“CUCKOO IN THE NEST.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20278, 12 April 1934, Page 3

“CUCKOO IN THE NEST.”

Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn in Ben Travers Farce. “ Voltaire ” (George Arliss) will be shown finally to-morrow night at the Tivoli Theatre. On Saturday, the Tivoli Theatre will screen the hilarious Aldwych Theatre farce, “ A Cuckoo in the Nest,” starring the inimitable Lynn-Walls combination which appeared with such success in “ Rookery Nook.” It has all the elements of the traditional Aldwych Lynn-Walls successes. First produced by the incomparable LynnWalls company at the Aldwych Theatre, London, in 1925, “ A Cuckoo In the Nest ” also features the entire company, of whom Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, Mary Brough and Robertscn Hare are the chief players. The original combination on both stage and screen included Winfred Shotter in the ingenue role, but since she accepted a position as a star in her own right her place in “ A Cuckoo In .the Nest ” is taken by Yvonne Arnaud, the attractive little brunette who starred with Tom Walls in “ Canaries Sometimes Sing.” The film is further enhanced an entertainment value by the fact that it boasts a dialogue and story by Ben Travers, king of English farcewriters. It is so full of absurdities—as any robust farce should be—that you almost accept the earnestness of Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn, as being genuine. In this British film, besides directing, Tom Walls played the role of Major Bone, which he created in the stage version. His excellent makeup as a middle-aged toper, complete with “ thirsty ” moustache, red nose and hazy eyes makes him almost unrecognisable, and “ puts years on him.” “ A Cuckoo In the Nest ” is one long laugh. Box plans at the D.I.C.