AMUSEMENTS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18831, 20 March 1931, Page 10

AMUSEMENTS.

“THE FALL GUY.” AT THE GRAND. Adapted from the successful stage play by George Abbott and James Gleason, “The Fall Guy” presents no problem situations for moral preachments. It is the tale of a white-collar man who loses his job and takes a chance with bootleggers to keep the wolf away. He becomes a “fall guy” for the gang and the results make for a series of the most humorous scenes ever brought to the screen. Jack Mulhall, star of scores of successful screen comedies, plays the title role. A competent supporting cast includes Mae Clarke, clever feminine lead of “Big Time” and “Nix on Dames”; Ned Sparks, comedian of “Street Girl” and “Love Comes Along”; Pat O’Malley, featured in “Alibi”; Tom Jackson, the Dan McCorn of “Broadway” fame on stage and screen; Wynne Gibson and Ann Brody. ' “The Fall Guy” ran for 42 consecutive weeks as a Broadway stage hit. In its talkie version it is said to be even funnier, more intimate and more human than in its original form. “HELL'S ISLAND.” AT THE GRAND. Jack Holt and Ralph Graves have featured roles in “Hell’s Island,” which is now at the Grand Theatre. From the very first scene of the French Foreign Legion plodding its weary way across the sands of the Sahara to the breath-taking climax. the picture spells entertainment in capital letters. All the elements have been skilfully interwoven and what, at first, would seem to be a comedy almost verging on farce, develops into one of the most powerful dramatic stories seen on the screen in a long time. Aided by a motley crew of daredevils of all nationalities, Holt and Graves pursue their merry course until they both run into trouble over the same girl—Marie, the star of Dupont’s Cafe in the military base at Bel Abbas. Matters then take a more serious turn, and the former pals become deadly foes. During a marvellously well-staged battle between the French and Arabs. Mac, portrayed by Jack Holt, is shot in the back by a Riff sniper. He thinks that Griff, characterised by Ralph Graves, has double-crossed him because of their animosity over Marie. He does not know that Griff has actually saved his life. Because of his refusal to leave his unconscious pal on the battlefield and go ahead in battle, Griff receives a ten-year penalty on the prison colony of Hell’s Island. Still unaware of Griff’s sacrifice, Mac swears to kill Graves with the same bullet that had laid him low. How Marie shrewdly manipulates matters is developed in a series of absorbingly dramatic situations rising to a climax of powerful intensity. Supports are good.

“GOOD NEWS.” AT THE MAJESTIC. Bessie Love has been seen in many fine performances, but never to better appeal than in “Good News,” at the Majestic. She and Gus Shy are the life of this talking, singing, and dancing farce comedy. Shy is an unusual type of comedian, crisp and clean in method; and the pair make a smart and entertaining team that can challenge comparison with any musical comedy pair seen on the screen yet. “Good News” is a college life story. American picture-makers in the past have patterned and repeated their collegiate stuff until one almost knows what is coming; but bright acting lift the picture out of the ruck, and the pretty colour scene at the end comes as the climax to a good evening’s enThe two principals, though they have a droll love affair of their own, are off the track of the heavy sentiment, which is served out in triangle form by Mary Lawlor, Lola Lane, and Stanley Smith. It is inevitable that Smith has to be the hope of his side in the big football match, but even this football convention is polished into reality by clever staging. The coach is Thomas Jackson, and the scene in which he rallies the halfbeaten team at half-time is one of the strongest in the play. Dorothy M’Nulty is an acrobatic dancer of uncommon calibre, and Cliff Edwards (“Ukulele Ike”) is one of the comedian brigade. Charlie Chase is seen in a good comedy, “Dollar Dizzy.” Charlie becomes suddenly the heir, in America, to some millions of dollars in Australia—the scenario must have been written before the slump—and his maidenhunted state becomes a fruitful source of adventure.