DRAMA OF AMERICAN FINANCE

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

DRAMA OF AMERICAN FINANCE

HEADS OCTAfiOH'B JKWBLI JILL ‘ Big Executive,’ the main attraction at the Octagon, is a picture of big business as played by big business men in the United States. The picture not only has a good story running through' it, but gives an insight into the methods employed by the of Wall Street in their commercial dealings. Ricardo Cortez, who plays ,the part of Victor Conway, has the role of the modern man or finance whose .fortune is made by-, the misfortunes of others. Confining his operations to stock market pools, he is an entirely different type from that portrayed by Richard Berinet as Commodore Richardson,, a pirototype of the past.' , The story opens‘ with Victor Conway deliberately smashing bis launch against the yacht of the commodore in order to get an interview with him. From then on'there is hot a slow moment in the picture. Conway, blessed with fame, fortune, and youth, is the victim of a jealous and nagging, wife. When he falls in love ’ with Helena, great grand-daughter of the commodore, she dislikes Conway’s new-fangled method of manipulating stock. The commodore threatens; to blast Conway off Wall Street, and the bold Conway, adventurous and eager for excitement, accepts the challenge. The two powerful rivals muster their forces and begin a dramatic fight for control of large interests. Meanwhile Conway is accused of murdering his wife, whom he shot accidentally, and is threatened with blackmail by his scheming secretary who has discovered “ evidence ” which would incriminate him. Several highly dramatic climactic scenes unravel the unusual set of circumstances, and the film ends on a decidedly novel note. Elizabeth Young is cast in the principal feminine role; Sharon Lynne plays the role of the scheming secretary, and Dorotjiy Peterson appears as the vituperative wife. The supporting picture, * Elmer and Elsie,’ is a domestic comedy. The picture is a drama of a young couple, Bancroft and Miss Fuller, who play the roles of a good-natured, amiable truck driver and his plucky, intelligent little wife. At the opening of the picture Bancroft is presented as a happy, but unambitious worker, whose chief concern is a good time, and whose chief worry is making the wages last. When Miss Fuller comes into his life all that is changed. Soon his rowdy bachelor quarters are converted into a charming little home with cretonne and chintz covered furniture, and he is. earnestly studying to get ahead. He has acquired* however, from his boss, the belief that “ this is a man’s world,” and that women have no business meddling in their men’s careers. The story is devoted to showing how his wife finally manages to make him a successful business man, while he persists in his undisturbed faith in himself as a “self-made success,” bringing the picture to a happy and entertaining close. A newsreel completes an excellent all-round programme.