'MOTHER S MILLIONS'

Evening Star, Issue 20988, 30 December 1931, Page 5

'MOTHER S MILLIONS'

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION FOR REGENT “ He married you for your money! ” That is one of the oldest and truest and most fearsome accusations'since civilisation established our system of matrimony. How can a girl bo certain that she isn’t being married for her money? How can parents train their children so that they can be as self-reliant when they com© into their majority, into their money, become of marriageable age, as their parents would like to have them? All the wisdom of the world does not reside in the parents or in older people. A woman- of forty can be just as foolish as one at twenty. But the proper upbringing and training, the proper environment and the inculcation of the proper aspirations will go a long way towards solving these vexatious problems. These are some of the problems dealt with in ‘ Mother’s Millions,’ which will he commenced at the Regent Theatre on Friday next. May Robson, who achieved remarkable success in the original stage production, plays the role of Harriet Breen, a female financial genius, who apparently handles her children with the same ruthlessness that she uses in fighting her rival giants on Wall street. The climax of the story, however, is startling in _ its revelation of a really beautiful character under the mask of a shrewd, relentless business woman. Miss Robson takes stellar honours in this one, given to her portrayal a remarkably dynamic performance. Her support including James Hall, Frances Dade, Lawrence Gray, and Edmund Breese, is more than equal to the task of making the cast uniformly excellent. The theme of the story is that of a mother’s love hidden through fear of her enemies’ attempts to reach her and hurt her through her children. In doing this, she must appear to treat her children with a coldness and aloofness that threatens to ruin their happiness and kill the romance that has come into their lives. How she eventually understands and_ rewards their loyalty gives to the picture its poignant sense of drama. The story was written by Howard M‘Kent Barnes especially for Miss Robson, and the picture as directed by James Flood, follows the original story closely. .Tames Hall, as the secretary of Harriet Breen, handles his role with great finesse. Frances Dade is charming and puts just the right amount of drama into her role as the young daughter of the female financial giant, and the sweetheart of her mother’s secretary. _ Lawrence Gray as the young son will win sympathy, and Edmund Breese as the rival financial genius does a fine and stimulating piece of acting.