AMUSEMENTS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19156, 12 November 1927, Page 9

AMUSEMENTS.

"SPECIAL DELIVERY." A LARGE PACKET OF LAUGHS. LIBERTY THEATRE, MONDAY. Some bright young reviewer, exuding merriment over ".Special Delivery," wrote, in an inspired moment: "E,ddie Cantor should have the degree of LL.D. conferred on him." Then went on to explain that LL.D. meant l Delivered of Laughs and Letters. At the Liberty Theatre next week this Paramount special attraction will be presented, in which the homely hero of many a New York stage success, Eddie Cantor to wit, will gambol as a postman, in juxtaposition to the fireman ;>.nd the policeman. It ail sounds beautifully simple, but it is in reality enormously .lijggled, as the postman, with an eye to what the public delights in, performs with exceeding great stupidity, for even the baldest business man dearly loves a comedy-farce with a certain flavouring of the childish in it. And there is comedy galore, and comedy supreme in "Special Delivery," although the presence of William Powell in the cast portends something sinister, and also gives the light and farcical story a certain stability, as the Boldini of "Beau Geste" is one of the profession's best actors. Miss Jobyna Ralston, also, who dutifully followed Harold Lloyd through his contortions, is a further proof of the picture's worthiness and entertainment possibilities, although the humble mailcarrier, Eddie Cantor, is the picture's first claim to fame. In this day of excellent comedies it is difficult to produce one that will really make the theatregoer sit up and take notice, but "Special Delivery" has done just this, by virtue, no doubt, of the Yiddish star. One of the high lights of the picture is the Black Bottom executed by the posiman. Not that he intended to do tho Black Bottom, but he was watching the other candidates, at a party, and a piece of ice dropped down his back, and his gyrations won him the prize. This is a classic scene of "Special Delivery," destined to outshine many other poetic moments in other comedies. Comedies, whether they be bad ones or in the same category as this attraction, are all sisters under the skin, inasmuch that their primary object iu life is to coax laughs; therefore, little more can be said of this picture than that it worthily upholds the honour of its family in the lists, a comedy without fear aud without reproach. While Eddie Cantor romps home a comfortable winner in the comedy field, 'William Powell is always a force to be reckoned with. The Concert Orchestra, under Mr Ernest Jnmieson, plays tho following musical programme:—Overture, "Ruy Bias" (Mendelssohn), Ballet Music from "Faust" (Gounod), "Elegie" (Massenet), selections from "Manon Lescaut' (Massenet), . "Glinka" (Rhoda). "Lilac Time" (Schubert), "Derby Day" (Axt), "It Must Be Love" (Archer), "Potato Bug Parade" (Cobb). The box plans are at the Bristol Piano Company, where scats may be reserved.