COSY THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 December 1940, Page 2

COSY THEATRE

“SPY FOR A DAY.” ! Paramount’s latest British production, “Spy for a Day,” which will open at the Cosy Theatre tonight, introduces Duggie Wakefield, the wellknown comedian, to the screen in a new guise. Under the direction of Mario Zampi, who also produced the picture, Wakefield is seen in his new vehicle as a human individual with a definite appeal to the emotions. Zampi has treated him not as a mere lay figure for comedy, but made his a young man with a believable character and a vein of pathos. The story of “Spy for a Day” has a war-time setting and a close connection with present-day events. Duggie is seen as Sam Gates, a country youth whose simple character makes him the butt of his village.. War comes and Sam falls into the hands of the enemy. He has a series of exciting adventures, and by the time he returns to the village, having faced death from a firing squad oh more than one occasion, he is no longer the fool of the village, but a person of considerable importance. “Down Went McGinty,” the associate picture, marks the elevation of Donlevy to stardom and of Sturges to a writer-directorship. Featured with Donlevy, the McGinty of the piece, is Akim Tamiroff, in the role of “The Boss,”-dictator of an American political empire. The supporting cast is headed by Muriel Angelas, Steffi Duna, William Demarest, - Harry Rosenthal, Thurston Hall, Richard Carle, Arthur Hoyt, Louis Jean Heydt, Frank Moran and Esther Howard. “Down Went McGinty” is the story of a “man in the street” who is pushed upward by a political machine to the governorship of a state. A rowdy, 1 robust comedy, it moves at brisk pace through situation after hilarious situation.