COSY THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 December 1938, Page 2

COSY THEATRE

BRILLIANT SPY THRILLER. “Secret Agent,” Gaumont-British offering, stars Madeleine Carroll, Peter Lorre, John Gielgud, and Robert Young, and will be screened at the Cosy Theatre tonight. “Secret Agent” is a gripping adaptation of Somerset Maugham’s “Ashenden,” and is the story of a secret serviceman who sets out to thwart a German spy during the Great War. Fluent staging swings the action from London to the Swiss Alps, thence to mid-Europe, where suspenseful events culminate in a realistic train smash, following bombing by British ’planes. A piquant romantic slant and deft comedy touches relievo the engrossing canvas of espionage. The tragic element enters with the cold-blooded killing of a suspected spy, ultimately revealed to be innocent. The cast is brilliant, and the stars do their work excellently. Peter Lorre obviously reveals in his “Hairless Mexican.” His performance is, as usual, within the realms of genius.. John Gielgud is a very good-looking Ashenden, and he acts with splendid restraint. Robert Young, visiting Hollywood star, is the German spy. Madeleine Carroll completely justifies her big reputation, as Ashenden’s associate. A very interesting piece of casting is the presence of Percy Marmont as “Caypor,” the suspect, who has as screen ” “wife” that brilliant actress, Florence Kahn, who adds just that accuracy to the dramatic scenes in which she appears, that marks the difference between reality and “good acting.” “Secret Agent” is one of the biggest things that Gaumont-British has ever done. The chief supporting feature is “She Shall Have Music,” with Claude Dampier and June Clyde in the leading rotas.