REGENT THEATRE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 133, 7 June 1937, Page 9

REGENT THEATRE

“HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT* Pulsating is perhaps the adjecltcc to . lapply to "History Is Made at Night." 'the film which screens to-day at jthe Regent Theatre. This picture is 1 mainly an emotional one. It deals with the feelings of the throe main ' characters and portrays their cmotional reactions in many tense situations in which they are placed. There are two men in the triangle this time, and .lean 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 tXey 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 lhe starling point. He determines to prevent her from securing a decree absolute, and takes steps to have his wife caught in compromising circumstances. Char\\s I Boyer, however, is in the next apartment, at the time, and after explaining matters with a gun, he carries off (he 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 on an iceberg must rival the earthquake scene from “San Francisco” in stark detail. The effect of crashing ice strikes terror into her passengers and sends thrills up and down the spines of the audience. One has the impression throughout the film that the director has aimed at beautiful camera “shots,” finely balanced, with light and shade correctly proportioned and backgrounds well chosen. In these settings, the emotion of Jean Arthur. Colin Clive and Charlef Boyer, is realistic, and all three perform well in exacting roles. A combination of murder, melodrama, romance and comedy make the story an unusual one. The audience is in .suspense to the end and its attention held by intriguing developments which follow each other In quick succession. It is on the whole a sophisticated drama, but at the same time possesses a strong appeal in the reality of situation, in the sound acting and in the good story.