King George Theatre

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 12, 14 August 1930, Page 5

King George Theatre

•; The Ship from Shanghai

Extraordinary Film.

Based on the novel T>y famous Austra-

lian Author, Dale Collin?.

Charles Brabiii, who achieved outstanding results with the sctoo i transition of Thornton Wilde's •*■» txrwiiut difficult novel, "The Bridge o; San Luis Roy," has done it , again, this time with the entirely different work of Bale. Collins known in book form as "Ord-eal," ' and now playing at the King George /Theatre under, the nore colourful .title of "The Ship From

Shanghai;''

Although the two productions :rv physically in direr.; contrasts, "The Bridge*' having had for locality the old-world atmosphere of Peru1, while almost "the. entire aetiori. of "The Ship From. Shanghai takes place aboard a small sailing schooner on the Pacific Oe\eaii yet there is a "marked similarity in the psychological content of the two Stories in. the rupect that in each case. Brabiu has created of a, small

group of persons. In the AVilder vehicle i>h-G reactions of the various individuals were precipitated by different causes but resulted in the same end, namely,, death on the falling bridge; in "The Ship Prom Shanghai,'' however, the cause is the same, namely, the mutiny and subsequent water shoa-bago aboaa-d the yacht, but the various- reactions oil: thp part of the passengers are entirely different.

Brabin has eiiphasised this in developing the plot, showing by his own peeuiiar camera ingenuity.., close-ups of the various individuals and the manner in which their true cha'rae-ters are TiTQUghr out by the crisis. The work of ilevelopinw t>hc fiuef aspects of the stories aided" by the splendid performances of the east. Louis Wbtheini, as the half -mad steward who leads the mutiny and by controlling the water supply yields a demoniacal power over the passengers, gives a tremendously ■eJDSective portrayal. Other admirable roles are played by Conrad Nagel and Kay Johnson as ah engaged couple, Holmes Herbert as the of the yacht, Carmel Myers- as his;wife, Zefiie -Tilbury as '•"'the" 4 romew2iat" naive I^ady Daley, Ivan Linow. as the Swedish, cook, and .Tack McDonald, Pietro Gentile,. Henry Armetta, Al MeQuarrie iiaa<l Flowd Shackelford as members of the crew.