STATE THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 May 1940, Page 2

STATE THEATRE

a “THE NIGHT OF THE FIRE.”

Two extraordinarily difficult dramatic roles are filled by Ralph Richardson and Diana Wynyard with complete, and to the audience satisfying, success, in the G.B.D. picture “On the Night of the Fire,” which will be shown tonight at the State Theatre. Richardson is well known to picturegoers for his recent triumphs in “Clouds Over Europe” and “The Citadel,” and Diana Wynyard has an international reputation on both stage and screen. Both principals add to their laurels in the film “On the Night of the Fire,” which shows with powerful effect the breaking down of a man’s character after he has committed' a theft and then a murder. Richardson is shown as a barber leading a respectable life in a typical English riverside town, with his wife, Diana Wynyard. He succumbs to temptation to steal, and a draper (Henry Oscar) to whom his wife pays some of the stolen money, blackmails him and is murdered for it. This tragedy of family life takes place against the background of the daily life of England’s lower-class workers, the faithful atmosphere of the picture enhancing the realism of the story. The supports include a striking pictorial record of the second naval action at Narvik. Following a vivid impression of warships on patrol in the stormy North Sea, the calm waters of the great fiord make a striking contrast. The water is seen dotted with warships and transports, and the havoc created among the German shipping by the British destroyers is indicated by stranded and sunken ships. The photography, as one would expect, is not perfect, but it is perhaps all the more effective for that. This is a powerful introduction to a new type of war- news reporting. “INSPECTOR HORNLEIGH.” The change of programme tomorrow night will be headed by “Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday,” a mystery story in which the leading roles are taken by Gordon Harker, Alastair Sim and Linder Travers. The second feature will be another of those outstanding Jones Family comedies, “Too Busy To Work.”