Smith, an American writer noted for his boundless and scarcely innocent imagination. The film, however, is pure farce, in both senses of the word. It also contains, in common with most Thorne Smith stories, a very large element of fantasy—in this case the efforts of a couple of well-mean-ing young ghosts to atone for a misspent existence on earth by teaching a henpecked and thoroughly repressed banker how to get some fun out of life. There is no limit to the enthusiasm and ingenuity with which George and Marion Kerby,

the earth-bound spirit “one good deed,” ■, but the results are i often disconcerting I to the bewildered Topper and all others with whom they come in con- I tact. George (Cary . Grant) and Marion i (Constance Ben- ; nett) possess the ; power to appear i and disappear at i will, and poor Top-

per is beset by disembodied voices and strange faces that cause cars to be driven by themselves, furniture to move from place to place, and female undergarments to float in the air. When she does materialise, Marion in the flesh is scarcely less disturbing than Marion in the spirit, being a fast little minx who does her very good best to make Topper lose his reputation in night clubs and similar “educational” institutions. If I remember rightly, the book opened with George and Marion already spooks, whereas the film takes rather too long in establishing their characters as wild young things living from drink to drink before it Teaches that fatal car crash which releases their turbulent spirits. But from then on the film is extremely funny —always provided that it appeals to your personal sense of humour. Roland Young is the ideal actor to portray the.somewhat pathetic bewilderment of Topper, conveying perfectly the impression that while he wants a good time and is grateful to the ghosts for their kindly interest he would prefer their methods to be a little less hectie. The high spirits of Cary Grant as George are infectious. "Without being remarkable, Constance Bennett’s performance as his spirit mate is competent, and is played with an abandon that is refreshing. Others in the cast who contribute generously to the laughs are Billie Burke, Eugene Pallette and Alan Mowbray. But the real artists of the picture do not appear, being the persons responsible for the extraordinary trick photography.

PLAZA THEATRE “Victoria The Great”

“Victoria the Great,” the lavishly-pro-duced drama of the revered British Queen, which is screening at the I’laza Theatre, rejoices in an atmosphere as colourful as it is real. Much of the story

centres on the younger days of the Queen, showing her courtship, her love for Prince Albert (Anton Walbrook), with Victoria doing the proposing by virtue of Royal right, their marriage, and the long period of 27 years of wedded bliss which followed. Many important and leading

events of Victoria’s reign form dramatic higlilights in the film, such as the fateful occasion when she interfered to prevent the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, from sending what virtually amounted to an ultimatum to the American Government, when the two countries became embroiled in an argument as to the legality of an American cruiser having stopped an English mail-boat to remove two Southerners as prisoners. Other great national events are set forth, that thrill the spectators, but it is the romance between Victoria and Albert that must be listed as the very core and most powerful appeal of the picture. It is from a story delved out of old records, books, and _Her Majesty’s own diary that Herbert Wilcox constructed the framework of the film. Anna Neagle, favourite of the English screen, plays the star role of Queen Victoria. Anton Walbrook, celebrated dramatic actor, is bracketed with her as Prince Albert. H. B. Warner fills the important role of Lord Melbourne. NEW PARAMOUNT THEATRE “It Happened One Night”

In answer to world-wide requests Columbia has released a new showing of their most successful comedy, “It Happened One Night,” which is screening at the New Paramount Theatre. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert are starred and vive perhaps the finest performances of their screen careers. Clark Gable is cast

as an adventurous newspaperman out of a job. while Miss Colbert is a pampered society heiress kidnapped by her father, Walter Connolly, immediately after her wedding to .lameson Thomas, playboy. Miss Colbert escapes from her father’s yacht and attempts to rejoin her husband in

New York by bus. On the trip she meets Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who recognises her as the missing heiress. Although there is a sizeable reward for information about her, he protects her from detectives and others intent on the reward, and sees her through, even after they lose their money and are forced to hitch-hike along the highway, sleep in haystacks and subsist on raw carrots. The supportin," cast is excellent. Walter Connolly plays Claudette’s father and Jameson Thomas is the man she is struggling north to join. Roscoe Karns is a travelling saleman who recognises the girl as the runaway Ellen Andrews and who tries to bluff Gable, but finds himself outbluffed. Alan Hale. Blanche Frederick Ward Bond, Mickey Daniels, George Breakston. Father Dodd and Irving Bacon are others in the east.