GREAT BRITISH COMEDY

Evening Star, Issue 21012, 28 January 1932, Page 7

GREAT BRITISH COMEDY

‘MY WIFE'S FAMILY' FOR ST. JAMES Since it was first released some veeks ago the British talkie My Wife’s Family ’ has acquired a reputation only equalled by that of ‘ The Middle Watch.’ Its hilarious and infectious humour has brought success wherever it has been shown, and there will doubtless be many people in Dunedin who will avail themselves pf the opportunity of seeing this film when it opens its season at the St. James Theatre tomorrow. _ Of this film a Christchurch critic writes as follows:—“ There have been many comedy successes of late,‘but even the greatest of them fades into insignificance before the challenge of ‘ My Wife’s Family.’ “It is pure farce. It could not be anything else and still retain its mirthprovoking situations, for, after all, clever farce is the most amusing fare of all. Not the least satisfying part of the film is the sparkling repartee. Jack Gay is the central figure of the piece, and probably it is he who dominates the film. Just settling down to a life of matrimonial bliss, Jack has a rude awakening from his dream when lis charming wife Peggy receives an ominously-worded telegram announcing the projected arrival of .her mother c»i a “brief” visit of, a' few months. Deciding to conceal' his dislike _of mother, Jack comes to the conclusion that he will endeavour to gain a better understanding with her. Unfortunately he hops off on the wrong foot when he misses his “ in-law’s ” train and she is forced to secure a taxi. But that’s not all. Mother gets scent of an intrigue which simply doesn’t exist, and the way she develops her plot is not a little discomforting to the absolutely innocent Jack. Mother is one of those persons who live for and love a scandal, even if it be only fictitious. So it takes little imagination to realise her intense satisfaction when she discovers the presence of an unknown baby in the house. Jack apparently has his little secret, too, in the form of a piano which he has hidden in the summer house in readiness for his wife’s birthday. How the two become confused leads to some laughable and farcical situations, punctuated by dialogue which is nothing if not spicy. “ The hilarious situations are put over with great gusto by a strong cast, every member of which thoroughly inters into the spirit of the entertainment. The team work is excellent, and there is not a dull moment from start to finish. The central situation, in which a piano is mistaken for a baby, is sophisticated to a degree, but the irresponsible fooling renders the proceedings entirely innocuous, and no cne can take exception to the breezy innuendoes which run through the clever dialogue.

“ Gene, Gerrard is a natural comedian, and gives a first-rate performance as the newly-married hero. He is the life and soul of the party, and the success of the film owes much to his breezy performance and likeable personality. Amy Veness, a well-known English stage actress, is excellent as the interfering mother-in-law; Charles Patten draws an amusing study as the henpecked father-in-law; and Jimmy Godden, the stage comedian who was seen in Christchurch some years , back, is in capital form as a wandering jack of all trades and medicine man.

“ A strong supporting cast includes Dodo Watts as a talkie-struck schoolgirl, Molly Lament as an intriguing maid, and Tom Helmore as a young father who ‘ gets left with the baby.’ ” Box plans are at The Bristol and the theatre.