WALLS-LYNN COMBINATION

Evening Star, Issue 21720, 15 May 1934, Page 18

WALLS-LYNN COMBINATION

IN TRAVERS'S ' CUCKOO IN THE NEST' Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn, who scored such a success in their first Ben Travers picture, ' Rookery Nook,' will be featured- at the State Theatre tomorrow in ' A Cuckoo in the Nest,' from the wen of the same author. It is good English comedy. lii book form, this Ben Travers farce was capital fare; on the screen, with Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn in the leading roles, it is, if possible, even more entertaining. It is one long sequence of humour, in which the famous pair are ably supported by Mary Brough. Robertson Hare, Yvonne Arnaud, and Grace Edwin. in ' A Cuckoo in the Nest' Walls appears as Lynn's father-in-law, but they are still companions in distress. The distress is caused by Grace Edwin, who worries Walls by her loud-voiced disapproval of his fondness for wine, and Lynn by her suspicious attitude concerning his conduct towards his wife, her daughter. Both give her some cause for worrying—Walls by adopting all sorts of ruses to get a -drink, Lynn by missing a train aboard which he has left his wife, and then spending a night at a country inn in the company of another man's wife. The complications that ensue when Lynn's mother-in-law arrives at the inn and nnmasiks him and his companion to the very puritanical landlady provide some of the " tit bits " of the piece. Mary Brough is excellent as Mrs Spoker, the landlady, who insists that her guests shall be " without shame." So, too, is Robertson Hare, the usually sad-featured, who enacts the role of the genial, well-intentioned but meddlesome curate who recognises Lynn's companion. Yvonne Arnaud is gaily charming as the "other woman." The story lends itself ■ admirably to the brilliance of these famous stars of the British theatrical and picture world, and from beginning to end the production is a riot of fun. An outstanding feature is the work of Tom Walls, who has a different part from any other he has been seen in. Disguised behind a thirsty moustache and a bibulous nose, he is even more successful in this character part than in previous roles, and much of the fun centres round his spirited exchanges with his wife and his frequent excursions to the bar in search of stimulants. It is excellent entertainment.