GRAND THEATRE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 135, 30 January 1932, Page 6

GRAND THEATRE

.0 ove TO-NIGHT Bristling with hair-raising action, jammed with suspense and eleetrie thrills, and skillfully acted by a celebrated cast, James Cruze'sAiew production, "Costello Case" ,at the Grand Theatre, must be set down as a powerfully daramtic talking picture, and one of the best underworld thrillers ever made. So admirably is it put together, that its tense action never lags. It provides gripping scenes, lightened by flashes of genuine humour, and the net result is the kind of screen fare that most fans go to the theatres to ejoy. Not the least important asset of "Costello Case" is its timeliness. Its story is concerned with the baffling murder of a notorious racketeer, and in their attempts to solve it, the police net catches a young couple about to make a getaway at a railway depot. Tom Moore glorifies the IrishAmerican cop in a keen, smiling portrayal of the average patrolman. It is he who takes an interest in the runaway pair, and eventually solves the Costello murder at the risk of nearly being bumped off himself. Lola Lane and Russell Hardie provide the love interest as the youthful elopers, and Miss Lane again astonishes with her brilliant dramatic acting, her splendid speaking voice, and her unusually good loolcs. Hardie registers effeetively as the young culprit who gets a brealc, with Wheeler Oakman turning in a fine characterisation as a typical underworld racketeer.