COMEDY AND DRAMA

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

COMEDY AND DRAMA

OCTAGON'S GOOD DOUBLE BILL An entertaining drama of an American gambler and his adventures into society, ‘ Yours for the Asking,’ and a brilliant musical comedy, ‘ King of the Castle,’ form the new programme which opened yesterday at the Octagon. Paramount’s comedy romance, ‘ Yours for the Asking,’ stars George Halt, Dolores Costello Barrymore, Ida Lupino, James Gleason, and Stoats Gallagher. Haft appeai-s as a gambling house proprietor, seeking to start a social climb, exchanging his “ toughguy ” mannerisms for the manners of the drawing room. Miss Barrymore is a society girl whose father has died and left his mansion groaning under the weight of mortgages. She leases the place to Haft, and then helps him start his swank gambling club, realising that she is in love with him, but lie remains blind to her feelings. Sensing that romance is about to break up the life that they have had with their boss, three Haft aides, James Gleason, Lynne Overman, and Edgar Kennedy, concoct a scheme to prevent it. They employ Ida Lupino, beautiful adventuress, to win Haft and sour him against women in general and society girls in particular. Reginald Owen is her aristocratic guardian. Falling for the scheme, Haft goes to Miss Barrymore for lessons in etiquette and gets her to aid him in his campaign to win Miss Lupino. ‘ Yours for the Asking ’ is a balanced combination of romance and comedy, blended skilfully into a fast-moving, airtight plot without loose ends. Perfectly suited to the best abilities of its principals and rounded out by smooth acting on the part of its excellent supporting cast, it provides entertainment of a high quality. Tim City Films’ ‘King of the Castle.’ which is the other film, offers fast-moving comedy in a new and novel manner. June Clvdo and Billy .Milton arc Hie stars of the film, which relates the adventures of a penniless clerk in love with an heiress, the daughter of his firm’s American representative.

Her father, however, had promised his daughter’s hand to Sir Percival Trellis, the head of the concern. The young man is dismissed in order to ease Sir Percival’s suit. How he finally' wins his bride, in spite of the rivalry of the knighted suitor, and finds himself heir to a castled estate and a title, makes a very humorous story. The settings and photography arc good, and the acting very agreeable. The pictuie is a good mixture of comedy and romance, and leads np to a successful climax. Also starred are Claude Dumpier, Jimmy Sodden, Cynthia Stockloy, and Wally Patch.