A BRIGHT FARCE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 296, 14 December 1931, Page 3

A BRIGHT FARCE.

An exceptionally bright and clever farce heads the new programme at the Crystal Palace Theatre. The film is based upon the French stage comedy, 44 The Love Habit,” and bears the same name. The star is Seymour Hicks, a prince among English comedians, who played in the stage version, and rises to his best form in the screen story. Superlative acting, sparkling dialogue, subtle humour, a strong supporting cast and lavish settings combine to make “ The Love Habit ” one of the most entertaining films that have come from the Elstree studios. Comical situations occur in a sparkling line. While a typically French atmosphere is maintained throughout the story, the dialogue is in faultless English, and the audience is entertained by many diverting conversations. It is perhaps in the spoken passages that the humour of the film is richest'. The things that Seymour Hicks says and the things that he deftly leaves unsaid sometimes infringe convention, but it is all done so cleverly that even Mrs Grundy herself, if she were among the audience, would be moved to join in the laughter. Louis Verneuil, who wrote the story, is an adept at constructing the most diverting situations, and some of his best work is seen in “The Love Habit.’’ Imagine a husband being obliged, because of his own shortcomings, to offer the hospitality of his home to a man who has fallen in love with his wife and is determined to win her. Such a situation arises in 44 The Love Habit.” Indeed, it is the crux of the whole story, and thebe is much to keep the audiences in gales of laughter before the tale is done. Seymour Hicks as Justin Abelard, the wealthy and susceptible Frenchman, has one of those gay and roguish parts in which he excels, and he proves equal to the task of bringing the best out of the situations in which he finds himself from time to time. Margot Grahame never looked more beautiful nor played with higher skill than she does as Julie Dubois, the wife of Alphonse Dubois. It is her charms that account for the passion within the heart of Justin Abelard, and it is her coldness to all his advances that forces him into many comical predicaments. Edmund Breon as the perfidious Alphonse Dubois, afraid of being found out, is responsible for some bright comedy work. Others who appear are Walter Armitage, Ursula Jeans, Elsa Lanchester and Clifford Heatherly. There is an excellent and varied programme of short supporting films.