"A LITTLE JOURNEY."

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19150, 5 November 1927, Page 26

"A LITTLE JOURNEY."

♦ "FOOTLOOSE WIDOWS." EVERYBODY'S. MONDAY. How youth wins the day from the oider folks is the foundation of the Metro-Goldwyn picture "A Little Journey," tho chief attraction at Everybody's Theatre next week, a charming comedy-romance -that should havo ! been given a far more pretentious name than it has received. So negative a title does not always augur well lor the box office, but when so graceful' and pleasing a tale conies to town, it does not take very long for'the tidings to spread, and its title will bo no handicap. A clever cast of players appear in "A Little Journey." William Haines, Clsiro Windsor, and Claire McDowell play the leading roles, with Harry Carey, -who first made screen history many years ago in Wild Westerns, playing his first "white-collar" role. The story is written by Kachel Crothers, one of the most brilliant bf living American playwrights, and as it is directed by Ilobert Leonard, who knows his megaphone surprisingly well, "A Little Journey" can well afford to lift up its head among its prouder fellows. Most pf the action takes place in a Pullman coach, and, it transpires, a Pullman coach is a fine place to get in on your enemy, lay siege to the heart of a fair lady, and pummel Fate for all you are. worth. A five-day page from life, so real that one is prone to forget that this bit was meant for comedy, this for drama,,the whole so perfectly constructed that one is never conscious of tho mechanics of picture making. And as its attractive story is so skilfully executed, there can be no doubt as to ifs brilliant entertainment possibilities. Simplicity is the height of art, and simplicity of plot characterises "A Little Journey" throughout, the story of tho- girl who used to be rieb, and of tho man _ who was not a prince or a millionaire in disguise, all very natural, but vory re? i freshing after a surfeit of candid romance, The humour of tho picture is inimitable; an insouciant humour that throws into effective relief the really strong drama of the plot, and affords an admirable canvas on which the players ply their emotions. Claire Windsor contributes a stately beauty and gentle manners to the part she so gracefully plays, while William Haines, as the young man who finds, himself so suddenly up against realities, gives quite the best performance of the piece.

Hilarity in Ivusband-huntiug might be an apt sub-caption for "Footiooso Widows," the second feature on the bill, a bright and breezy comedy in which Louise Fazenda is Widow Extraordinary, and Jacqueline Logan is Widow in oxcelsis, a sort of Hobson's choice. The amazing activities of the two merry widows of the story provide excitement, humour, and light drama enough for anyone, and while all the cast are exceptionally good, Louise Fazonda is quite the »best. The Select Orchestra, under Mr Albert Bidgood, will play a programme "of incidental music, specially arranged. The box plans are at The Bristol Piano Co., where seats may be reserved.