KING REMEMBERED

Evening Star, Issue 22881, 12 February 1938, Page 10

KING REMEMBERED

Warrant Engineer. Herbert Rich, shipmate of the King, sank into his chair on the terrace at the Star and Garter Home, Richmond, and gazed over the river. He was smiling. The blue eyes, set in ruddy, wind-beaten cheeks, were gleaming with pleasure, Herbert Rich was happy because he had met his shipmate again. When he presented a bouquet of flowers to the Queen at a concert for war-wounded soldiers and sailors, the King recognised him, remembered that they had been together in H.M.S. Collingwood, and shook him by the hand. And Warrant Engineer Rich, 64 years old, paralysed after being torEedoed, forgot his white hair, forgot is suffering, straightened up. Back in the Star and Garter Home, the burly sailor talked of the' days when he had sailed with the King. “ I was an engineer on H.M.S. Collingwood then.” he told the ‘ Sunday Chronicle.’ “ The King was a midshipman. “ Each midshipman had to- undergo a six weeks’ engineering course and pass an examination before they could become second lieutenants. “ His Majesty was sent down below, and it was my job to show him round and explain the various pieces of machinery to him. “ The King was a model pupil. “ I found him keen to learn everything he could. He wanted to know all that could be known about the engine room. 11 But suddenly His Majesty became ill with appendicitis, and had to abandon the course temporarily. “ Still, ho remembered me all right last week. Knew me at once. . , . That was a wonderful moment.”

PICTURE THEATRES

THE NEW PROGRAMMES

TRIUMPH FOR SHIRLEY TEMPLE APPEALING KIPLING STORY AT STATE The appeal of the child, with its freshness and simplicity, vyas clearly demonstrated last evening in the large audience which was present at the State for the first presentation of 1 We Willie Winkie,’ in which the altogether charming Shirley Temple played the leading part. There can be no doubt that this child is a consummately clever actress, but her appeal lies in the fact that while the films tend to portray the artificialities of life, the child must still, in the nature of things, have retained an unspoiled outlook. Everything Shirley did in the picture showed this. She won all the hearts from those of the soldiers of the line to that of her brusque grandfather, the colonel, and, even more, that of the British archenemy, a Pathan Khan. Shirley must add to her already high reputation as an actress, and the only difference that her greater age has made is an increasing excellence of technique of her acting. . .... The story, by Kipling, is laid in a mountain outpost on the Indian frontier, where a small garrison of Highland troops holds the entrance of an important pass which leads to the untamed territory of a Khola Khan. The picture tells of how a raid l by th® Afghans releases their chief from the garrison gaol, of the trouble which ensued therefrom, and how finally the little' girl, who saw nothing sinister or dangerous in this Afghan, and whose firm friend she was, decided to pay him a visit in his city. She is taken there, and it looks as though the demand for her return will lead to another frontier war. In a stirring climax peace is made between the Khan and the British Raj, all through the simplicity of the colonel’s little granddaughter. Victor M‘Laglen as Sergeant Mac Duff, the grim, war-worn, hard-bitten n.c.0., is delightful foil to the child. Everything she wanted to know she went to him for information, and some of the most delightful scenes of all are where she. the tiny tot, and he, the six-foot-odd of tough manhood, stroll over the garrison ground hand in hand, both clad in the Highland, uniform, because she, under his instruction, has become Private Wee. Willie Winkie. Tragedy has its .place in the picture. Mac Duff is killed, and the last thing the dying man hears is the little girl singing him ‘ Auld Lang Syne.’ His dying fingers clutch a posy of pansies she has picked for him, and Shirley tiptoes away, telling those who stood about the bedside that they must keep very, very quiet, because her sergeant had fallen asleep. This was acting of a high order. The grandfather, C. Aubrey Smith, plays the part of the gruff old colonel well indeed, while romance finds its place ' in . the love scene' between the boyishly dashing Michael Whalen and .Tune Lang, Shirley’s widowed mother. Cesar Romero is the Khola Khan, a convincing impersonation. ' There is., a first-class list of films in support of the principal picture.

DRAMA AND ROMANCE

THEMES OF STRAND’S NEW PRODUCTIONS

Blending pathos with laughter and song, ‘ When Love is Young,’ which is one of the Strand’s new productions, is sure to delight local audiences. The story deals with an obscure country girl, who, snubbed by her class mates and ignored by the school hero she admires, accompanies her uncle Jo New York to study singing.' There she meets a theatrical Press agent, who, for all his hilarity, lands her in gaol, but eventually helps her to scale the heights of comedy stardom. Virginia Bruce is the leading lady, while Kent Taylor is the nimble-witted Press agent. Much of the high comedy is supplied by the inimitable character actor, Walter Brennan, who plays a role strikingly different from anything this talented actor has previously done. The film is liberally supplied with tuneful music, and the. two song hits which Miss Bruce sings, ‘ Did Anyone Ever Tell You?’ and ‘ When Love is Young,’ reveal an appealing quality- in her voice, which has not been shown before. Spectacular settings do the songs full jusAdapted from the popular powerful novel, ‘-The General Goes Too bar,’ the other film, ‘ The High Command ’ retains all the dramatic action of the original and drives home with renewed vigour the unusual and arresting theme revolving around the lives and loves of a small band of Britons in a far-flung outpost of the Empire. Lionel Atwill is starred as Major-general Sir John Sangye, V.C., and turns in the best performance of his brilliant screen career. An exceptionally strong supporting cast includes Lucie Mannheim as Diana Cloam, Steve Geray as her foreign husband, James Mason as Captain James Heverell, with whom Diana is secretly in love, and Leslie Perrins as Carson, a captain under Sangye, who knows a carefully-guarded secret of the major-general’s past and is biding his time before revealing it. _ The locale of the story is West Africa, and although the whole of the picture might have been made in the studio, A.T.P. were determined to obtain the correct atmosphere, and the production units spent over two months in West Africa, where, through the courtesy of the Governors of Nigeria and the Gold Coast, they were able to obtain remarkably authentic results.

THRILLING SEA DRAMA

FIHE OCTAGOH BILL Comprising a thrilling sea story set in southern waters, and a film depicting the struggles of screen stars upon the advent of “ talkies.” the programme at the Octagon this week provides good entertainment. John Wayne and Diana Gibson are featured in ‘ Adventure’s End,’ the principal attraction, while Richard Dix and Fay Wray give fine dramatic characterisations in the second. ‘ It Happened in Hollywood.’ Combining the tang of the sea with an excellent Ben Ames Williams plot featuring John Wayne and Diana Gibson, Universal’s ‘ Adventure’s End ’ is a whaling story of the southern seas in 1850. The plot concerns a cruise of the Mary Drew from the southern seas to Gloucester (Mass.). A stowaway, played by Wayne, falls in love with the captain’s daughter. Miss Gibson, who

previously had admired the first mate, ably portrayed by husky Moroni Olsen. A marriage at sea performed during a storm is one of the dramatic highlights of this thrilling sea story. There is a death at sea, a burial service; a fight between a native and a giant octopus, and a tremendous scene in which a whale wrecks a small boat by lashing it with its tail. To add to the troubles of the ship’s owners who are trying to reach Gloucester with a cargo of whale oil, mutiny breaks out when the crew, headed by Maurice Black, the noted character actor, learns that Wayne is in possession of a fortune in pearls. How Captain Abner Drew, played by. Montagu Love, solves his most disturbing problem makes interesting and exciting film fare. The native who fights the octopus is played by Paul White, a negro actor from the New York Theatre Guild. Paul dances and sings, and keeps the spirits of the crew high when troubles occur. The photographic background is excellent. ■ Arthur Lubin, who directed ‘ California Straight Ahead,’ ‘ I Cover the War,’ ‘ Idol of the Crowds,’ and other pictures for Universal, handled the megaphone for ‘ Adventure’s End,’ and has done full justice to the plot. ‘lt Happened in Hollywood,’ a Columbia production,, will give patrons something in the way of a treat as far as motion picture entertainment is concerned. As the title implies, the story takes place in Hollywood, the famous home of motion pictures, and deals with the predicament many stars found themselves in with the advent of sound. Richard Dix is cast as a famous star of “ pre-talkie ” days, whose career abruptly collapses when pictures become audible, while Fay Wray is also seen as a glamorous screen siren who loses her popularity when musicals become the order of the day. In short, the production is really “ a picture within a picture,” and shows many interesting things which hitherto have been Hollywood’s innermost secrets, such as the method of recording sound, the shooting of scenes, etc. Of particular interest is the fact that prototypes of all of Hollywood’s most outstanding personalities are seen in many sequences of the film.

STANLEY LUPINO

STARRED IN REGENT ATTRACTION Popular Stanley Lupino, talented English comedian, is responsible for the greater part of the comedy in the bright and frivolous musical 1 Over She Goes,’ which is the new attraction at the .Regent, Teamed with the versatile artist in this presentation is Laddie Cliff, and with such a combination this witty and ingenious play is fine entertainment from beginning to-end. Tuneful new melodies and a story packed with bright situations and clever repartee carry the production along at fine speed, and'Stanley Lupine’s recordbreaking stage success repeats its popularity on the screen. The story of ‘ Over She Goes ’ is briefly this: Pamela thinks it is time the handsome young Lord Drewsden proposed to her, so, making quite sure his lordship is at hand when out hunting, “ over she goes.” This does the trick. A similar ruse is equally successful in the case of Pamela’s two friends, who fall straight into the loving arms of the backward Tommy Teacher and Billy Bowler, Harry’s former vaudeville partners. But congratulations have hardly been exchanged when complications set in. Alice Mayhill, to whom the young lord has once written an ardent letter, arrives to press her claim to share his recently-acquired title. _ To ; outwit Alice, inventive Billy devises a scheme whereby Tommy must appear as Harry’s uncle, the former Lord Drewsden, thereby depriving Harry of the title. But Tommy causes difficulties, and the plan has just been abandoned in favour of another brain wave of Billy’s—to steal the incriminating letter —when Silas Morner, a faithful admirer of Dolly’s, suddenly turns up. A mountain of a man, he makes Tommy decide to seek refuge in Billy’s plan of assuming the character of the late Lord Drewsden. Billy is preening himself on the 'success of the idea when the unexpected appearance of Harry’s aunt, Lady Drewsden, brings a new development. The final blow falls with the arrival of the real Lord Drewsden. This is almost too much, hut now Tommy takes charge, himself. Enlisting the help of Lord Drewsden, the enthusiasm of Harry and Billy, the beauty of Pamela, Dolly, and Kitty, he not only devises a scheme which proves eminently successful, but also establishes who really has the brains of the company. Four lovely leading ladies support the star in this production—Claire Luce, glamorous as ever in the romantic lead as Harry’s fiancee; Gina Malo, as Stanley Lupino’s bright girl friend; Sally Gray, as Billy’s; and Judy Kelly, as the beautiful cause of all the trouble. Bertha Belmore gives one of her inimitable characterisations as the unfortunate Lady Drewsden, who takes Stanley Lupino as her long-lost husband, while Syd Walker and Richard Murdoch add some grand comedy as an old-time police inspector and his young graduate assistant. John Woods, a handsome young newcomer from Australia, is an interesting discovery, and gives a good account of himself as the dashing young Lord Drewsden. One of the most interesting features of the film is the casting of Max Baer, the famous American boxer, as a “ heman ” of the wide open spaces, who is Stanley Lupine’s rival for the affections of vivacious Gin* Malo. There are some very good song numbers and novelty routines in ‘ Over She Goes.’ One unusual number is a dance up and down the stairs of a lighthouse. •An interesting song, ‘I Breathe on Window's,’ is also staged in the lighthouse. The supporting programme is excellent. i

ARNOLD AGAIN BRILLIANT

WILL HAY’S COMEDY SUPPORTS Diversified entertainment is provided on the- bill at tho Grand. The main feature is a thrilling and absorbing drama starring Edward Arnold, who again gives a fine jerformance in a role admirably suited to him. Supporting this film is a bright Will Hay comedy. Bringing to the screen the romance based upon the career of Jim Fisk, one of the most colourful and spectacular financiers of the period immediately following the American Civil War, ‘ The Toast of New, York ’ presents Edward Arnold, Cary Grant, Frances Farmer, Jack Oakie, and a luge cast in a glittering panorama ol American drama. Fisk,"beginning as a small-town pedlar, in this film, quickly becomes one of the most powerful i money barons of Wall Street. Amassjng a fortune from the , manipulation of) the stock of the Erie Railroad, he lavishes a king’s ransom on Joisic Mansield, an unknown beauty, whom he sponsors and makes a Broadway star ; only l to lose her amid tho wreck of his man? ambitions. Forbidden by the court) to conduct the

business of the Erie in New \ork, the resourceful Fisk moves the headquarters of the company to Jersey City, and when it seems that Commodore \ anderbllt will gain control of the road, Fisk works the printing presses overtime to issue more securities. Colourful and flambuoyant, his end is equally as sensational as his rise.

The other picture on the programme is an hilarious farce, entitled _ ‘ Good Morning, Boys!’ in which Will Hay and his orthodox scholars indulge in a series of highly amusing .adventures. Will Hay appears as Dr Benjamin Twist, whose tenure of the post of head of St. Michael’s depends upon the success of his unruly and appallingly ignorant charges in an examination.- Thanks to the worthy doctor securing a copy of the examination paper beforehand, his boys head the’ list in the results, arid are sent to France to demonstrate the doctor’s system'of tuition. Paris is the scone of some hilarious adventures, which include the theft of a valuable painting from the Louvre, a riot in a night club of doubtful reputation, and amazing scenes at the convention at which Dr Twist is called upon to demonstrate his' method of teaching French, a language of which he is more ignorant than his pupils.

THE MAD MARXES AGAIN

EMPIRE SHOWS * A DAY AT THE RACES ’ Doubts as to -whether the Marx brothers could maintain the standard attained in ‘ A Nigflit at the Opera ’ were set at rest yesterday, when their latest comedy, ‘ A Day at the Races,’ was received with enthusiasm by large audiences at the Empire Theatre. The story is slight, and is forgotten occasionally when the three brothers take charge of the film, but their fantastic frivolity makes a strong plot quite unnecessary. Groucho Marx is seen as Dr Hackenbush, a horse doctor, who is appointed chief medical officer at a sanatorium through the whim of a wealthy patient. The manner in which he hoodwinks the assistant doctors gains in entertainment value from the subtle burlesque of popular hospital films. In the course of his adventures, many of which take place outside the sanatorium, he meets Tony, a whimsical Italian, who not only drives the sanatorium bus, but derives a precarious living from activities as a tipster and ice cream vendor. In this part. Chico Marx has full scope for his frivolity. As the owner of the sanatorium which is on the edge of bankruptcy, Maureen O’Sullivan gives an attractive piquancy to the character which provides a pleasing contrast to the other personalities in the picture. In the romantic role opposite her appears the talented tenor Allan Jones. He portrays Gil Stewart, a singer, who in a weak moment has bought a racehorse. The horse enters with zest into the spirit of the film, chiefly because its jockey, “ Stuffy,” is played by that most eccentric of the Marx brothers, Harpo. Harpo speaks no language, making himself understood by means of a mysterious bird-like call. In intervals between his* riding duties, Stuffy joins the other two in the execution of their comic scenes. Ho plays a piano, but, under the frenzy of his fingers the piano falls to pieces and eventually becomes a harp. The final scene, in which Gil Stewart’s horse wins a hurdle race, is a brilliant burlesque of all racing climaxes,' and provides a fitting finale to an hilarious comedy. ' In addition to the main picture the' programme includes a strong supporting bill, comprising a coloured Fitzpatrick Travelogue, a Pete Smith speciality entitled ‘Tennis Tactics,’ and pictures of interesting events in various parts of the world.

AERO-NAVAL STORY

DRAMATIC PICTURE AT ST. JAMES In ‘Wings Over Honolulu,’ the strong drama of the United States naval air force, which commenced at the St. James yesterday, there is all the romance of the South Seas, combined with the thrills of aviation, to make a picture which will be remembered for a long time to’ come. Briellyj it is the story.of the beautiful wife of a naval "officer who is lashed by the tongues of gossip. With Wendy Barrie, Ray Milland, and Kent Taylor heading a fine cast, this New Universal picture presents a phase of Navy life which has been left untouched by previous screen plays concerned with America’s sea forces.

Wendy Barrie portrays a beautiful Virginian girl who falls deeply in love with a handsome young naval flyer, Ray Milland, whose aeroplane is forced down near her plantation. After a whirlwind courtship they are married the next day, but the lovely Wendy finds herself totally unprepared for the excitement, the rigid conventions, and the burning jealousies which complicate her life as a navy wife in Honolulu.

She shows neither understanding nor consideration for the call of duty, which keeps her husband away from her day and night for long stretches. During one of his absences, the wife enters into an innocent flirtation with a former suitor. Innocent though it is, however, the affair gives rise to a storm of scandal which brings the story to a smashing climax. The principals are ablv supported by such favourites ns William Gargan, Polly Rowles, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Philips, Joyce Compton, Margaret M'Wade, Clara Blandidk, and Louise Beavers, and the picture moves swiftly against the glamorous background of the tropics. Another feature of the film is its photography. Given the natural beauty of the sea and the sky and the navy ships and planes, Joseph Valentine has produced sequence after sequence of breath-taking beauty.