AMUSEMENTS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20471, 4 February 1941, Page 5

AMUSEMENTS

REGENT THEATRE “THE GOLDEN FLEECING”: COMEDY “HIT” “The Golden Fleecing,” the story of uproariously funny adventures, with Lew Ayres as a timid clerk thrown in with a gang of big city racketeers, should provide plenty of laughter for audiences at the Regent Theatre, where the picture opens to-day. Ayres plays the part ol Henry Twinkle, an insurance clerk, who through the mistake of selling a £IO,OOO policy to a fugitive racket overlord has to trail him to save his .job. 'I-he trail runs through gaols and high finance, desperate encounters with tough criminals. a breach of promise suit, a reputation as a public hero, and numerous other troubles which keep him in a dizzy whirl of tribulations. The “Dr. Kildare” of the screen plays the volatile Mr. Twinkle with whimsical infeetiousness, Rita Johnson, last seen as Mrs. Edison in “Edison, the Man,’ veers from her usual dramatic roles to prove herself a comedienne of no mean attainments as the' hero's ambitious sweetheart., One of the most comical episodes is provided by Leon Errol, playing the part of Uncle Waldo, an eccentric ex-vaudeviUian with a penchant for playing a xylophone and making all and sundry listen to a song he has written. Errol’s attempt to sing to Ayres while the latter is at the height of his trouble is a comedy gem. Lloyd Nolan plays the suave but dangerous gang overlord with conviction, and Virginia Grey turns “heavy” skilfully to be his girl friend. Nat Pendleton, Marc Lawrence, Richard Carle. George Lessev and Ralph Byrd are well cast. Leslie Fenton directed with skill, and contributes a number of unusual and interesting camera angles to the story, particularly in a scene in which Ayres crawls along a seventh-stowy ledge of an 'office building, with hilarious results. “The Golden Fleecing is recommended as a picture which the whole familv can enjoy. From start to finish it is filled with fast action, delightful romance and uproarious laughs.