“THE WRECKER.”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20743, 14 June 1929, Page 10

“THE WRECKER.”

ABSORBING AND CLEVER DRAMA Playgoers with a passion for detective plays and mystery stories may be recommended to add “The Wrecker” to their collection. It would be spoiling their pleasure beforehand to do more than indicate the nature of the puzzle which is only solved when the identity of an elusive and fiendish madman who wrecks trains as a pastime, is disclosed in the most dramatic moment of a production in which surprises crop up with the most disconcerting frequency. “ The Wrecker ” is one of those gripping plays in which there is a secret, which, to be worth knowing, must be won or lost by the watcher’s own cool inductive reasoning, so that upon its disclosure be may have the satisfaction of a triumphant glance in the direction of those to whom he confided it during the last interval, or even the last but one. The first presentation of the play at His Majesty’s Theatre last evening, by the J. C. Williamson Company, in conjunction with Mr E. J. Carroll, was a distinct success, and both of the stars, Miss Josephine Wilson and Mr Clayton Greens, made an effective bow to their first Dunedin audience. “ The Wrecker ” is another product of the fertile imagination of the author ot “The Ghost Train," which enjoyed a wide popularity in Dunedin in October, 192 V, and even the collaboration of Mr Bernard Merivale has not been sufficient to con ceal that strangely compelling atmosphere which is peculiar to Mr Arnold Ridley who manages so successfully to weave drama, or one should say unadulterated melodrama, around such a common everyday thing as a railway service. Those who enjoyed “ The Ghost Train ” will realise ~ after sitting through “ The Wrecker ” that as far as Mr Ridley’s flair for the creation of exciting and mysterious action is concerned, only the half was told them. It .is excellent entertainment right through, and only the dull of imagination and sluggish of blood could fail to respond to the atmosphere of mystery, suspicion, and romance which envoips the play. From the first it is apparent that the person .responsible for the'alarmingly frequent railway catastrophes is one of the handful of players who pass to and fro on the stage, but the author is too devious in his cunning for the most of his audience. A carelessly couched phrase at the outset points the finger of suspicion to one person, but a moment later au unguarded utterance or indiscreet move shifts the accusing finger to one who hitherto has not been considered, and so it goes on until the bewildered brain refuses to go on any longer. And by this time there is only one clear thought that arises out' of the hotch-potch of contradictions which the author has so cleverly contrived —that there are two people at least who are above suspicion, and two only, the heroine and hero. They alone appear to have the singleness of purpose that absolves them from any connection with the crimes. Their ambition is tn bring the miscreant to book, and they swerve from their line of duty only for the briefest interlude, during which they enact the romantic side of the story. For the rest they move and speak in an redolent of engine smoke, 'steam, and screaming whistles, with always the sombre background of sound provided by the puffing strainings of express train engines setting out on their Ion:journeys, long because the diabolical wrecker confines his attention soiely to the big trains, like “the south limited” and “ the rainbow.”

The collection of portraits which' the play contains is a notable one, the author having given to even his supernumeraries an objectivity and life which keeps the interest alive in the between passages which cannot be avoided even in the most lurid of the custard pie melodramas that Hollywood showers on the long-suffering world. The brakemen, Alf and “ Orris,” in the lonely brake-cabin, are not less interesting or independent in their appeal than the international Rugger player who gives up football for amateur detective work, or_ the charming young lady detective with a formidable record who is entrusted by Scotland Yard'with the task of bringing the evil-doer to book. Indeed, it is Alf and “ Orris ” and Noah, the onearmed pensioner, and the pert and sophisticated young ladies in the railway company’s offices wKo provide the excellent little flashes of humour that provide, now and then, blessed relief from the tenseness of the chase.

Miss Josephine Wilson was charming,' almost too much so to be one of the highly qualified and fearfully capable female prodigies so common to certain kinds of fiction. But it was not her winsonieness and personality that appealed most. It was an obviously highly developed sense of the theatre which was expressed in a fine restraint which stamped her as an actress to whom such works as those of her author could no terrors. Such feminine traits as demureness, passion (when the occasion demands it), uncanny intuition, charm, and lack of logic are all to be found in her delineation of a character that can be little short of what Mr Ridley intended. Mr Clayton Greene makes a different. appeal, but there is no question of the appeal he makes. At first one looks at him as a fine stamp of man whose clothes fit him like a glove, but his masterly handling of the heavy burden of acting which falls to his lot soon convinces the audience that he is something more attractive than the apple of his tailor’s eye. He carries through the role of strong and relentless hero superbly, and when it comes to a consideration of perfect diction and English undefiled, it must be admitted that liG_ even betters the accomplishment of Miss Wilson, whose rich speaking voice is one of her greatest attractions. Mr Greene is an actor who will find many champions in Dunedin before the present season is concluded. Miss Helen Saintsbury is quick at repartee and wisecrack, and swears prettily, her Gladys,'an office girl, being in marked contrast to the sketch of Milly, a prim and prudish colleague, provided by Miss' Ivy Sparrow. Miss Noelle Sonning makes a finished Lady Beryl, and is at her best when in a tantrum, while Mr Reginald Collins looks and acts the part of “ the septic swine,” whom everyone suspects of being the wrecker himself. Mr Arthur Young simulates insanity effectively when he comes to the climax of a fine performance in the role of Joshua Barney, and Mr Frank Rutherfords Inspector Ratchett was an agreeably life-like study. The diverting characters of Alf, “ Orris,” and Noah were entrusted with complete success to Messrs R. Stirling, G. Routh, and Frank Morrison respectively. The entire cast did all that was required of them. _ In conclusion it only remains to mention the wonderful reality of the stage effects. The shrieking of whistles, the screaming of brakes, and the puffing of engines were remarkable, and the electrical fittings and gadgets in office and brake-cabin were a credit to the producer.

“The Wrecker” will be repeated tonight and for three more nights.