ST. JAMES

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 942, 8 April 1930, Page 15

ST. JAMES

“THE ARGYLE CASE” “In llio Argyle Case,” screened to large and most appreciative audiences at the St. Janies Theatre again last evening, Warner Brothers present the cver-vpopular screen star, Thomas MeigVntn, in his first all-talking picture play. In this enthralling mystery story, which grips one’s interest and keeps the audience guessing right to the very end, Thomas Meighan appears as a master-detective, au fait with all the wiles of the criminal classes, keenly following up every clue, and at last laying the murderer by the heels. The problem he sets himself to solve is: AWio killed the noted millionaire, John Argyle, as he tried to telephone the police for protection? And an additional problem for the audience is: Why is a beautiful suspect spirited away while both Press and public clamour for her conviction? The evidence and the clues surrounding the death of John Argyle present a most tangled skein, the unravelling of which seems well nigh an absolute impossibility. Complications follow one another thick and fast, and it is probable that no more exciting murder story than “The Argyle Case” has ever been filmed. But the greatest of criminal investigators addresses himself to his task with grim determination. Step by step, by deductive reasoning and using the most up-to-date scientific methods, he unravels the mystery and brings the crime home to the murderer. An excellent show on its own is presented in the first half of the programme. There are selections by the Mexican Tipica Orchestra., amusing trick violin playing by Frank Whitman, songs and music by the Four Aristocrats, and original songs at the piano by Lynn Cowan. The best item is the singing of the celebrated operatic tenor. Signor Benjamino Gigli, whose glprious voice was heard at its best in a scene from “La Gioconda.”