REGENT THEATRE

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 242, 9 July 1938, Page 16

REGENT THEATRE

Y “The Trial Of Portia

Merriman’’

The actual ingredients of "The Tria, of Portia Merriman,” the new attract,ion at the Regent Theatre, may be rather hackneyed, but the treatment of them in this picture certainly isn’t. For we have seen countless melodramas of wronger women, mother-love, and courtroom heroics. but there have been few in which those subjects have been handled with such restraint, such deliberate avoidance of emotional over-emphasis. Steadily, quietly and nearly always interestingly, the picture builds up to a high peak of suspense and excitement in its trial scene climax. And, quite apart from the effective direction, ‘‘The Trial of Portia Merriman" is not-

able for a brilliant character-study by Frieda In escort which establishes her as an actress of exceptional quality. She is seen as a woman who endeavours to compensate for the tragedy of frustrated motherhood by absorbing herself in her career as a criminal lawyer. nt' hnr

As a defender of her

sex in the courts she earns a great reputation with the public —but her unethical methods are frowned on by the district attorney—even though he is in love with her. And then Portia's past catches up with the present, and dominates the story. Iler son—taken from her as a baby and reared in England by his rich and unscrupulous grandfather, John Condon—comes back to America, and Portia knows the pangs of unrequited mother-lore. Those pangs are largely soothed when her identity is revealed to the hoy and he responds to her affection. However, her new-found happiness is threatened when she is called upon to take a murder case. Finding that the murdered man is the father of her son, her first inclination is to drop the defence. But Portia Merriman, the distinguished ehampion of oppressed womankind, triumphs, over Portia, the mother; and she goes into court to reveal the secret of her own early life, drawing n parallel between her client’s predicament and what, but for a twist of fate, might so easily have been her own. Grandfather Condon is unmasked as the hardhearted villain of the piece, and Portia’s impassioned plea wins over the jury. Whether it would really have been enough to wash out a charge of murder is something that is perhaps best taken for granted. Frieda Tneseort has poise and dignity sufficient to save her role from . being merely melodramatic, and. there is also deep feeling and (Tramatie tire in many of her scenes. Walter Abel also shows his worth as fl restrained actor, and is a refreshing change from the usual “hardboiled” district attorney of the screen. Anthony Marsh gives a deplorable performance as the son. and there are a few less glaring faults; but on the other hand there are so many good points to the film that the balance is weighed well down on the right side. This is an entertainment worth seeing.