'MAID OF THE MOUNTAINS'

Evening Star, Issue 21319, 25 January 1933, Page 5

' MAID OF THE MOUNTAINS'

SPECTACULAR FILM FOR ST. JAMES Following their accustomed policy of producing only the highest quality films for release to the general public, British International Pictures,Limited will be presenting a number of extra special attractions for the near ; future. _ Foremost among these is, ‘ The Maid of the Mountains,’ the screen version of_tha musical comedy made so famous in Eng** land by Jose Collins, and in Australia! and New Zealand by Gladys Moncneff.; ‘ The Maid of the Mountains ’ will star* at the St: James Theatre on , Friday., No film, silent - or sound, has evenbeen produced in England which' can' boast .of such spectacular splendour, delightful melodies, together with an allstar cast, as can the.B.’l.P.' ‘The Maid of the Mountains.’ The scenes of the brigands’ stronghold ort the mountain side, and the magnificent! ballroom in which over two" hundred’ dancers are held up by Baldasarre andhis men, are only;matched in splendour, by the banqueting hall where,, entertained by a full symphony orchestra, at a table 30ft long, the guests .toast the new Governor. During this scene Nancy Brown, the brilliant discovery! for the title role, sings Fraser Simpsou’s famous waltz song, and during production rendered the number, with such beauty that spontaneous applause, a rare happening’ in . a studio, greeted her. . . ... Nancy Brown, is one or the year, a most briliant “ finds.” For many mouths Lupino Lane, the director o£ the film, had been searching for a. girl who must be brunette, beautiful, and a first-class’ violinist.- This combination of facial and vocal excellence’to satisfv. both camera and microphone rendered Lane’s task a supremely difficult, one. Many well-known stars were aspirants for this important part, and interviews and tests ensued. In one case a vocal “ audition ” was conducted, between a' singer in Birmingham and Lane, with! her photograph in hand in London, via the telephone, a uuigiic occurrence, but the perfect Teresa seemed impossible to find. At last, despairing of finding, his Teresa among the stars, Lane organised an audition at a West .End theatre for “unknowns.” Having heard and seem some hundred girls, none of whom was entirely suitable,: the disconsolate director was about to leave the theatre when a late arrival presented herself.It was Nancy Brown ■—d she came, and saw, and she conquered. . Nancy Brown, aged twenty-two, is an Australian, who hails from Sydney. She studied at. the Royal Academy ofDramatic Art, and secured her first stage engagement at the age of sixteen to ■ understudy the late Rosaline Courtneidge in ‘ The Unfair Sex.’. Another spectacular scene is the setting for the arrival at the palace,. o| Baldasarre, played by that popular stage, star, Harry Welchman, masquerading as the new' Governor. The facade of the palace, on VenetianGothic lines, towered over the studio,and on its terraces and balconies the guests wait. There • are many ■ wellknown stars in the cast. The show is very strong as’regards comedy, the chief fun-makers being Gus M'Naughton and Wallace Lupino. Aiding and abetting them in their comedy, exploits are Albert. Burdon, thg. great little funny man from the north; and Renee Gadd, who will be remembered for her immediate success in her first talkie for 8.1. P., ‘ Money far Nothing!’The comedy scenes are said to he : even' better than' the other parts of this brilliant production. All the song hits, including ‘ Love Will Find a Way,’ ‘ Bachelor Gay,’ 1 Dirty Work.’ ‘Live far To-day,’ and ‘ Paradise for Two,’ have been retained in the show, all of them going to make this all-British colour feast of romance an entertainment to be seen and seen again. , ‘ ,