ST. JAMES THEATRE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 109, 1 February 1941, Page 15

ST. JAMES THEATRE

“Texas Rangers Ride Again” is the name of the film screening at the St. James Theatre this week, with John Howard and Ellen Drew in the leading parts. It is a story of cattle rustling on mass-production lines. Instead of few hundred stolen steers, thousands are taken away, not on the hoof, but tn meat lorries. The whole film, in fact, is built on a huge scale.

The Dangerfield ranch is one of the largest of its kind in the world, stretching about 50 miles in one direction and 30 in the other. Running a herd on such a colossal scale requires organization like that for an army, and the vast open spaces tempt a great illegal syndicate, with up-to-date transport, wireless communications, and old-time ruthlessness. to take on the work of stealing cattle as a profitable business. Grandma Dangerfield, who knew the country in the days of Indian fighting, refuses to take the excuses of foreman cowhands. She calls in the Texas Rangers, and when they seem to have failed she gets ready for an old-time battle on her own account. Just returned from being “finished abroad is Helen (Ellen Drew), known in her youth as Slats, but. now grown into an over-dignified Miss Helen, who hates the sunshine and the rough atmosphere of the desert cattle that is her home. But the exploits of the cattle-rustlers bring her back to normal —assisted by the friendly sarcasm of Texas Ranger Jim (John Howard), who at the outset is disguised as an outlaw. In the end the gang is cleaned up, a new and an old romance are made known to all that look on, and the Dangerfield ranch settles down to its tranquil round. Akim Tamiroff, in a minor part as .Mio the Mexican servant, gives a brilliant performance, by turns as a buffoon and a lion-hearted fighter. Also on the programme are some excellent “shorts,” including newsreels, a Grantland Rice Sportlight, and a satirical “travelgab,” on Xew York. In this, latter “short” the commentator amusingly describes New York as if he were introducing the audience to some little-known savage tribe. MAJESTIC THEATRE

Well advanced into the third week of a season at the Majestic Theatre, “Night Train to Munich” is one of those comedythrillers that have a special “kick” through giving audiences a sensation of playing with fire, for the comedy —of which there is a generous measure—is never .far removed from the drama of current events.