SUICIDE CLUB

Evening Star, Issue 22542, 9 January 1937, Page 17

SUICIDE CLUB

l::lliant comedy mystery at EMPIRE Mystery and comedy have been deftly blended in ‘The Suicide Club,’ the brilliant Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production which began at the Empire Theatre yesterday. The makers of the film have taken as a basis for a thrilling story the series of tales writtei) by_ Robert Louis Stevenson about Prince Florizel, the mysterious Miss Vandeleur, the devil-may-care young man with the cream tarts, and that bizarre institution, the Suicide -Club. Well-written dialogue, splendid photography, and skilful direction have preserved to the full the unusual and slightly macabre quality of the original stories, which have been combined to make one of the most original and intriguing mystery pictures _ ever screened. A touch of comedy is inserted at apt moments, and the situations are never allowed to- become too nerve-racking. Readers or Robert Louis Stevenson’s stories will remember how Prince Florizel and his faithful attendant Colonel Geraldine walk out into a London fog, assist a young man to eat cream tarts, and finally join the Suicide Club. The scene in' which the members of the club draw the cards to decide who shall die, and who shall be his executioner, is one of the most thrilling ever conceived in a motion picture. The adventures of Prince Florizel do not end after he has drawn a fatal card, however, and he_ finds himself drawn into a maze of intrigue which has his death as.its objective. How he defeats the _ designs of the president of the Suicide Club, and finally wins the beautiful Miss Vandeleur as his bride, is part of the mystery of the picture which it would be unfair to reveal.

The production is marked by excellent detail, for the story is laid in the IBBo’s, and there is a light-hearted charm about it which comes only with fantastic tales about the princes and princesses of mythical kingdoms travelling incognito. For in this film Robert Montgomery is the Crown Prince and .Miss Russell, whose meteoric ascent to stardom has amazed the screen world, is a princess. As if that brightly divert--1 ing story and that highly capable cast u ’ e . re not enough, the producers gave this film a thorough production, paying great attention to details of the time and period, which only go to make the picture all the more amusing. Tho picture is also outstanding because of a remarkably pleasing cast, headed by Frank Morgan, whose delicious comedy sparkles throughout the piece; Reginald Owen, in one of the wierdest make-ups ever seen on the screen (Lon Chaney included), Louis Hayward in an intriguing role as “ The Young Man With the Cream Tarts,” Robert Greig, E. E. Clive, and others. The thrilling climax of this most pleasentertainment is a fast and furious rapier duel between Montgomery and Owen, which equals any such combat ever screened; and the mystery with which Miss Russell invests her part through tho first half of the story is pricelessiy amusing. Montgomery himself is very much up to standard, which is saying a lot, inasmuch as he is one of tho most consistently popular screen stars to-day; and Rosalind Russell

easily advances her popularity by her work in ‘ The Suicide Club.’

The splendid cast gives full effect to the dialogue and plot of ‘ The Suicide Club.’ Montgomery’s wit and charm add much to the success of the film and help to relieve the tension at times. The supporting programme is of a high standard and includes two newsreels, a colour film showing Hollywood actors and actresses "at Palm Springs, California. and a highly-amusing Robert Benchley comedy. The gazettes also feature an illuminating record of the second test debacle.