GOOD COMEDIENNE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 661, 14 January 1933, Page 25 (Supplement)

GOOD COMEDIENNE.

Gracie Fields Appears in Plaza’s New Film.

No more delightful entertainment could be wished for than that provided by ” Looking on the Bright Side,” which heads the new programme at the Plaza Theatre to-day. This film has already met with an excellent reception everywhere it has been shown, not only because of the gaiety which prevails throughout the entire action, but also because of the catching tunefulness of the musical score, which is an integral part of the production. Then there is the charming personality of Gracie Fields, the Lancashire comedienne, to add the spice of romance. The theme is not altogether new to picture theatre patrons, but with Gracie Fields to lead the action with her inimitable charm and vivacity there is a spirit of frivolity and a flavour of enchantment which invests the story with the full glamour of romance. This is the first film in which Gracie Fields has appeared since her debut in “ Sally in Our Ally,” in which her acting and singing won her sincere acclaim. In it she varies humour and sentiment with a rare artistry, her performance being the more noteworthy because of the vocal ability displayed in such happy melodies as “ He’s Dead, But He Won't Lie Down,” “ Looking on the Bright Side” and “You’re More Than All The World To Me.” Her role is that of a young and comely manicurist, in love with a young hairdresser, whose ambitions as a song writer spell a dissatisfaction with his tonsorial duties. Gracie sings his compositions so well that a prominent theatrical producer, Oscar Schultz, keenly grasps the opportunity of capitalising them, and the hairdresser soon finds himself on the pedestal of success. His good fortune turns his head, however, and in his reaction to an unaccustomed affluence and adulation he forgets the girl to whom he owed his first claim as a composer of note. The players who fill the supporting roles enjoy the distinction of notability in London stage circles and each contributes in full measure to the hilarious atmosphere of the story. They include Julian Rose, Richard Dolman, Wyn Richmond, Toni De Lungo, Betty Shale, Bettina Montahners and Viola Compton. The greatest of these is Julian Rose, whose presentation of the Jewish theatrical producer is one of the cleverest and most humorous pieces of characterisation in the picture.