REGENT THEATRE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 52, 24 November 1937, Page 11

REGENT THEATRE

"THE ROAD BACK." "The Road Back, ' ' Erich Maria Remarque's sequel to the famous story, "All Quiet on the Western Frout," will be shown at the Regent Theatre to-night, "All C^uiet on the Western Front ' ' was a story of the iight in ihe trenches, but "The Road Pack ' ; tells in an equally dramatic and vivid fashion the story of the iight that the three heroes had to make on their return. to a civilian world. In preparing the novel for the screen, R. C. Sheriff, author of "Journey.'s End," collaborated with Remarque, and the result is a iilm which retains all the power oi ihe story, with its effectiveness heightened by brilliant photography and direction. So vividly did the author depiet the grimness of post-war Germany that he was exiled, but the purpose of his booa was not merely to expose the conditions of his own land but to show from his personal knowledge the effect that wai has on humanity. Albert, the shy, likeable youth who had gone to the war, returns to find that a war proflteer has been paying attentions to his fiancee. He shoots the man, with less compunction than he had shot his enemies in the war, and cannot understand why he is tried for murder when he had reason for his deed. Other episodes m tKe story are presented in an equally poignant fashion. The leading roles in the picture are taken by John King, Richard Cromwell, Slim Summerville and Andy Devine, while Barbara Read has the chief feminine part.