“NIGHT MUST FALL”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23435, 25 February 1938, Page 7

“NIGHT MUST FALL”

A play built on terror, “Night Must Fall,” now adapted as M.G.M.’s sensational film, will be released at the Regent Theatre to-day. Terror notwithstanding, the film makes for first-rate entertainment. This is directly due to the brilliant acting of the principals and an intriguing story. Robert Montgomery deserves first mention. His Danny is not only the principal character in the piece, but also dominates the other characters to such an extent that, had he given no more than his usual “talented performance,” the piece would have failed miserably. Montgomery gives a performance that the most confirmed of his fans would have thought impossible He is magnificent to such a degree that it is difficult to conceive of him in the lighter roles in which he has made his name—and in which, one hears from Hollywood, he is to be seen again. He portrays the genial madman of the play with gusto—-no other word can suggest the willingness and vim which he imparts to his role of Danny. Yet the solution is known in the early stages almost as much as it is at the end, when Danny is led away by the law, boasting of his forthcoming notoriety. One rival alone he has— Dame May Whitty. Few actresses could have made such a conyincing display of hysterics as she gives in one ‘scene, where she discovers herself alone in a lonely house of murder. Her lighter moments are never for a moment forced. Dame May, late of the West End, brings a welcome naturalness to her acting. Lovely Rosalind Russell has an exceedingly difficult _ role. She has given ample proof in “ Craig’s Wife ” and “ The Suicide Club ” of her versatility. The film is rounded out with a number of fine character performances, but it is the work of the two or three principals which will, it is hardly too much to aver, never be forgotten.