“THE CAT’S-PAW.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20542, 18 February 1935, Page 3

“THE CAT’S-PAW.”

Harold Lloyd Comedy at Majestic. Harold Lloyd, the famous bespectacled comedian, is starred in “ The Cat’s-Paw,” which opened at the Majestic Theatre on Saturday. Lloyd appears in a different type of role and makes up for his long absence from the screen with a film that is his best yet. Although “ The Cat’s-Paw ” is a hilarious comedy, it has an underlying note of steadfast purpose. Lloyd, cast as a young man who returns to the United States from China after an absence of twenty years, has what he himself considered the ideal role in an ideal story. His object in going to America —to secure a wife—is enough in itself to cause trouble, but when he finds himself amongst a crowd of shad> r politicians, and developing a regard for “ wise-cracking ” Petunia Pratt (Una Merkel), he is hard-pressed to find the right course. Strange though it may seem, his intimate knowledge of the sayings of the Chinese philosopher, Ling Po, eventually gives him the whip-hand, and everything comes right. Based on Clarence Budington Kelland’s bestseller, “ The Cat’s-Paw ” is one of the best pictures seen in Christchurch for some time, and it seems strange that the story has not been filmed before, as it is distinctly refreshing. Aiding Harold Lloyd is a cast of sterling worth. Una Merkel, as the up-to-the-minute American girl, w'ho finds Lloyd’s polite manner irritating, makes the most of her part. George Barbier, as a big-hearted though crooked politician, is a grudging admirer and unwilling helper of the missionary in his reforming work. “ Playful Pan,” a Walt Disney Silly Symphony, is the pick of the si:pporting films, w'hich include a comical musical number by Ruth Etting. a travelogue and a Fox Australian News.