“PENALTY OF FAME.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 644, 23 December 1932, Page 3

“PENALTY OF FAME.”

Absorbing Drama Opening at Liberty. “Night Court,” starring Walter Huston, Lewis Stone, Anita Page and Phillips Holmes, and “ Up Pops the Devil ” will be screened at the Liberty Theatre for the last time to-night. “The Penalty of Fame,” with Lewis Ayres and Maureen O’Sullivan in the leading roles, will open at the Liberty Theatre to-morrow. It is a well-knit melodrama, full of suspense. The film concerns the activities of a metropolitan newspaper “ gossip ” columnist and broadcasting reporter who gathers his news from various unorthodox news sources. Scorned by his fellow journalists, he is given an opportunity to run his biggest story and to perform a benefit to the nation in apprehending the kidnapping underworld gang which has baffled police in the capture of the daughter of a nationally prominent family. How he manages to discover the missing girl and defeat the plans of a powerful gang leader provides the exciting theme of the picture. Much credit is due to the producer for the way he worked out the ending of the story without any resort to the lastmimite trickery common to gangster stories. Even the heart interest is differently handled, the director seems to get the utmost from the situation provided by the script. Edward Arnold as the pjnee-nezed master of crime is grand, and Rollo Lloyd’s drunken-informer scene is one of the high-lights of the film. Louis Calhern and Walter Catlett are excellent. Maureen O’Sullivan provides a well-drawn portrait of the secretary who is hopelessly in love with Larry Wayne (Lew Ayres). At the Dorothy Hall this evening, a Christmas carnival dance will be held. Bob Bradford’s Band will supply the dance music. Lucky spot and Monte Carlo competitions will he held, and dancing will continue till 1 a.m.