ST. JAMES THEATRE

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 142, 12 March 1938, Page 15

ST. JAMES THEATRE

* “It’s A Grand Old World”

First impressions being so important, it is a pity that Sandy Powell, had to come to the screen in “Can You Hear Me, Mother?” instead of in “It’s a Grand Old World.” For whereas his first picture was, frankly, a very rusty vehicle and creaky in the joints, his new produc-

tion. which began yesterday at the St. James, is a film in which almost any musical-comedy star might be glad to take the wheel. Sandy Powell alreadv has an enormous following among radio listeners, and “It’s a Grand Old World will certainly increase the numbers Lie nHmirprs. Na-

of his admirers. Naturally the whole object of the film is to let the star display his personality and mannerisms, but there is nevertheless nothing particularly haphazard about the settings, the photography or the supporting cast. Thus the commonest fault of this type of British film is avoided. . The plot, as was to be expected, is simply a thread connecting a series of typical Sandy Powell episodes. The hero is a lazy, cheerful soul who is the butt of everybody until his much derided -passion for football competitions results in his winning a huge prize. Thereafter his natural wit enables him to fool the confidence men who look upon him as an easyvictim, and his fortune makes it possible for him to save the heroine’s mortgaged home and present it to her—presumably as a wedding gift. This happy ending is not reached before there has been a very great deal of boisterous foolery, some catchy singing by the star himself and some singing and dancing by Gina Malo, Cyril Ritchard and a well-trained chorus in a tuneful number about a bouncing ball. Miss Malo is an attractive, intelligent heroine, and Ritchard is a suitably conceited matinee idol whose egotism is deflated by the hero. Other minor roles are well sketched in. It is Sandy Powell, however, who claims our attention most of the time with his funny accent and his funny ways. In his dislike of work, his enthusiasm as a football fan, his blundering behaviour as a stage hand, his unconscious heroism in capturing a runaway lion (he mistakes it for a dummy), his adventures at an auction sale, a villag* fair, a night club, and as an intruder on a movie set, and above all his crosstalk with a precocious little girl (Iris Charles) and other episodes, Sandy Powell is a constant source of hearty laughter. He is undoubtedly an artist and his picture is just as certainly a grand piece of popular entertainment. Jack Carter, the “Yodelling Cowboy” and stock-whip expert, who performs on the stage, and a “March of Time” film are supporting features.