STAGE AND SCREEN

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 152, 30 June 1938, Page 21

STAGE AND SCREEN

{ ' POPEYE FOR N.Z. TO»ere ls;shortly to fbe< a tour- of Hew Kealand lsy ~a Frank - Neil revue company, in ,which the headliner will be thf Americwi' impersonator of Popeye the Sailor/.Man in-the screen cariature that ha»'idelighted millions of people in all- parts of the world. He lias ;been something, of; a:, sensation .-in Australia,inhere* children and , adults have caused',traffic' jatns in s .desire ♦ to see rthe artist;in person,. The. deep vcice» cfr'BiJly Costello has made Popeye a celebrity,-, andwhen he tours New 'Zealand with-aFrank Neil revuecompany he'-will undoubtedly- be <a.-big 1 attrac-.. tidn among a company of. overseas, stirs. The -season will commence; at. Auckland, op July 25,, and a comprehensive tfiuFtlsfbeing mapped out by Mr, Neiliri'conjunction with Australian and New Zealand". Theatres Limited (late J. C« 'Williamson). Popeye as a stage personality will be, aunique fixpettence <for 7 those who know Mr.• Costello only as* a radio celebrity;

THEATRE NEWS. Mr. Wainwright Morgan, a New Zea lander who has had some successfu collaborations with another New Zea lander, Stafford Byrne, in the Londor theatrical.vjorld, has Jjeen playing, witl the Chanticleer Opera Company's/or chestra atthe-Regent Park Open An •.Theatre, according: to the 'London' Cor respondent of "The. Post." His wife Menetta Marriott, was to leave Lon don shortly for. Torquay,--for- 'a 1' weeks' summer' engagement with i v concert party, the members of -whic'r also included Hubert Carta, the well known New Zealand tenor. It will b< recalled that Mr;. Morgan (who hail! Lfrom Hamlltonvand Christchurch) ant Mr, Byrne' (who'hciils from. Welling : ton) : collaborated'.in writing the boot and.the musics-for. "The- Laughyu : Cavalier," which was lavishly; producet in the West End last year. Theii latest work is intimate revue, entitlec "8.45 and All That," which has hat West End presentation after seasons at the small Chantileer Theatre, Ken sington, and at Cambridge.

; ZEAtASTUERS. ■ who-- have for themselves tAuthe I.ond6n theatrical- world,.Mr. v'Vffei'wrlgbt Mo'rgan> and Mfc Stafford BS&frie,-have gainedya; further success , by 'the' Staring of an: intimate' revue at thfcßoyal Theatre, in. the West' End. It installed 'intimate,«because' it, is. pro-,, dticed on a small scale, there is no oicttestra to drown indifferent songs, n«".regimented chorus to fill the- gaps," 4 nb'-elaborate showmanship to cover a ■' lux of talent, and practically no «S#ery,' ; writes»..the ,<2 London correspondent of."The Post". onJuneß.' ''8.15 and All That" consists of 25 futures? it includes a number; of songs . which have already, proved popular ; in suburban and; country; theatres. That melodious - act, v "Over the Garden, waU," for instance, was-performed at the; Chanticleer Theatre nearly two years ago, and f'Spring ,1s In /the Air" Is nbw also something of a recognised favourite. The piece; was performed; at 1 Cambridge, where- it attracted the attention of a London. manager. Mr. Morgan collaborated; with Temple Atiady in the songs; Mr. Byrne, with Maty ' Dunn, found the words, and Gtfeta Gynt, the. well-known Scandinavian actress;: was leading The company , included. Charles Heslop, John. Buckmaster,, and Robert Eddison. SYLVIA SIDNEY. .Ready to -start w.ork in • her next pioSmount -starring role, Sylvia Sidnir'i has r returned to -Hollywood after •nltxtendfel stay in New York,, The picture is "You and Me,'"in which she «t»ifiv>KA ■, rJonrtrp/Rflff..

HBBETT'SiTRIIIMPHS. Lawrence Tibl?ett, American bari tone, -one 1 ; of .■'tofetoost sue cessful seasons ever jrtcofded by t visiting■ artist in Australia.. Jhq Tib bett of the platform- has a. charm..thai Jth'e, radio- cannot convey. He has „re vealed remarkable~ versatility in' pro lyrics i coinbining 'char^cterractinfeLanid singing of a magnificence seldom the privilegt of-m^sic-lovers,in such far-away; coun •,tries. ' Mr r Tibtifett. commencesTiis toui 'at; Wellington on Augiist 91 New: Zealand audiences' will be delighted witl: the resbnance of the Tibbett voice, anc his mastery of the -art-that rests secur< on, the antique - Italian school, of sus tained singing. - Australian critics give warih praise to the lovely" half-voice singing of' the American' singer; shown i for example, so pleasingly •in ~ the Strauss "Morgen," or ; in Vaughan Wil liams's charming essay in- rustit Humour,: "The • Water Mill." His frank genittl personality, assures -an install personal success for the baritone while the utter-perfection of his glori ous voice seals' the initial impression-r a 1 histrionic and vocal triumph; if evei there* was one. Stewart. Wille is hi! acqompanist and solo'pianist-.' "FOUR MEN AND A PRAYER." . "Four, Men and a. Prayer," the famoui magazine .story 7by; David Garth Spreads its ■thrills, across the screer and around the .world, in the 20th Gen-tury-Fox' picturisation.-'Loretta Youns is featured with Richard Greene, the newostar discovery, her leading man George Sanders, David i Niven, iand; C Aubrey Smith are also featured ip #i< stoty of four gallant: brothers. pledget tn'fl ntipsf that. mf>rklß>atr rfeat.n ■ ■'

MANY ■ ALIASES. The beautiful little princess Snow White, created by Grimm of fairy tale fame and. brought to the screen by Walt Disney, is a paragqn of girlish virtue, but nevertheless sne. : has .as many, aliases as a law dodger. The original tale of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was written in German, where the princess's name is Schneeweischen. If you think that sounds like someone in the throes of hay fever, perhaps, you will like her Italian apellation better—Nevolina. In France, ■ Disney's. first feature-length animated production will'be known as "Blanch Neige et.les Sept; Nains." When the picture reaches the Latin American countries, little' Snow White will automatically become Blanca Nieve. In the original tale,' Grimm did not name the seven dwarfs, bjit because their individual personalities are so developed in the picture Disney and his staff have given them the following names:— Doc, Sleepy, Grumpy, Dopey, Happy, Bashful, and Sneezy. What these names will, turn out to be in the six other languages "Snow White" is to be released in is a question. Translating Sleepy, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, and Sneezy will not present such a difficult problem, but when one starts translating the names of "Doc" and "Dopey" the fuii should start. A BAN ON ROMANCE. Deanna, Durbin fans can rest assured. Universal Studios plan no screen " romance for the lovfcly young singing star for a long time to come. The assurance comes from Charles R. Rogers, executive vice-president in charge of production", in response to hundreds of letters received by the studios. Authors of the letters had read an erroneous report that a serious romance was being considered for her in her next picture, "That Certain Age." "I want all of Deanna's fans to know," Rogers said, "that I am going to continue to handle her career in the same manner, .that has endeared her to the hearts of millions everywhere. She will, as in the past, be starred in 'charming, wholesome pictures with "music that shows her voice to the best advantage. Everybody at the studio., feels that 'That Certain Age' will be .even more charming than her present release, 'Mad About Music.' Further proof of our intentions to keep Deanna-a sweet and wholesome girl is contained in our lavish plans to star her in 'Cinderella.' Herself the present-day Cinderella, it is safe to say that nowhere in the film industry could a child actress be found who so thoroughly epitomises the world-known, beloved character." RAILWAY CARS BUILT, Two complete railway cars, sleeper, and club car,\were built for scenes in RKO Radio's "Vivacious Lady," in which Ginger Rogers and James Stewart are starred. The cars were built to current railway specifications, and carried complete equipment of lights, state-rooms, dressing, and wash rooms, vestibules and observation platform. All the cars were equipped with carpets, leather chairs, electric fans, water coolers, $nd everything found on modern trains/ Due to the close quarters, for shooting, the sound man had to lie on an .overhead jolatfojrm and hold, .the .microphones over, theiplayers wfthfe a hand boom. Director'.George Stevens" and the company spent ten days on the train, enough working hours to have made a round trip from Hollywood to New York. NEW PICTURES. Universal studio starts production of si» additional pictures in April, Charles R. Rogers, in charge of production, announced recently. Six pictures already are before the cameras. They include two milliondollar productions, Danielle Darrieux's "The Rage of Paris," and "Letter of Introduction," with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Most important of the six new features to, be made is "That Certain Age," starring Deanna Durbin. 1 The other five are "Suspicion," "Scandal for Sale," "Fighting the Underworld," "The Walls of San Quentin," and "Afraid to Talk." "Suspicion" will be a special offering, starring Warren William and Gail Patrick, to fye directed by James Whale. It s'a powerful modern day drama with a district attorney as the central character. ■ "Fighting the Underworld"- is based on the autobiography • of Colonel Philip S. Van Cise, formerly district attorney at Denver, Colorado. Irving Starr will be the producer. Edmund Grainger will produce "Suspicion" and "Scandal for Sale." The month of May also will witness a heavy production schedule at Universal. Pictures to be started that month include 'The Road to Reno," starring Hope Hampton, and "Three Smart Girls Leave Town." Three "unknowns' will play the title roles in the latter picture instead of Deanna Durbin, Barbara Read, and Nan Grey, who made Three Smart Girls." ' , RUTH DRAPER'S ART. Tlie characterisations of Ruth Draper, "one-woman" artist, are so vivid that the absence of scenery and other actors passes unnoticed. Her mechanics are so perfect that, whether she is a young Italian girl meeting her lover in a , quiet church, or is a fussy, fluffy-minded English country lady opening a bazaar, she completely fascinates. With her mystic gift of the drama, she simply forces her audiences to imagine for themselves the scene she is portraying. By a realism never approached by the greatest dramatists, she portrays the nature of woman with an insight and rare dramatic power. Miss Draper }is coming to New Zealand shortly. Her Australian tour has been so successful that the opening of her New Zealand season has been delayed, and she will now commence'her tour at Wellington on July 30, the short season ending on August 4. Audiences will be stimulated, shocked, amused, and amazed. Miss Draper promises lively enter: tainment, in which audiences, by using their imagination, contribute to their own enjoyment. Her face, with its dark eyes and brows, aquiline nose, and expressive mouth, could be English, American, Irish, French, Russian —all the women of the world. She is • woman with a genius for being all* women. After Wellington, Miss Draper will play at Christchurch from August 6 to 10; Dunedin, August 11-12; and Auckland, August 15-20. GORING'S NEW ROLE. Marius Goring, one ot the most versatile actors on the London stage today, forsook the neurotic parts which he has lately been playing for a comedy role in "Surprise Item" when it was produced at the Ambassadors by Anmer Hall. "Surprise Item" is by Cyrus Brooks, and in it Mr. Goring played a naive young man from the country who is employed in a wireless shop in London,, where he becomes involved with a glamorous radio star. This.. role was enacted by Valerie Taylor. One of Mr. Goring's most recent outstanding, performances was in "The Last Straw" (a thriller by f Edward Percy and Reginald Denham), in which he was co-starred with Lucie Mannheim, the German actress. In this he traced the neuroses of a young man who suffered exceptional treatment when a lad and who, on going to Oxford, has to submit to almost similar treatment at the hands of other graduates, and finally commits murder as a protest against the cruelty of his colleagues and the system of school "ragging* that goes to extremes.

CHOICE FOR "GOLDEN BOY."

vnvfvu I So Widespread is' the public interes in the selection of the leading mal< role for the forthcoming picturisatioi of "Golden Boy," that hundreds; o nominations are pouring into the office: of the Columbia studios from all ovei America. The response from the pub lie and Press has be§n overwhelming according to Columbia officials,, ini leading role of "Golden Boy is ar exacting one, combining as it does tna of a poetic dreamer and prize fighter So varied have been the suggestion! that not one prominent film player hai received a majority consensus. Writ ten by Clifford Odets, "Golden Boy. holds the distinction of being mcludet among the stage plays of ipundei consideration for the annual Pulitze, Prize play award. • NEW JEAN HARLOW. Upon acquiring the film rights ti "Blondie," the famous newspaper strip the Columbia Studios have inaugurate a nation-wide quest for a new oear Harlow to portray the leading role Planning an early production on .ai impressive scale, the studio is a blonde beauty who is the ver p-nitome of her type, and who at tin s££e time best personifies the: enwac ter made famous in hundreds of news papers. GOLDWYN'S FIiANS. Samuel Goldwyn announces that h< will co-star Gary Cooper and Merl< Oberon in "Graustark." The produc tion will probably be made m Techni color. This romantic adventure stor; has for its locale a Small mythica European kingdom. The supportinj cast will be headed by Sigrid Gurie William Wyler will, direct from i screen play by Lillian Hellman an< Samson Raphaelson. The film—the firs : oh; MOT ninto production immediately, aftSfethi ' producerreturns from'his trip to Lon don. ■ • . v ■ PLUCK IN PLENTY. There is a well-paid job for "doubles' in Hollywood studios, but the persoi who wished to follow a similar caree: in Australian films would find thi demand for this work almost negli gible. Except for a dangerous, fall when the star of a film would risk , < probable injury, Cinesound Studioi have'found that its offer of a "double 1 is invariably refused by Australiai .film players. This does not appl; only to men. Women players an equally hardy, and insist on goini through any sequence, however unplea sant, if their work demands it. Jo; Howarth who played her first screei role in "The Squatter's Daughter," wa; an example of the pluck and fortitudi of the' Australian girls. - In the dan gerous bushfire sequence in this film she ran through blazing trees, hei clothes scorched and torn, and fo: hours crouched in a water hole whili crashing trees fell around her, ant leaping flames and .dense smoke nearlj aspnyxiated her. Fight scenes in Australian ■tralian films have always been fough with a grim realism that has had dis astrous results in many cases. The lati Brian Abbot, in "Orphan of the Wilder ness," suffered face and head injurie in the "free-for-all" that was th< climax to-this film, but the thrillinj result was ample compensation. Ii "Tall Timbers," three players refuset "doubles" when they. . had to, rusl through crashing' forest giants in thi timber drive. In "Let George Do It, 1 latest Cinesound: cotaedy, soon to bi released, George Wallace and Lett: Craydon amazed studio executives witl their courage- and their firm decisioi to play every dangerous and unplea sant sequence in the production. HUSHING A BABBLING BROOK. The latest wrinkle in sound engineer ing was evolved by experts in charg of the recording of Warner. Bros Technicolour production of "The Ad ventures of Robin Hood" in inventini a "creek, silencer.". The locatioi selected for one of the more importan sequences of the story, in which Robii Hood and Friar Tuck stage a Homeri battle with;broadswords,in midstrearr Was at Ch'ico Creek, at Chicc California. It was ideal in ever; respect so far as scenery was con cerned, but the sound men wrinklei their brows at. a noisy rapids just i few yards away from the duel. I interfered with the recording of thi scene. They went into conference ani soon conquered the situation. Loni strips of heavy sacking were weightei down and spread over the fifteen yard of rock and the small series of rapids Their noise fell to a mere murmer, am it was possible to record clearly thi dialogue between Errol Flynn, a Robin, and Eugene Pallette as thi bellicose friar.

COMEDY AND COMEDIANS, "Modern comedy is played by r- comedians who don't do funny things. \ Such is the belief of Clarence Brown, 1 ace film director. Brown for more ! than fifteen years has extracted laughs ' out of seriously-played scenes, and " never uses a player who tries to be I. funny. "Things we laugh at in ordm- : ary life," Brown explained, "are things f done or said with no intention of being funny, as a rule. Little accidental hap- ; penings get laughs in the household, in ; the office, on the street, every day. And ! they are the most effective form of > comedy on the screen." As an illusi tration, Brown directed a comedy sequence in "Of Human Hearts, with , Walter Huston, James Stewart, and ' Beulah Bondi. The old-fashioned ; backwoods congregation of 1850 sang oldtime hymns. The choir leader, played by Clem Bevans, was supposed to be an old fellow who was deaf, but who „ had led the choir for thirty years. At the close of every verse his voice i" would trail on about three bars behind , the rest of the singers, because he couldn't hear and thus keep time. The j idea was taken by Honore Morrow, the { author, from &n actual case. The very : naturalness of it made its comedy. [■ "One of my first experiments with this " type of comedy was in a scene,between Wanda Hawley and William " Orlamond in 'Butterfly,' made in 1923, the director recalled. "Orlamond played an old. bookkeeper, Miss Hawley a ' stenographer. Orlamond pinched her cheek, and a black 'beauty spot,' such • as were worn in those days, stuck to 5 his finger, and later, when he touched 3 his own face, clung to his cheek. The - episode was a sure-fire laugh. In Ah - Wilderness!' the high school singer r and high school clarinet player got I laughs through perfectly natural peri formances of amateur musicians, and ' the class hymn, imperfectly rendered as children would render it, provided 1 much humour. People recognise such t unconscious comedy because they see and laugh at it every day," said Brown, i- "It reminds them ox "people they know l and of things they have done themI' selves, and hence can be . far more < effective than a synthetic, or thought--out gag." , ■ ' SCENES IN "TEST PILOT." l —. . r ' Half of the location equipment reJ quired for, the filming of the new - Clark Gable-Myrna Loy-Spencer Tracy ■ aviation drama, "Test Pilot, was sent > by plane. Heavier .equipment, such ,as t the 3un arcs, cameras, dollies,, lumber, electrical wiring, and. properties were 1 conveyed by regulation motor-vans. ' The first aviation picture made by the J studio in two years was handled with ?an air-minded attitude. Whenever - feasible, planes supplanted slower f transportation. The company was i grounded on one of the smooOier pas--3 -tures of a ranch. A three-hundred- ; yard field served for landing artd take- . offs. Six cameras were spotted around the field to catch spectacular flying - scenes. Dressing-rooms were hastily -constructed, offering a sharp contrast > to the luxurious studio dressing-rooms. I Half the company wore straw hats in r harmony with the bucolic scenery. - Modern planes on the set were either t silent while a ground scene was made, . or roared into action for sky scenes. . One of these, a tiny ■ Seversky, had a 1 top speed of 325 miles an hour, and , used-126 gallons of gasoline in an ' hour's flying. The setting duplicated - -the average Kansas farm. _Trees had ' been brought from the studio, fences } were built, a silo was constructed. to match the photographs of those of 1' farms in the Mi.d West. The farm prorvides the opening locale for Test Pilot." ciark Gable, trying to break ; the transcontinental air record, with Spencer Tracy at his side, is forced i down on the farm. There he meets 1 Myrna Loy, unsophisticated country - girl. Studio experts reconstructed the typical Kansas farm, on the Phillips ranch at' Chino, California. When it ' was ready for filming, the first aviation location trek was under way. I FAMOUS SET GOES. I One of the most highly publicised l landmarks in Hollywood was the oldt est exterior set at Paramount s studio, l which was demolished recently to c make way for studio extension. The i, old set, built twelve years ago, has i, been used in production of a long list f of film, first as a Venetian canal in - Florence Vidor's pictufe, "Honeymoon i Hate," and in other films as a New 1 York waterfront, a section of the Erie t Canal, a square in Moscow, a Shanghai 2 street a part of Marseilles during the i Crusades, Limehouse, a Cairo bazaar, I and as streets in Madrid, Havana. I Singapore, Yokohama, Berlin, and s many other cities. The set which has i. been visited by thousands of tourists, I was demolished without ceremony ex--5 cept that a photographer made stills s as ropes, drawn taut by a tractor, pullj ed the structure to the ground in a cloud of dust. i

NATURE AIDS MOVIE MAKERS. Mother Nature came to the aid of ' Warner Bros, studio in a rather unexpected manner idlui'ing production of the new techniciolour drama, ' Gold is Where You Find '.It." The studio badly needed a vast au\ea of flooded wheat fields for the picture, but inasmuch _ as the expense of actually flooding rich wheat lands would!* have been prohibitive, it was decidcvd to convey a sug-. gestion of the' flocid by confining the water to an area ii>f about two acres' and letting dialogue cover the rest. Then, unexpectedly,\came word that a dam had broken in I .the heart of the Southern Oregon wbeat country and that water had spread over hundreds of acres of rolling grain. Technicolour camera crews .were immediately loaded on fast planes anVi the flood was photographed from every conceivable angle for incorporation into the fiiusned production. "Golds Is Where You Find It" is a story ofV the bitter feud which raged between Iwheat ranchers of the Sacramento Vtelley and the hydraulic miners in the lSierra foothills back in the 1870's. It state George Brent Olivia de Havilland, Cla fade Rains, and Margaret Lindsay. WELLINGTON REPERTORY SOCIETY, ( Referring to "The Second Mrs Tanaueray," which Mr. Leo Chateau is to produce'tor, the Wellington Repertory Theatre Society- rr.ll the Town •HaH Concert Chamber frcpi July 12 to 16. Mr. Hamilton Fyfe, i.a his book, "Sir Arthur Pinero's Ijlays and ' Players," says: " 'The SecondWVlrs. Tan- , queray" marked the peak- of its. author s 1 career. Pinero had done nothing ; before that was at the saimti time so dramatically effective and so) true to life." "The Second Mrs. Taihqueray ' was the turning-point in. the torogress ; of the British and American dratna. The : play was in the hands of Sir ' Alexander in the spring of 1853, and on the first night of its-production at : the St. James Theatre, Londoit Mrs. ' Patrick Campbell in the titile role ' roused the audience to a pitch ,of enthusiasm rarely equalled in a Lipndon theatre. It was the play that gavis Mrs. ; Campbell her chance to thrill heraudience. When John Davidson t the poet, wrote-yto Mrs. Campbell, "l',aula I is like an Opal of many hues land > lustres with stains of life and woitads ; of passion through which the difeas- ! trous fires glow that shatter it in ghe 1 end" he did not mean to attribute Wis ! merit entirely to the actress. He kntew J how much to apportion to the player » and how much to the brain of Pmerto ' which gave the actress .material iw» ; work on. i GREATER THAN "ZIEGFELD." [ Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell arev : co-starred for the first time in the i lavish musical, "Rosalie. The musical > also includes such favourites as Frank I Morgan, Edna May Oliver, Ray Bolger, ; the new European sensation, Ilona i Massey, Billy Gilbert, and Reginald ' Owen in a story that concerns the love ■ • and adventures of a West Point cadet ; and a Princess of mythical Romanza. In order to bring new beauties to the screen, William Anthony McGuire, coauthor of the - /original story _ and t writer of the screen play, sent talent ' scouts over the principal colleges -ol ; the United States before he cast the . 500 beauties in their respective dancing > and showgirl roles. Directed by ! S. Van Dyke 11, the new musical includes nine hit tunes by Cole Porter, while Madame Albertina Rasch ■ presents ballet, tap, acrobatic, and waltz ensembles. Outstanding among. numbers is the "Romanza" set, which covers more than sixty acres and was • filmed entirely at night with the'aid 'of twenty-four cameras. This set was ' so large that lights had to. be rented t from every major studio in Hollywood i for its operation. Twenty-five hundred i people were included in that number alone. The film is claimed to be greater than "The Great Ziegfeld." ALICE IN HOLLYWOOD. Walt Disney is reported to have bought the rights of the "Alice": books for a film cartoon t The deal has JUKt been completed with Macmillan, Lewis Carroll's publishers. Particularly interesting is the fact that the purchase includes the right to reproduce Tenniel's famous illustrations on the screen. Mr. Disney's contribution to the film will thus be confined to arranging the sequence and devising the detail of Alice's adventures. This will not hamper his creative urge, howi ever. It is nine years since he gave, up [ drawing his own cartoons, and hfs i work ,on "Snow White," for instance, [ was entirely supervisory. Mr. Disney [ has had his eye on "Alice" for a long ! time. His original idea was to give > the title-part to Mary Pickford ana to ! combine flesh-and-blood photography ■ with cartoons. His purchase of the : Tenniel drawings indicates that he has : now decided to make the film all-car-t toon. It is reported that he has not I yet made any plans for beginning pros duction. If, as is likely, the film takes ' as long to make as did "Snow White," f it' will not reach the screen before i 1941. The cost of making "Snow. ; White" "was between £250,000 and ■ £300,000. The 250,000' drawings required a corps of 570 artists. "Alice" will certainly not be less exacting. . Mr. Disney is rapidly making a cor- - ner in nursery tales. His most recent acquisition was Mr. Milne's "Christopher Robin" series. His studios are all ready at work on an Italian fairy tale 1 and a Viennese animal story, "Bambi," the hero of which is a forest deer.

: FINE TEAM WORK. Merle Oberon has .handsome Laurence ..Qlivier as ' her - leading .man. -in "The Divorce of Lady X," and a very attractive team they make in this new' Alexander Korda comedy. The story is one of those light, frothy affairs which: can either emerge, if the treat-. ment misses flre, as dull' and listless, or, as in the case of "Lady X," as highly amusing screen fare. In fact," it is. said that ,his is one of the most enjoy-' able comedies England has produced. Miss Oberon makes hay of her role as Leslie; a self-willed debutante with! a. sense of humour, who gains much satisfaction from the elaborate " hoax she' stages for the benefit of Logan, a. likable but rather stiff-necked young barrister, played by Olivier; Assisting ; her in the, plot areßinnie Barnes, as Lady Mere, a woman with a colourful past, and. Ralph Richardson, giving what: might easily prove the.-: best' comedy characterisation of the year.as her firuity, dim-witted husbarid. Re- ! serying .judgment on, thieir. antics,''is.> Morton' Selten, as Judge Steele, around ■whose- i sturdy person much iof the • comedy

WARM PRAISE.i Two noted artists in Melbourne look* ed. forward,, to-mfeetihgZtfie - dramatic ; soprafto; Kirsten Flagstad, when . she arrived to commence • her •'AuStr&liah ■ cofiCSrt tour. . They were Lawrence Tibbett and Ruth Draper. Lawrence Tibbett has sung with Kirsten Flagstad iiu opera in London and Ne,w York.' At'Covent Garden, London, he. was associated with >her during the Royal ■ season •of opera which was one of the events of the official Coronation "celebrations. Tib* ' bett recently said of" her:' '."She is a • wonderful' singer and a great artist. When you hear that marvellous voice pouring- out -with effortless' ease, you -get a thrill you will never forget." Ruth Draper, in one'of hep,character sketches, "Three Wometi- -and Mr. Cliffrd," refers to Kirsten Flagstad, and describes her -as^'that; wonderful woman',wno is .singing in ".•Tristan."" '• Ruth-Draper, personally; is'an enthust> ~ astic admirer ofv. Madame > Flagstad. and said- that's Australians' were "fortu* i nate in *being able vtd;hear $ier at ;.th« height of her career." ]•