STATE THEATRE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 54, 26 November 1937, Page 18

STATE THEATRE

"GIRL IN A MILLION,' ' "Girl In a Million" screens final'y to-night. •VirEe entertainment is to be found in ' ' Slave Ship,,, the Twentieth Century Fox, production which is to have its first screenings at the State Theatre to-morrow. The sea forms an impressive back ground for the colourful stor? of the film, which depicts in realistic manner the adventurous days when trafficking in slaves took place on the African coast. Warner Baxter and Wallace Beery are seen.in the principal dramatic roles. Feminine interest is supplied by Elizabeth Allen, while the performance given by the juvenile player Mickey Eooney is of a very high standard. "Slave Ship" is the story of a vessel which seems to be under a curse fr'om the moment of its launching. It is eventually bought by Warner Baxter and with Wallace Beery as his first mate he enters £he , slave traffie. One by one their competitors aro caught and hung, but the profits are so large that they are not deterred. On one of his sojourns on shore, however, the captain meots and marries a charming young lady, portrayed by Elizabeth Allan. He determines to reform, and dismisses his crew with the intention of entering legitimate trading, but the crew refuse to leave and force him to pick up another eargo of slaves. The film is brought to a highlv oxciting climax with the trial of the slave tradors, and in these scenes Elizabeth Allan is responsible for some intensaly convincing dramatic acting. The final sequences of "Slave Ship" are particularly appealing. %