U.S. TRIBUTE TO BRITISH GRIT

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 37, 7 November 1942, Page 10

U.S. TRIBUTE TO BRITISH GRIT

“Eagle Squadron” Has A Stirring Theme

"We have to remain free men and women, though our very souls sweat for it We have promised that we shall live and die, not in the darkness of defeat, but in the light of victory. Wc have promised the living and the dead ‘ l Iltl So spoke Clare Boothe, 1 famous American playwright, who has this week been elected to Congress, in one of her campaigning speeches. So might have Sen those young fliers who crossed the Atlantic to light for Bntam in her hour of greatest danger and agony. America’s Eagle Sqiindion mad ■ history in those fateful days of September, 1940. May the Empire never forget it.

’ The roar of battle ami the cries of Europe’s wounded and dying rang but faintiv in the ears of America m those dark days of 1940. The Californian eun was warm, the streets of New York were bright and distracting, the waves curled lazily on the shores of Florida. But here and there—in Texas and far away Illinois, in Virginia and Nebraska—the cry of an England in peril kindled a warm response in the hearts of young men to whom adventure and liberty meant, more than life itself. So they crossed the dangerous seas, ranged themselves lieside the beleaguered British, found a zest in sacrifice and danger, found, too, death in the hell that raged above the clouds. Generous Gestures. Walter Wanger, one of America’s finest producers, has- caught the spirit of the whole adventure in “Eagle Squadron,” which was previewed in M ellmgton the other evening. It seems an error m psychology that, while the Americans arc constantly making gestures of generosity toward the British, wc for our part carry a phlegmatic attitude to extremes in our gestures toward the Americans. “Eagle Squadron,” though ostensibly made as a tribute to those American fivers who, in the words of xQuentin Reynolds’s introduction “did not wait to be 'stabbed in the back,” resolves itself largely into a handsome bunch of orchids for the British. It would be agreeable and somewhat restoring to our self-respect if in a British film equal emphasis were laid on the heroism, humour, sangfroid, sanity and genera] spiritual'balance of the Americans. Here is a sincere attempt to explain the British and the Americans to each other. Here is a film consistently stirring and moving, bringing danger and sacrifice into its right perspective—as the lot ot every man and woman who moves within tbe orbit of total war. , A young American airman, losing nu best friend in a sweep over France tails out of step with his fellowmen. British

phlegm angers him. (“What have yon got instead of hearts? Carburettors? ) The patient acceptance of things unpleasant he sees as a spirit of defeatism. The casual attitude of a W.AA.F. toward him is another sore point. „ Perhaps he had never read Kipling’s “If’. Warm and Understanding. But real things begin to happen. The Luftwaffe unleashes hell on London and a hundred other English towns. Through the running rings of fire, between tne lines of the dead and the dying, men and women go quietly, firmly, each to his allotted task. The American begins to see the British in a new. light, finds them warm and understanding once their reserve is -pierced. He himself performs a deed of great valour, making off. under cover of a commando raid, with a new alia secret German fighter plane. For this he is decorated by the King. The story of “Eagle Squadron” is told with far greater solidity and seriousness than is usual. The acting. particularly that of Kobert Stack as the young American, has a becoming gravity. There are moving glimpses of English sky and countryside and there are some tine semi-documentary sequences of episodes such as a fighter sweep over I rance. Ifiann Barrymore, John Barrymore s daughter, brings to her jirst film role a charming voice and a grave and modest manner'. . . • . It is seldom that this critic gives a film a 100 per cent, recommendation, but "Eagle Squadron” earns it. It opens in Wellington shortly. KING’S THEATRE It mar be that (lie makers of the new film at the King's Theatre set'out to give the public a real war-time thriller, complete with action, 4 suspense, humour, drama, stark tragedy, and life in London during the terrible blitz period n. 1940--mavbe they intended to do all,that; and in part they succeeded. # What they actually did do was to bring home the horrors and tribulations of warfare against civilians to a degree seldom met with in any previous film. They called, it “Confirm or Deny”—a title that is explained in the concluding sequences of the story —aud gave it a first-rate cast headed by Don Ameche. as a 100 Per cent go-getting American war correspondent stationed in London: .loan Bennett, as a War Office teletypist. whose unswerving ’ sense or honour and loyalty should be a guide to all patriotic people; and the youtiitui Itoddv McDowell, as a young root-spotter ■who meets his death, during an air raid. Of course, a romance runs through the picture, but. though it was a deciding lector in the climax of the story, it really played second fiddle-to the scenes depicting Londoners during the dreaded air raids. One saw them m, the shelters, toughing and joking, singing and still laughing—but never grumbling. Then one saw them wending their way through debris that once formed offices, dwellings, monuments; and etill they said “Thumbs up” and “Chins up.” And still they smiled. Hitler had arrived at I'alais to superintend the invasion of England But the invasion did not take place. London stiU laughed and the earth m which thev buried the little roof spotter was free earth. Such is the gist of the plot of “Confirm or Deny,” a film that can came here more or less unheralded, a film that will be talked about when many picturegoers ar e trying to remember the title of the week-before-last’s light musical. "Confirm or Deny” is not the only highlight on .the King’s programme. There are about 3000 feet of the most interesting and topical newsreels seen for many a Week—the Australians in New Guinea, the New Zealanders in the Middle East, Atlantic convoys, aerial battles, Pacific convoys, and other items of the moment are depicted in graphic style. TUDOR THEATRE Even though the humour of George I-'ormby may leave some of our American risitors unmoved there is no doubting the i.i.pnkiritv of the Lancashire comedian whit Wellington people. Now transferred to the Tudor. “South American George - is more lavish than Formby’s former productions There are more shapely girls and expensive settings. But he stili has his guitar, his Blackpool accent, nnd bis flair for putting over songs as only George Fonnbv can. A song that has already found its wav over the air in Wellington one of the highlights of the show —‘The Barmaid at the Rose, and Crown.” There are other people in the show —veteran Jhdd Stamp Taylor among them-—but it is Formby’s from start to finish.. John’ Howard and Lucile Fairbanks are the stars of the second lilm, “The Mau Who Returned to Life.”

OPERA HOUSE The cinema off-noises which accompanied Bette Davis’s ehooting of a neighbouring plantation owner in J.he Letter must have rivalled the general hullabaloo which greeted the arrival of the Japs in Singapore: natives jabbered and screamed cocks crowed, children yelled, and eten the moon had a noisy, brassy brightness But the occasion was important lor the murder with which the Picture opens- an honest-to-goodness murder with six pul lets tracing a pattern down the victim s splne-ls the focal point of the whole plot 'Tiiis is one of Somerset Maugham s most macabre studies in refined murder or the delineation of it. The lovely wife> of tt plantation owner in Malaya Is co ” fr °. nt ? d one evening by a neighbour whose chota pegs have been one over the eight. He tells her she has beautiful eyes (no O'er* statement tills!), that she has the loveliest hands in Singapore and then proceeds to turn his fond words into actions. The woman nicks up a revolver and snoots, shoots again, and finally empties the w’hole barrel into the stumbling, tortured heap that falls, from the bungalow steps. The husband returns from the far end of the plantation, the law, very suave and nice, arrives and the wife makes “7 explanations. But justice is jusfice and she must go to Singapore to make more formal exPla Everyone’s sympathy goes out to the woman, but a letter turns up,> a letter"written by the wife to the murdered. Her counsel buys the leHerand buvs her freedom. But all is not finished, and the story ends w th the death of the wife as the moon gives way to the sun above the brooding hills of Mala3 ‘‘The Letter” is a remarkable film, as remarkable in 1912 as It was in 1928 when the late Jeanne -Bagels made - the first screen version. The producer has faithfully captured the oppressive atmosphere of the tropics and the moods of the P. e °P[ e who make their living . tr °J u Bette Davis gives an admirable performance in a story which calls for every ounce of her acting ability if the audience is to -believe this somewhat fantastic tale. Somerset Maugham is always theatrical and never more so than in ’The Letter. But Miss Davis has brought -the theme to a plane-of reality, no mean task. PLAZA THEATRE , • Merle Oberon looked downright pathetic and unconvincing as the aged Ly<ha 1“ the film of that name; Barbara Stanwyck failed too, to portray , age in The Great Man’s Lady”: in .fact, one is growing a trifle tired of having our most glamorous stars turning up as dear old doilderers complete with, wrinkles and dowager s hump in Reel One, and all too ready to recall the indiscretions and high moUl ßut °“Kemember the Day,” which opened most successfully at the Plaza vesterdav, pulls off the flash-back trick very well. Claudette Colbert, whom the audience meets at a Presidential banquet, does not strain one’s credulity. She is no reedy-voiced, wrinkled ancient— merely dons' a pair of spectacles a sensd ’ “ hat and a matronly costume. But her memories, as conveyed on the screen, not go back too far; to the last war, in fact, a period which many of us with unfading hair and sprightly limbs can still remember quite clearly. „ Claudette Colbert and John Payne are fellow teachers at a high school tn the early years of the Great War. Among the pupils s is I fly little chap with a passion for building boats and a calf-love for the attractive Miss Colbert. The two teachers go off on the summer vacation and indulge in those wild hilarities that employed nice people 25 years ago—hectic games of croquet, restrained tobogganing and swims in costumes decently “neck to knee. neighbours gossip as they rock on their porches and the whole scene is invested with a gentle sense of melancholy. The hero gains a commission in the Koval Canadian Engineers, wearing bls full uniform even on a slelgli-ride, goes to France and does not come back. Jhe heroine is left with little reward for her long years of service, but the sense or work well done and the satisfaction of seeing , her favourite pupil as a candidate for the Presidency (One might suspect, from his youthful appearance, that the candidate that year was recruited from among the senior men at Harvard.) “Remember the Day” is a very good film of its kind. The people in It behave like human beings and—which is. rarer than one might imagine in the cinema—like human beings in love. Not all of us have taught Shakespeare to Presidential candidates, but there are few of us who have not experienced the simple and joyous moments that this film compels us to • remember. DE LUXE THEATRE Among the few good things that have come out of Japan are a number of proverbs, one of which says that, if you take a bucket of water out of the ocean, you can’t expect to find the hole still there. When Marie Dressier died the world said that Tugboat Annie had died too. But no—the hole has been filled by Marjorie Rambeau, a rascally Amazon as loveable as the famous Marie. “Tugboat Annie Sails Again’ began at the De Luxe on Thursday and the big house showed that filmgoers still- retain a soft spot for the rip-roaring friendship of Annie and Bullwinkle. Incidentally this is a Warner Brothers’ film. So is ‘The Letter,” which opened at the Opera House last night, making the first time in more than 12 months that this company has released two important attraction in Wellington in the same week. Annie is still the captain of the most disreputable craft on the sea; her heart is still in the right place and her tongue can still lick lackadaisical Bullwinkle into some sort of shape. Alan Hale plays the part made famous by Wallace Beery and Ronald Reagan arid-Jane Wymaq. round off the cast of a comedy that is more than the usual froth and bubble. Little did J. Edgar Hoover know what he was starting when, given an open ticket bv President Roosevelt, he named, his crime-chasers G-Men. Hollywood seized eagerly on the idea and since those early days the world has been treated to films innumerable on the sleuthing qualities or this famous American force. The latest is “Federad Bullets,” second on the programme at the De Luxe. It is all about wealthy gangsters who lead double lives, but they aren’t slick enough to beat the G-Men, "not by a long chalk. Milburn Stone and Terry Walker are the stars. PARAMOUNT THEATRE There is no taint of war about ii, ami yet “The Vanishing Virginian” gives the man in the street a better idea of the democracy we are struggling for than all the great war “epics”—the roar of huge bombers, the marching millions, the death and heroism of men under arms, these things are not a part of the Ilves of Mr. ami Mrs. Everyman, unpatriotic as it may seem to admit it. Put the.essential decency of Captain Yancey, his wife and family, find a ready echo in our own hearts. Here are the things we are fighting forborne, children, neighbourly kindness, family love, industry—tile ultimate happy peace that keeps our feet resolutely on the hard road of war. - The Paramount lias done wisely . m bringing this excellent film back to Wellington for another season. Frank Morgan plays Yancey, the man whose Ute has been a model of devotion and good humour. Ho runs for Congress and holds his seat through many elections. But al. last he is supplanted by a younger man and accepts the people's choice witli seasoned sense. Life has taught him how to be a good loser. There is nothing spectacular about “The Vanishing Virginian ; it is full and satisfying entertainment of a kind that the cinema gives us far too seldom Other members of the cast include Kathryn Grayson and Spring Byington. „ ~ Zasu Pitts and Koger Pryor ar c the stars of the other film, “Sos J our Aunt Emma.” It. is as Important as its title. ALREADY REVIEWED Majestic Theatre.—Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon and a score of the bonniest babies the screen has ever seen continue to attract record crowds to “Blossoms in the Dust. The story of Edna Gladney, the Texas woman who turned a life that held more tragedy than most into something spiritual, practical and inspiring, is told with an economy of sentiment that places this among one of the foremost films of the year. St. James Theatre.—Cecil B. de Mille rises to the occasion of his thirtieth anniversary of film-making with “Reap the Wild Wind.” which is playing a glad tune at the box office. John Wayne. Paillette Goddard and Ray .Milland lend Mr. do Mille noble heln in making this the most spectacular, colourful, lusty picture the screen lias seen for a long time. M ith feeling can one say to the producer—many happy returns. State Theatre.—West Point, Broadway, some patriotic songs (notable among them “Uncle Sam Gets A round" J. Caro] Landis and George Montgomery all help to turn “Cadet Girl" into a cheerful, amusing piece of propaganda. Also on the programme is “Sundown .llm,” which stars a new cowboy star with the unusually Oxford name

of John Kimbrough. Hut Hollywood will probably change all that. state Theatre, Vetono.-But a distant relation of Ihe operetta conceived by Strauss and Bernard Shaw, M.G.M.'s ' Choeolate Soldier” nevertheless gives Nelson Lild.i the best acting opportunity lie has had since -Naughty Marietta.” Petone this weekend will 'make the acquaintance too of Eddy’s new leading lady, Rise Stevens of the Metropolitan Opera. She has a splen. did voice. SUBURBAN THEATRES Kinema (Kilbirnie).—"Aloma of the South Seas.” Dorothy Lamotir, Jon Hall, “The Doctor and the Debutante, Lew tyres. Lionel Barrymore. Capitol (Miramar)—"The l !n »le Sounds, Wallace Beery, Marjorie Main; Ihe black Sheep of Whitehall,” Mill Hay. Rivoli (Newtown).—“Turned Out Mee Again” George Porniby: “'file Strange Case of Dr. RN,” Lionel Atwill, Patrie Knowles. ... . ~ Vogue (Brooklyn).—“Ladies in Retirement.” Ida Lupine, Louis Hayward; “Mr. Bug Goes to Town " . Prince Edward (Woburn).-- Hold o )l -*“ the Hawn,” Charles Boyer. Paulette Goddard; “Sing for Your Supper,” Kenny Baker, Charter; Buddy Kogers. Regal (Ktirori).—"Babes on Broadway. Mickey Roonev, Judy Garland; 'Blonde F Oe , I mxe ! ‘!’Lower l-lutt).-“Call Out the Marines,” Victor MeLaglen, Edmund Lowe- "Tlie Parson of Panamlnt, Charles Ruggles. Ellen Drew „ Ancofc (Newtown). — Sinihn Ihrongh, Teiinettc MacDonald, Brian Alierne; "Rio,” Basil Rathbone, Victor MeLaglen. King George I Lower Hutt).— Little Foxes,” Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall. Tivoli (Thorndoul. — 'Wutlieriug Heights.” Laurence Olivier. Merle Oberon : "Powder Town." Victor MeLaglen. Edmond O'Brien. „ Empire (Island Bay).— Ibe Fleets 11l ; "Design For Scandal,” Walter Pidgeon, Rosalind Bussell