MOSCOW DRAMA

Taranaki Daily News, 27 May 1933, Page 8 (Supplement)

MOSCOW DRAMA

ENGINE EIRS IN DOCK PROSECUTOR’S SPEECH. EXTRAORDINARY OUTBURST. The sensational trial in Moscow last month of six British employees of Met-ropolitan-Vickers, Limited, and certain accused Russians, is reported at great length in the London newspapers. The cabled' reports appearing in the Press at the time embraced all the principal points of evidence and addresses. Appended are additional extracts from the extraordinary violent speech of the public prosecutor, M. Andrew Vishinsky. Getting redder and relder in the face in his efforts not only to persuade the judges, but also to capture the ears of the world, realising that his words are flashing to all points of the compass, M. Vishinsky, speaking on Easter Sunday, piled adjective on adjective in his fierce denunciation of the accused. “In this trial,” he declared, “we see a new class fight—dangerous and subterranean.” Oleinik and Kutosova are the most detestable among the hated type of our enemies.” There were three central themes of the indictment—sabotage, military espionage and bribery, M. Vishinsky said. As regards the first of these themes a group was trying to wreck all their greatest power stations. He quoted at length from a statement by Lenin on electricity including a phrase, “electrification plus the Soviet Government equals Communism.” WEAKENING RHETORIC. Turning to the dock, M. Vishinsky said, speaking with deep scorn, “You are the last remnants of the technical intelligentzia—against you are honest Soviet workers. The Soviet is too strong to fear you. As for Monkhouse and Thornton, their crimes are too disgusting, and I can find no words for them. They are worse than the Russian prisoners,” v Toward the end of the Sunday sittings the accused were listening apathetically to the weakening rhetoric of M. Vishinsky, who had apparently explored most, avenues of his vocabulary and was having recourse to legal technicalities. "Nowr with reference to the bribery charges,” the Public Prosecutor continued. “Firstly, Monkhouse could not explain the 3000 roubles given to Dolgoff and could not say whether it was a gift or a loan. Maybe some English engineers think that giving parties small presents does not constitute bribery, but we look at it from a different viewpoint. In the U.S.S.R. it is bribery, and even under English laws. Monkhouse and Thornton know they can be severely punished for bribery.” M. Vishinsky continued his speech on Easter Monday with renewed vigour. Many spectators, weary of his seemingly interminable talk regarding sabotage, boilers and generators, walked out of the hall "MACDONALD IS HONEST.” Referring to the accused Mr. MacDonald the speaker said “McDonald is honest—if it is possible to talk honesty in connection with these people—and brave in confessing, braver than Thornten—that gallant Mesopotamian soldier! MacDonald said he confirmed his confession under the weight of evidence against him. "MacDonald is an experienced secret service agent. I often think him cleverer than the rest. He said that Russians were kind to him while he was here, but he has repaid them badly. He was caught red-handed sabotaging. He later said he was guilty and confessed, and informed on his fellow-prisoners. The information he gathered was completely uninteresting to his firm. “It was a funny scene when MacDonald gave evidence after reading Thornton’s evidence, and Thornton said that he gave evidence after reading MacDonald’s. Later, when they leave this court, they will have plenty of time to discuss the question of who confessed first.” Looking toward Mr. Thornton, who did not change his expression, M. Vishinsky continued “Did you get good, solid information? You just try to use -it!” MR. THORNTON FACES ACCUSER. Addressing Mr. Thornton, M. Vishinsky said “You will be no use in Russia or England. Turning to Mr. Cushny (another of the accused) he said: “You, Cushny, deny everything, but we will unmask you, like Monkhouse, Thornton and Nordwall. Monkhouse has confirmed that Cushny was guilty of espionage, so we will sustain the charges against Cushny.” The closing sentences of M. Vishinsky’s summing-up were uttered amid an atmosphere of growing drama. “We have evidence,” he said, “against Thornton that admits spying, bribery, and concealing defects. Thornton collected information in 1931, just when we were having difficulties in the Far East. I say they are all guilty under Article 58, carrying sentences up to shooting, but it is necessary to consider their failure as a mitigating circumstance. “In your verdict you must remember that the Soviet Government does, not seek the blood of vengeance, but the defence of the Socialist revolution. You must not forget in your verdict that our country is already strong enough to resist counter-revolution.” ATTEMPT TO SPEAK ENGLISH. Continuing in an ironic strain throughour his address, M. Vishinsky even tried to break into English, but this was a dismal failure. One example of his feeble attempts at English was when he referred to Mr. Thornton as a “bisman,” meaning business man. M. Vishinsky did not make specific recommendations on the sentences, but he said “All are guilty except Gregory. All deserve death. But our courts are not vengeful, not cruel. less, if the court considers it necessary to’ carry out the supreme measure your hand must not shake.” M. Vishinsky in the course of his particularly envenomed attack upon Mr. Thornton described the latter as “a vile and conscienceless traitor.” Turning to Mr. Thornton, he said: “You talk of moral pressure. You were told that it would be better for you to tell the truth than to lie. If that is moral pressure I am not ashamed to repeat such pressure here before the entire world. « “You are just a coward by nature. It is true you will be useless both to Russia and to England. In fact, you are already useless. Within less than twenty-four hours you confessed, betraying and endangering the heads of twenty-seven fellow-countrymen. That was not a lie. It was worse. .. Cowardice! Treachery! “You are useless in every respect. Some day, perhaps, you will be useful as manure for our Soviet fields. Let your lies rest on your conscience, if you have a conscience—if you were bom with a conscience.”

“The Light Brigade.” The motion picture players work under a battery of lights so large and powerful that an inexperienced person could not keep his eyes open. Yet the screen player never gives them a thought. Light comes from every possible direction—above, below, to the sides, and from the back—in the filming of a scene. On the set of Paramount’s “Under-Cover Man,” George Raft, Nancy Carroll, Roscoe Kams, and Lew Cody worked under rays that equal in power those of the sun. The temperature where the. players work is kept down by a ventilating system which delivers fifty-degree air to the stage. Yet in close-ups the players sometimes work in temperatures of 95 degrees, and in the longer shots in eighty-degree atmosphere. The heat on a large setting with many lights has been known to reach a record of 110 degrees. From America. The leading male role in “Heads We Go 1” the new 8.1. P. film in which Constance Cummings stars, has ben given to Frank Lawton. This young actor has only just returned from. Hollywood, where he played an important part in the film version of Noel Coward’s “Cavalcade.” In this picture he plays a young man who falls in love at first sight with a girl, but his ensuing conduct leads to misunderstanding. He is able eventually to explain matters and all ends happily. The cast of this original film also contains Binnie Gus McNaughton, and Claude Hulbert. , “Secrets?” The “Hollywood Reporter” writes as follows regarding “Secrets,” Mary Pickford’s latest picture:—“As ‘Secrets’ summarises in a panoramic epitome the life of its heroine, so does it summarise all that Mary Pickford has meant to the motion picture lovers since ‘The Good Little Devil.’ The old Mary Pickford of fifteen years ago comes back with all her sparkling-eyed mischief, in an opening sequence that kept the audience in gales of laughter as she played out the forbidden romance and elopement with Leslie Howard. No actress could have surpassed her in this scene and the subsequest on as +he stricken mother durtag the pioneer days in California, her dead baby in her arms while her husband stood off the cattle rustlers with his shotgun.” Anny Ahlers Dead. A young and beautiful German actress, Anny Ahlers, who was playing the title role in the successful London production, “The Dubarry,” has been found dead under tragic circumstances in London. Her body was discovered on the pavement outside her flat; the inquest revealed that she had been ill and unhappy for some time and had been taking drugs. A verdict of suicide was returned. Miss Ahlers was one of London’s favourites: she was popular with the members of the company, too, and he tragic death cast a gloom over the theatrical fraternity of the metropolis. Adulation was her right, because she was an exquisite actress and a charming personality. Airport. Sally Eilers, who plays the lead opposite Dick Barthelmess in “Central Airport,” a Warner Bros. First National picture, is the wife of Hoot Gibson, who owns three aeroplanes. Sally herself has

a pilot’s, license,, but never pilots any of Hoot’s ships. Never will, either, if she' can help it Just doesn’t care to, and took out the license to please Hoot Richard Arlen. Richard Arlen has been signed for the romantic lead in “Legal Crime,” a Paramount picture dealing with the dramatic effects which the return of legalised beer may bring about. Arlen was previously announced for a featured role in “College Humour,” but due to a delay in filming this picture, Rogers was enabled to secure Arlen for “Legal Crime.”

Shop. The teaming of John Bennett and Norman Foster for “Deparment Store” i* important. Foster is one of the most promising male featured players on the Fox lot. It will be in work at the same time that “Bad Boy,” with James Dunn and Sally Eilers, is being made. Beady. Elissi Landi.is ready to start work on her first 1933 release, tentatively titled “Dressmaker From Luneville.” Upon completion of this she will go into work on “The Warrior’s Husband,” with Ernest Truex. • -