VARIED SCREEN FARE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20440, 19 October 1934, Page 3

VARIED SCREEN FARE.

Gripping Drama and Amusing Comedy.

“The Trumpet Blows” and “The House on 56th Street ” will be screened finally to-night at the Crystal Palace Theatre.

“ I Was a Spy.” a gripping drama, and “ Half a Sinner,” an amusing comedy, will comprise the well-varied programme at the Crystal Palace Theatre to-morrow. Berton Churchill, internationally distinguished actor, who has created many outstanding roles on Broadway, is featured in “ Half a Sinner.” The story tells of a sanctimonious rascal who poses as a churchman and is in reality a card sharp. The “ deacon ” (Churchill) finds himself in a small Kansas town in which 'are two young lovers, Joel M’Crea and Sally Blane, whom he had known in a previous escapade. They have no desire for him to reveal their identities, and he is careful that no one should know his, but many surprising situations follow. Dramatic achievement in talking pictures reaches a new standard in the excellent film “ I Was a Spy.” It is a story of the Great War, excelling the dramatic force of ” Journey’s End ” and the sweep and magnificence of “ All Quiet on the Western Front.” The story tells of the sacrifices made by a Belgian nurse, Marthe Cnockaert (excellently played by Madeleine Carroll), while serving as a secret service agent for the Allies in a Belgian town behind the German lines in 1915. Box plans at the D.I.C.