REGENT THEATRE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 132, 5 June 1937, Page 11

REGENT THEATRE

“HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT.” Pulsating is perhaps the adjective to apply to “Histpry Is Made at Night,” the film which commences to-day at the Regent Theatre. This picture is mainly an emotional one. It deals with the feelings of the three main characters and portrays their emotional reactions in many tense situations in which they are plaed. There are two men in the triangle this time, and Jean Arthur, the woman, is the wife of one of them, a shipping magnate. She opens the story with a note to her husband, purporting to explain how it is they cannot get along together. But everything that happens throughout the picture to Colin Clive, who is her husband, makes him more determined to bring her back to the explanatory note is the starting point. He determines to prevent her from securing a decree absolute, and takes steps to have his wife caught in compromising circumstances. Charts Boyer, however, is in the next apartment, at the time, and after explaining matters with a gun, he carries off the lady. From that point, the story concerns the lives of a head waiter and his chef, Leo Carrillo, who gives what is probably his best performance to date, considerably leavening the film as he does with his Continental mannerisms and complete egoism. Drama is introduced by means of a

trans-Atlantic ship’s maiden voyage. "Shots” of the wrecking of the liner lon an iceberg must rival the earthquake scene from “San Francisco" in stark detail. The effect of crashing o ' ice strikes terror into her passengers ” and sends thrills up and down the 4 'spines of the audience. One has the is 1 impression throughout the film that Is ' the director has aimed at beautiful a ' camera “shots,” finely balanced, with i- 1 light and shade correctly proportioned i- 'and backgrounds well chosen. In e : these settings, the emotion of Jean ), [Arthur, Colin Clive and Charles e i Boyer, is realistic, and all three per- :- 'form well in exacting roles. A come [bination of murder, melodrama a [romance and comedy make the storj - [an unusual one. The audience is in ,s [suspense to the end and Its attention ?, I held by intriguing developments e which follow each other tn quick suce cession. It is on the whole a sophist. ticated drama, but at the same time n possesses a strong appeal in the real’s ity of situation, in the sound acting 1- and in the good story. IS