PLAZA THEATRE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 154, 2 July 1934, Page 12

PLAZA THEATRE

‘•THE LOST PATROL” THRILLS. “The Lost Patrol” is the title of the Plaza Theatre’s latest programme, which met with an enthusiastic reception on Saturday. Phillip MacDonald’s gripping story of a British cavalry patrol lost in the Mesopotamian Desert has been used as the basis of this film. There are several deviations from the original story, but they are warranted. It is doubtful whether the ruthless climax of the written version could be borne by a film audience. Like “Journey’s End,” this tale of the war brings in only male characters. Jt gives, too. that same feeling of mounting strain and suspense among men for whom every hour may be the last. But here the men are largely helpless, the prey of a death that waits and watches for any movement outside the narrow bounds of their refuge. The oasis and the stretches of trackless desert beyond, with its shifting pattern, of sand dunes, make a beautiful setting for a story of gallant endurance in a daily inferno of heat. Each of the characters is drawn with realism, from the gentleman turned trooper (Reginald Denny, the variety artist who has toured America (Wallace Ford), the religious student whose reason gives way at last (.Boris Karloff), to the rest. Dominating them all is the personality of the sergeant (Victor McLaglcn). His gesture at the end is the fitting commentary on a very moving performance. Other players in the cast are Wallace Ford, Reginald Denny, .T. M. Kerigan, ;Billy Bevan, Alan Hale, Brandon Hurst, Douglas Walton, Howard 'Wilson, and Paul Hanson. The entire picture was filmed on a desert location among towering sand dunes. Whipped constantly by restless winds, the dunes sprawl in grotesque shapes, which change with the vagaries of the gales. Frequently entire dunes are moved, and new mounds spring up to take their place among the sand giants. Most of the time a blazing sun burns down upon the dunes from a cloudless sky, but occasionally storms scurry over the landscape, forming a menacing background, which gives impressiveness to the drama of the story. In making “The Lost Patrol,” the director, John Ford, is said to have taken advantage of some of these storm periods to photograph scenes of amazing scenic beauty. The shadow effects on the dunes are also declared to have lent themselves to exceptional photog-