PLAZA THEATRE.

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 10, 11 July 1940, Page 14

PLAZA THEATRE.

"The Stars Look Down."

There can be few who have not read or heard of the popular story, "The Stars Look Down," by Dr. A. J. Cronin. This grand story of the coalmining industry and of the men who toil and sweat below the ground, made Cronin's reputation. This story has now been filmed, and, if anything, has been strengthened by its adaptation to the screen. Certain it is that no British picture has ever been made with a finer cast or with more realistic spectacle and tense drama than "The Stars Look Down," which opens tomorrow at the Plaza Theatre. This G.B.D. attraction co-stars Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood, and Emlyn Williams. The greatest care was taken to capture the atmosphere of a typical mining village, and for this purpose the whole unit spent several days in the town of Workington when background scenes were shot. A set representing the village street, with pit-head and winding gear in the background, was then built. Hundreds of tons of coal' picks, shovels, miners' lamps, and other mining equipment was brought to the studios. For' the scenes when the mine is flooded thousands of tons of water was released, whilst the cameras recorded the battle of the miners through the surging water. The story deals with the hopes and aspirations of a young miner, David Fenwick, who sacrifices his ambitions for pretty, shallow little Jenny Sunley, who lets him down in preference to the unscrupulous self-made Joe Gowlan. This human drama is being played out whilst the mine itself and its impending disaster looms in the background throughout the whole film. The climax is one of the most impressive scenes ever brought to the screen.