STATE THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 July 1939, Page 2

STATE THEATRE

“SOUTH RIDING.” Tonight there will be shown at the State Theatre an outstanding picture that has packed theatres wherever it has been shown—" South Riding.” A realistic section of representative English life is finely brought to the screen in the Alexander Korda production, “South Riding.” adapted from the famous novel by Winifred Holtby. Wherever it has been shown overseas, the film has met with wide acclaim, and critics rate it as one of the 10 finest pictures ever made. Sincere, realistic acting creates living characters, and firm direction builds up the drama from a succession of strong, varied incidents. Typical Yorkshire scenery, presented without emphasis, gives the story an authentic natural background. The strength and fascination of this first-rate film lie in the extreme probability of its plot. It is likely enough that somewhere in England today a proud squire is struggling against financial difficulties to keep his estate intact, that an idealistic councillor is striving to improve local housing conditions; that other councillors are intent on making profits for themselves out of his scheme; and that a brilliant child is forced to leave school to look after a bereaved family. This picture is gripping, surely balanced and everything that the words “typically British,” used in the best sense, should stand for. Ralph Richardson’s unforced portrait of the strong-willed, greatly-troubled squire is very near to perfection. Edna Best makes a successful return as the schoolmistress who shares a pathetic and tender romance with the squire, and Edmund Gwenn is superb as a hypocritical councillor.