"THE GREAT GARRICK."

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 77, 28 September 1938, Page 10

"THE GREAT GARRICK."

An Unusual Film Screened.

Most people know the name of David Garrick, the noted English actor, and from one of the stories connected with him Ernst Vajda has made a film plot which, as used by Warner Bros.-First National, is an entertainingly different comedy. The film commences tomorrow at the Regent Theatre.

Garrick, the great actor in the period around the 17505, was the star, as well as the manager, of London's famous Drury Lane Theatre. David Garrick has come to life on the stage several times, chiefly in rather heavy and ponderous drama. But on the screen he is in a comedy. "The Great Garrick" was made by James Whale under the supervision of Mervyn Leßoy, who has turned out such recent films as "They Won't Forget," "Mr. Dodd Takes the Air," and "Romance in Paris." Leßoy seems to have an unfailing knack of creating entertainment. The tall, good-looking, British actor, Brian Aherne, plays the name part, with lovely Olivia de Havilland as the lass who arouses his romantic interest. Supporting these stars are such capable players as Edward Everett Horton, Melville Cooper, Lionel Atwill, Henry O'Neill, Luis Alberni, Mario Wilson, Lana Turner, and Linda Perry. This story does not pretend to be biographical, historical, or anything else but sheer fun. It is one of those things, as Mark Twain explained about "The Prince and the Pauper," that may or may not have happened, but could have happened. Garrick, ending a long season in London, is going by invitation to France to play at the Comedie Francaise. But preceding him is a false rumour that he said in London he was going to "teach the French how to act." The Comedie Francaise people rent a suburban hotel, man it with actors instead of the regular staff, and prepare to give Garrick a royal "welcome." A young travelling noblewoman whose coach has broken down, Olivia de Havilland, comes seeking shelter for the night. Garrick, who has penetrated the disguises of the others, guesses she is another actress from the Comedie Francaise. He makes love to her, it is reciprocated— and then he tells her she is a poor actress. That he discovers this is his tragedy and the climax of the film.