COMEDY IN EGYPTIAN DESERT

Evening Star, Issue 22032, 18 May 1935, Page 11

COMEDY IN EGYPTIAN DESERT

JACK HULBERT FILM AT STATE Audiences at the State Theatre are still being highly amused by the_ hilarious antics of Jack Hulbert in his latest farce, ‘ The Camels Are Coming, which has now entered the second week of itsHocal season. Hulbert has, gained much ' prominence as si comedian ; through his splendid performances in ‘ Jack, Ahoy,’ ‘ Jack’s the Boy,’ and i ‘ Falling For You.’ The story, which has the (Egyptian desert for a background, gives him ample opportunity for his inimitable clowning. * Hulbert appears as a debonair Air Force, officer engaged in a wild harumscarum campaign against drug traffickers in the desert. Another compensation is the superb prelude which takes the form of a grave newsreel, into which Hulbert hurts in best style, suddenly upsetting all the pomp and circumstance of a great occasion and disturbing the dignity of a serious news picture. It is impossible to prevent the eyes from straying very frequently, away from the comedian to the interesting scenery—the cities and monuments of Egypt, the desert, pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Nile—and when such diversions fail and the attention' wanders back to Hulbert it v if ojrly . a short tim© bofor© the grace and fascinating charni of Anna Lee, a . little lady with a real flair for comedy and whirlwind tactics which smt the high ‘ speed at which Hulbert always Works. HulbertV faculty for getting into trouble and then right out or it again in almost the twinkling of an eye has never been better demonstrated than in this film. He never minds how hard or how far falls as long as iusdownfall contributes some hilarity to the picture, and when he tries conclusions with a camel he is at his funniest. . Many exciting incidents are cleverly burlesqued, and at times the r film reaches unusual comedy heights. Execellent use is made of his attractive singing voice, and it is when he is ' singing that his audience is reminded • how much better the picture would have been if a few more song numbers could have been interpolated. His songs include the popular new melody, ‘ Who’s Been Polishing Up the Sun? His' eccentric dancing is delightful. A newsreel, in which some interesting photographs of the Dunedin quadruplets ara shown, is included in an excellent supporting programme.