THE NEW PROGRAMMES

Evening Star, Issue 22578, 20 February 1937, Page 21

THE NEW PROGRAMMES

SECOND POPULAR WEEK »fSUZV.» IS BRILLIANT FARE Owing to the" great popularity of * Suzy,’ the attraction at the Empire, the management has decided to extend the seasop a further week. Few pictures in recent months have been afforded .the advantages of a cast such as has been assembled for ‘Suzy.’ At the head of the players, in the title role, is Jean Harlow, that young woman whose dynamic personality has won her a. huge following wherever motion pictures are shown, and supporting her in the featured roles are Clary Grant as a young French aviator who is the idol of his nation, and FVanchot Tone as Terry, her husband. Lewis Stone, one of the most wellliked of present-day character actors, is also prominently east, and, as may well be imagined, gives an excellent account of himself. There was a time ■when the producers were content to take one theme, and let it suffice for a picture. If it were to bo “ the eternal triangle,” it was that and nothing more. So, too, with the song, dance, and humour film and the adventurous spy drama. Now the public demands and gets something of each in one picture. ‘ Suzy ’ is of this type, and it is a well-balanced composition of firstclass entertainment value. Opening in a bright, humorous manner, the film quickly changes to romance, and finally becomes absorbing, fast-moving drama. The scene changes quickly from London to war-time Paris, and later to a French aerodrome. Jean Harlow is cast as a young American actress, stranded in London on the eve of the Great War. She falls in love with a young foreman in a factory. He stumbles on a spy plot and is shot on his wedding night. Fearing that she will be accused of his murder, his wife Dies to Paris. There she meets a young; French aviator whose prowess has placed him in the forefront of the dangerous game of flying in the' service of his country, and, believing that her husband is dead, she marries him. It transpires, however, that the husband ivas not killed, and the manner in which this unusual tangle is unravelled makes absorbing entertainment. Miss Harlow has had many notable parts, but in few has- she given a more sympathetic performance. In every mood of the young woman, torn between two men who she loves, she is superb, while she also excels in some of the lighter opening scenes. Franchot Tone gives a fine portrayal as the cheery young Englishman who carries her off her feet, in spite of her determination to marry into the aristocracy, but his performance is, perhaps, slightly overshadowed by that of Cary Grant as the volatile young Frenchman whoso changing moods bring pain to both his father and his wife. This is the first film in which Grant has appeared with Joan Harlow, and ho lias acquitted himself so well that a reappearance would be appreciated. Lewis Stone gives a polished characterisation of the French flyer’s father, and Benita Hume is equally convincing as the spy whose machinations menace the lives of the three principals. The spice of thrill in aerial acrobatics plays a large part in the success of the production, and in this respect praise is due to the technical department which placed these thrilling scenes on celluloid. The main picture is supported by several excellent short films. ,