OCTAGON

Evening Star, Issue 22456, 29 September 1936, Page 11

OCTAGON

Jessie Matthews makes a fine gentleman in ‘ First a Girl,’ the film now at the Octagon. The star is seen in the guise of a man, and a great deal of fun results from her efforts to live up to the new role. Strong double brandies and hefty cigars have never been Jessie’s strong suit, but on this occasion she tackles them with a zest that would do credit to the toughest “ heman.” The results, however, are tern porarily disastrous for the masquerader.and it is with the greatest of difficulty that Sonny Hale, her abettor in the littlo comed3 - , manoeuvres her down a long corridor to her room after a heavy night out with some of the boys. Jessie in her smart suits is something to chuckle at and admire. In the evening, when she floats on to the stage, she is a vision of femininity as the cen-

tral figure of half a hundred dancing girls, who make a fantastically moving background for the principal danseuse. After successful appearances in opera on the radio, and in concerts, Nino Martini makes his debut on the screen in ‘ Here’s to Romance,’ which is also showing. In the cast which supports Martini are Genevieve” Tobin, , Anita Louise, Madame Ernestine SchumannHeink, Reginald Denny, Maria Gambarelli, and Vincente Escudero. The hectic caTeer of Martini, who as a young singer is sent to Paris by Miss Tobin, is the principal theme of the film.