"LET GEORGE DO IT"

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 26, 30 July 1938, Page 7

"LET GEORGE DO IT"

BRIGHT AUSTRALIAN FILM

The last visit in person to Wellington of that inmitable Australian comedian, George Wallace, is too recent to make it necessary to enlarge on his entertainment abilities; it is sufficient to say that in "Let George Do It," which opened at St. James Theatre last evening, he has reached a new peak of delightful foolery. The plot has greater variety and depth than one would expect, and from a technical viewpoint it is difficult to find fault. There is a laugh iri the first few feet, and the show is studded with bright sequences that move to an outsize in exciting climaxes;. George is everything from dumb stage-hand to wealthy bridegroom, and goes through enough adventures iri reaching the money to kill three ordinary men.

George is Joe Blake, a name that is hard to reconcile with the title. At the start he is in full cry as a theatre's biggest liability; everything he touches goes wrong, but the fun is pleasantly divorced from the old slapstick variety. He plays havoc with the star conjuror's turn, wrecks the equipment, and hurtles his way out of a job. When he comes up for air he is a waiter; and lasts for almost a night; no work, no money, and a girl friend who is large enough to be a one-man mob scene. He attempts to assuage his anguish in ■liquor, and then hits upon the brilliant scheme of suicide. A mixture of potent poisons merely makes his breath inflammable, so he engages the chief of a gang to "bump him off" when he is not looking, making his will in the gangster's favour for the service. He is not taken seriously, but when he conies into £30,000 overnight things start to move and so does George. To get the inheritance he has to sign a paper at 4 p.m. on a certain day, but he is kidnapped by the gangsters. His escape by cart-horse and speed-boat, accompanied by the fat lady, is an excellent brand of fast-moving comedy.

George Wallace's main supporters are L'etty Cradon and Joe Valli, and other bright players on the cast are Alec Kellaway, Gwen Munro, George Lloyd, Harry Abdy, and Neil Carlton. There is a first-class supporting programme, which includes several newsreels and a Mack Sennett "short."