Plaza Theatre

Northern Advocate, 29 November 1937, Page 2

Plaza Theatre

. The highly dramatic story of a mother's love for her child—" Stella Dallas"—opened a season 'at the Plaza Theatre to a good audience on Saturday night. Barbara Stanwyck appears in the leading role and gives a very fine performance as the tawdry, vulgar Stella Dallas, who is capable of rising to great heights, unselfish love and sacrifice. Co-starred with her is John Boles, and others in the cast are Anns Shirley, Barbara O'Neil and Allan Hale. Stella Martin is a mill girl with ambitions, and when John' Boles, or Stephen Dallas, settles in her town in an effort to build up a new life, her opportunity arrives. But S + ella is drab at heart, and, while Stephen goes onwards and upwards, she goes downwards and backwards. Her only interest in life is her daughter, Laurel, but not even for her can Stella lift herself out of the rut of tawdriness. Laurel had inherited more of her father than her mother, and the time comes when Stella Dallas realises that she must sacrifice her love in order that her daughter might have what her mother had longed for but had been unable to grasp. It is an intensely dramatic story, characterised by fine acting, especially by Miss Stanwyck, who comes j through a difficult task with flying j colours. There is a fine supporting programme, a popular feature of which is a Mickey Mouse cartoon.