BYRD IN THE ANTARCTIC

Evening Star, Issue 22274, 27 February 1936, Page 17

BYRD IN THE ANTARCTIC

OPENING AT REGENT TO-MORROW A programme that should take the prize for quality will be presented at the Regent to-morrow, when the Paramount comedy ‘ Hands Across the Table,’ starring Carole Lombard, Fred Mac Murray, and Ralph Bellamy, will be coupled with ‘ At the Bottom of the World,’ the pictorial record of Byrd’s second expedition to Antarctica. ‘ Hands Across the Table ’ is a picture which, because little publicity has been given to it during production, has not yet attracted much attention among film fans. Judging by the reaction of audiences overseas, however, the situation is likely to be reversed when the film is screened. It is a semi-sophisti-cated comedy-drama marked by witty dialogue and clever acting. The title of the film is explained by the fact that the heroine is a manicurist. She wants to marry money, and could realise her ambition—if she could see it—in the person of Allan Macklyn (Ralph Bellamy) , a kindly, crippled, and very wealthy customer. But she prefers to chase the handsome Theodore Drew (Fred Mac Murray), only to learn that he has lost all his money in a stock market-crash. Carole Lombard is said definitely to establish herself as a sprightly comedienne, and the acting of the others is in keeping with the verve of the story-telling. ‘At the Bottom of the World,’ the screen record of Admiral Byrd’s expedition to the Antarctic, is very much more than a mere travelogue. Scenes which would have been interesting enough in themselves have been pieced together with such clever showmanship that the resultant entertainment contains spectacle, thrills, drama, comedy, suspense, and even musical appeal.