MIRTH, MELODY, AND BEAUTY

Evening Star, Issue 21748, 16 June 1934, Page 20

MIRTH, MELODY, AND BEAUTY

• ROMAN SCANDALS ' AT THE REGENT For mirth, melody, spectacle, and originality, 1 Homan Scandals ’ will surely go down as one of the year’s greatest achievements. The goggle-eyed comedian Eddie Cantor puts much fun and frolic into his latest, outbreak for. United Artists, which entertained a big audience at tno Regent Theatre last, night. The antics of tEdipus Cantones among the glories that were Rome (or would have been had Samuel Goldwyn and his, chorus girls been on the scene in something n.c) are a wonder to behold and cause merriment galore. Wisely believing in quality rather than quantity, Cantor makes only one picture a year and each is recognised as something to look forward to with the greatest of expectations. Cantor has never disappointed the public, because ho makes sure that every one of his shows contains everything the public "wants in the way of entertainment. If anything, ‘ Roman Scandals ’ is more spectacular than its predecessors—it is certainly just as funny. The whole show has been most lavishly mounted, the various scenes in Rome (ex Hollywood) being in particular a triumph of the producer’s art. There is_ one eyetilling scene of many of America’s most lovely girls—mainly blondes—being sold in tho slave-market; and there is-'an-other in the women’s bathing quarters of the Imperial Palace, that presents tho Goldwyn girls in a song and dance sequence during which Eddie singsabout love and beauty. These are scenes of tho typo which are put on for the benefit of the tired business man and which have tho effect of waking him up completely. The dressing or rather the lack of it—-in these scenes is a feature of the show. Nobody will worry much about tho story when the girls are not filling the picture attention is concehtx-ated on the efrervescene of Eddie who falls in and out of a variety of trouble and always comes up smiling. As a grocery boy in West Rome, Oklahoma, he is turned out of town through upsetting the mayor’s unscrupulous P? an ®J n °°“ dreams himself back into Ancient Romo in the days when Valerius wore the Imperial robes and ground the noses o! the plebs while the. Empress Agnppa plotted to bump him off Eddie is Bold as a slave, rescued by a friend of the people (David Manners), threatened with torture, appointed official foodtaster to the Emperor—a 30b that >s never held by the same person for more than about two, bours-.m-olvcd m a plot to save a beautiful British .slave (Gloria Stuart) from his royal master, chased out of the women’s toilet rooms and finally out of Ancient Rome back to West Rome, Oklahoma where he succeeds in proving that the mayor of that town is the counterpart of Valerius, who enriched himself at the people s expense. Eddie’s exit from the Imperial" City is the funniest thing on record, beside being even more thrilling than the chariot race in ‘ Ben Hur. Build a Little Home ’ is tho outstanding song of several bright ones in the film. It

was being whistled and bummed by a goodly number of patrons as they left the Regent. . ... . 4 Roman Scandals ’ is supported by a really excellent list of “ shorts,” including a new Walt Disney Silly Symphony in colour. This is entitled ‘ The China Shop ’ and is remarkable for the beauty of its pastel shadings.: