PERSONALITIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 June 1938, Page 13

PERSONALITIES

BINNIE BARNES—featured in “Broadway Melody of 1938,” was born in London, on March 26th. She became a night club dancer and then went on the stage as a feminine Will Rogers, wearing cowboy clothes and spinning a rope. With this act she toured South Africa and other distant cities. She then decided to go i'.i for the legitimate stage and appeared in “Silver Tassie” with Charles Laughton. She next appeared in Chariot’s Revue, and in 1931 in the English movie, “A Night in Montmartre,” and followed this with a series of 26 comedies. Aften ten months in “Cavalcade” she appeared in “Counsellor’s Opinion.” In 1934 she came to Hollywood to score in “There’s Always To-, morrow” and followed with “Gift of Gab,” “Small Town Girl” and “Three Smart Girls.”

“IN OLD CHICAGO.” In the sprawling, rickety slum quarter of Chicago in 1871, a cow belonging to the Widow O’Leary kicked over a lantern into some straw. This, according to popular legend, was the origin of the great fire which wiped out Chicago. For 25 blistering, awe-inspir-ing minutes terrific conflagration flares from the screen, ranking with the earthquake in “San Francisco” as a record of major disaster. Fire-engines plunge through the streets of the doomed city; with futile streams of water men battle against the advancing wall of flame; the lawless element begins to riot; and the cattle in the great stockyards break loose and charge in maddened flight toward the river. All through the picture one waits for this fiery climax, and when it comes it is not disappointing. But expectations should not unduly dull appreciation of the human story that precedes the holocaust. It is the story of the O’Leary family, their conflicts and contrasts. Tyrone Power and Don Ameche

are the O’Leary brothers, the former a wild but fascinating 19th century racketer, the latter an honest, idealistic young crusader. Dominating the O’Leary family just as she dominates the whole story is Alice Brady in the role of the fine, out-spoken Irishwoman who carries on dauntlessly to rear her family after the death of her husband in the first reel. This is the role that won Alice Brady the Academy Award for the best supporting performance of 1937 —and well she deserved the honour. The two other characters in the film to be noted are Alice Faye, singing, flirting, and occasionally serious in the part of Belle Fawcett, the music-hall entertain whose romance with Tyrone Power proceeds on somewhat unorthodox lines, and Brian Donlevy, the political boss who runs foul of Tyrone Power's soaring ambition.

Jackie’s father (examining arithmetic book): “What’s this? Most of the sums are marked “Mae West.” Jackie: "Oh, that only means ‘I done ’em wrong.’ ”