REGENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1068, 4 September 1930, Page 15

REGENT

“SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE” Toojght at the Regent Theatre the final screening will be given of “This Mad World” and its attendant programme. Thrills, suspense, mystery and romance are some of the highlights of Richard Dix’s latest talkie, "Seven Keys to Baldpate.” which will be shown tomorrow, Friday. Dix gives one of the finest performances of his long screen career as Magee, the novelist who meets with mapy adventures while spending the night in a deserted tavern trying to write a novel. The eerie shadows of Baldpate Inn, the howling of the wind outside, and the ominous sound of seven keys turning, one by one, in the lock of the tavern door, all create an atmosphere of mystery that rivets one’s attention on the screen. The surprise ending of the story is one that even the most imaginative minds will not guess. Dix is supported by an unusually strong cast of players, two of whom enact the same roles in the picture that they played in George M. Cohan’s original production of the play in New York more than a decade ago. They are Joseph Allen, and Carleton Macy. “Seven Keys to Baldpate” was adapted to the talking screen by Jane Murfin from Earl Derr Biggers’s story. The personality of Dix, the splendid performances of his supporting cast, the thrilling developments of the plot and the mysterious setting for the action, make this film one of the most intriguing offered for a while.