“LITTLE WOMEN.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20361, 19 July 1934, Page 3

“LITTLE WOMEN.”

Louisa M. Alcott’s Classic Brought to Screen. “ Glamour ” will be screened finally to-morrow night at the Tivoli Theatre. “ Little Women,” the picture, which will open at the Tivoli Theatre on Saturday, graces the screen as Louisa May Alcott’s novel enriched the literature of a past day. Seldom has the cinema presented anything so rich in colourful charm and genuine portraiture. It is a picture which breathes the spirit of an earlier age—an age, perhaps, in which sentiment ruled the heart more definitely than it does to-day—and which reveals in a delightfully real manner the beauty and idealism of old-time family re- ■ lationships. Because of this fact it provides a refreshing contrast with the cold sophistication of present-day drama. It is so old in sentiment and environment, indeed, that it comes almost as something which is new. Its appeal is for all classes and for all tastes. It rises above criticism in practically all respects. The direction is superb. The story unfolds evenlv and easily, telling of simple home life and tender romance as naturally as sincere delineation can, and throughout its whole length there is not a single instance in which there has been an obvious striving for effect or in which emotional and dramatic values have been unduly emphasised. The roles of the four daughters are taken by Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Jean Parker and Frances Dee, a more graceful quartet than which has larely been seen on the screen. Each brings a consummate artistry to bear in her characterisation: each is so different and yet so lovable. Box plans at the D.I.C.