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Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20832, 16 June 1939, Page 4

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Cinema «,« Snapshots Louis Hayward Climbs to Stardom Louis Hayward, starred in Edward Small's “Tile Duke of West Point.” will tell you that his career from the time of his birth has been an exciting and romantic one. Born in Johannesburg. -South Africa, he is the son of a distinguished mining engineer who helped make history in the Transvaal early in the present century. As a lad. he went on many exciting trips with his father and he can remember when, as a mere child, he took his llrst shot at a wild lion. When he grew’ past grammar school age, his parents planned a sound education for Louis and he was sent to various schools in France and England. There lie took a great interest in sports or all kinds, his athletic proficiency being an important factor in his performance iu “The Duke of West Point,” in which 'he not only plajs ice hockey, football, but lias to box, fence and go through rigid calisthenics. In this picture he is teamed with Joan Fontaine, Richard Carlson, Tom Brown and Alan Curtis. Alfred Green directed the production. Heroic Defence of the Alamo One of the highlights of American history, the heroic defence of the Alamo, has been translated on to the screen as one of the dramatic sequences in Republic Pictures’ "Man of Conquest” which will shortly be released in New Zealand by British Empire Films. U is the first dramatisation of the life of Sam Houston, starring Richard Dix in the title role, Gail Patrick, Joan Fontaine, Edward Ellis and G. Henry Gordon. Employing thousands of extras and a technical crew numbering hundreds, the Alamo Mission sequences were re-enacted at Salt Springs Valley Reservoir, forty miles out of Stockton, California, the nearest point of railway and telephone communication. Republic Studio spent two years in research and careful planning in preparing and producing the story of Sam Houston’s life and the story of Texas’ fight for independancc. Featured players in the cast include Victor Jory, George Hayes, Robert Armstrong, Janet Beecher, William Benedict, Ralph Morgan, Max Terhune and Jason Robards. • - k 1 - - * 1 Racing Scenes in New Film Require Army of Experts Bing Crosby worked in “King of the Turf,” the Edward Small production for United Artists release, starring Adolphe Menjou. Not 'Bing Crosby, the crooner, of course, but Bing Crosby, the race horse, named after the star of screen and radio. Bing Crosby is only one of forty or more horses cast in the picture and who was given a chance to win a race when he went on location at the Hollywood Park Traek. The task of handling race horses for “King of the Turf” was a highly important one and Producer Edward Small engaged Paul MaePherson, one the Pacific Coast's greatest turf authorities, as technical adviser. Every scene in which a horse was used was supervised by an oilicial appointed by the Society for the Prevention or Cruelty to Animals. One phase of MacPlierson’s work was “matching” the horses selected for race sequences, so that if one horse started from the barrier, bearing a certain number and then had to quit because of S.P.C.A. regulations, there was another horse of matching build and colour to carry on. Since horses have definite “personalities” this proved a most difficult task. Roger Daniel, the iiftecn-year-oid screen "find,” who plaj'S the juvenile lead in the picture, rides to ail the race sequences. He is an accomplished horseman and was given special lessons in track technique Smoky Saunders, noted jockey, who alao acted iu "King of the Turf.” r “The Four Feathers 99 A Stirring Film Zoltan Korda, Alexander’s less well- I 1 known brother, has made a great film. | a spectacular.‘thrilling and sometimes moving tribute to the British Army ! and the British spirit. As a spectacl-: of stirrmg deeds, ' sweeping charges and last stands during Kitchener’s march on Umdur- % man, amid the Striking scenery of the Sahara and the Nile, it equals j an> thing that Hollywood has given u«*. } and, in the beauty of its colour, sur- * passes Hollywood’s best. J As a story of personal adventure, * as a tale of a coward's redemption { through self-imposed deeds of enI durance and bravery, it is exciting, human and always engrossing. Beyond all that, it is British to the core, yet British with a modest sense of humour, thanks to R. C. Sherriff's adaption of A. E. W. Mason’s inspiring but rather muddled melodrama of Patriotism and Imperialism. Highlights of the film are all those scenes in which Ralph Richardson communicates the horror of growing blindness and the helplessness and near-madness that it brings. High--4 lights also are his march across the | desert led by the courageous coward, disguised as a native, the wild charges of the Khalifa's mounted warriors, the stealthy advance of the Fuzzy-Wuz-*c zies, the thin ranks of the British thrusting back the attack and, at last, a beautifully played scene when Richardson renounces the heroine In favour of the rehabilitated coward. Richardson’s performance is perfection. John Clements does a fine job as the hero, and wears the native disguise effectively. June Puprez, as the heroine, makes a charming and distinctive person out of a stock figure, and handles two emotional scenes with appealing sincerity.