POWERFUL MARINE DRAMA

Evening Star, Issue 21994, 2 April 1935, Page 12

POWERFUL MARINE DRAMA

1 THE BATTLE' FOR GRAND Besides its claim to a most unusual theme, * The Battle,’ which opens at the Grand to-morrow, possesses another distinction. The picture was made in France in two versions. It is a screen adaptation of a novel by Claude Farrere. One of the most remarkable things about it is that the director had never before occupied that post. He was, however, an exceptionally competent cameraman. Overshadowing even the tremendously effective acting is the utilisation of photography in original ways. The story is another variation of the “East is East” yarn. Japanese marquis commanding a naval fleet and obsessed with patriotism, cultivates a visiting British naval officer, from whom he is anxious to learn more effective marine manoeuvring. To encompass this he encourages the Briton to pay court to his wife, learns the secrets,' wins a victory at sea,_ and, with native stoicism, commits hari kari. John Loder has the leading role, the main feminine lead being taken by Merle Oberon.