KING GEORGE THEATRE

Hutt News, Volume 17, Issue 24, 17 November 1943, Page 8

KING GEORGE THEATRE

"THIS ABOVE ALL" OPENS FRIDAY. There is a seven-acre set on the 20th Century-Fox lot reserved for the building of great cities which, when they have served their purpose, are in the twinkling of an eye destroyed. It is a set for philosophers to visit and ponder upon. Be-' fore their very eyes they may watch civilizations come and go, proud edifices erected and razed to the ground while they wait, and centuries of history compressed within the very hour. is, in fact, an ingenious mechanism which will allow brick walls to collapse and entire sections of buildings to disentegrate as if under bombardment.

The set was last used to represent London in "This Above All," the Darryl P. Zanuck screen version of Eric Knight's monumental novel, which opens at the King George Theatre on Friday with Tyrone Power and Joan Fontaine co-star-red. Before that it was used to represent Chicago of the seventies for "In Old Chicago," thus encompassing 4000 miles and three-quarters of a century without moving from its spot. "In "This Abgve All" the set was rebuilt literally to be destroyed, since its whole use was to show the effects of a Nazi air raid on London. And among the hundreds of extras on the scene were 2 5 members of the Los Angeles fire department, with six of their best trucks and more than 100 air raid wardens, nurse and policemen, all on hand I for first-hand experience in fighting I fires and handling debris.

Next to this set, the most important one in the whole picture represents a WAAF camp built inside a sound stage at a cost of £10,000 and covering 25,000 square feet of the stage. Aside from the landscaping—hills, trees, shrubs —the set contains 17 separate buildings, two complete dirt roads for trucks, 31 telegraph poles and a corrugated steel bombproof shelter.

"This Above Alt" " was directed by Anatole Litvak from "the screen adaptation by R. C. Sherriff. Supporting players include Thomas Mitchell, Henry Stephenson, Nigel Bruce, Philip Merivale, Sara Allgood, Gladys Cooper and others.

" With all the power and emotional impact inherent in the famous Eric Knight novel carefully preserved for its movie audience, "This Above All" bids fair to take its place among the screen epics of the decade. As he did on "How Green Was My Valley" and "The Grapes of Wrath," Producer Zanuck has given the film everything in the way of integrity. He entrusted the direction to Anatole Litvak, who has more than lived up to the trust placed in him.

Patrons are advised that the plans for the whole four-days' season are now open. Picture-goers should secure their seats at once to avoid disappointment.