ST. JAMES

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 986, 31 May 1930, Page 17

ST. JAMES

SUCCESS OF “DISRAELI” It is very rare for Auckland audiences to take up any one film so enthusiastically as they have accepted “Disraeli,” the English picture now running at the St. James Theatre. There is humour and sincerity in every line of the picture, which make it one of the best productions which has been seen in the city. The title role of Disraeli, the great Jewish Prime Minister of England, is taken by George Arliss, and it might be said, without any reflection on the other players, that George Arliss is the film. Mingled with the more serious side of the negotiations for the purchase of the Suez Canal are the scathing witticisms of the Prime Minister, which evoke unrestrained laughter from the audience. The story opens with soap-box orators denouncing Disraeli ,‘the foreigner,” in Hyde Park. Then Gladstone is shown pouring his wrath upon his rival, the while Disraeli lies with his hat over his face, apparently asleep. With a few words, Disraeli swings the House in his favour, and so it goes on, with Disraeli the shrewd statesman, the kind and understanding hu-sband and the maker of witticisms. Although Arliss occupies the central position throughout, there is some very good acting by Florence Arliss as Lady 33eaconsfield and Doris Lloyd as Mrs. Travers, the Russian spy. The cast is all-English, and the diction could not be improved upon, while the reproduction of the voices is lifelike to an astonishing degree. The picture reflects great credit on the producers, Warner Brothers. To some extent the vaudeville atmosphere has been retained in the St. James Theatre by the provision of a few short items at the beginning of the entertainment. These all come through in a wonderfully clear manner, and speak volumes for the efficiency of the reproducing equipment installed.