It Triumphs In Three Directions

Radio Record, Volume IX, Issue 15, 18 October 1935, Page 24

It Triumphs In Three Directions

"Les Miserables" Made Great by the Direction of Zanuck and. the Acting of Laughton and March — "Thirty-Nine Steps" Shows Donat as Greatest Screen "Find" of Last Five Years.

VERY, ‘now: and then. those. people who: dub :the. talkies as. sc :much receive’ a -seyere shock. "Les Miserables" ig. destined ‘to be ‘the latest and the’ biggest bump to-their-superior complacency.. To. say that-. Darryl] Zanuck,: the. producer, has excelied him. self, is.an- admission that this must be the. greatest, picture -of: the-year. , Yet it, would be: ‘petty. to suggest that this génius, has ever made ag better film. In three directions he had high-class materia] to work, on: .Victor: Hugo’s story of. the injustice of French justice: of the-period, Charles. Laughton and Bred: vie. March are the three.. ‘After; a; private screening of the talkie version of "Les Miserables" last -week in. Wellington, I felt that: to ‘mention either, Laughton or:Maréh. first would be:: ‘unfair to"the other, for élthough both men‘ are’ seen in two of’ the ieast spéctacular-of.their:many- screen roles, they make the picture the ' greatest either: has 'béen in ‘by sheer ‘artistry. So splendidly. do they play ‘in "Les Miserables," indeed; that I am not: looking forward to ‘seeing. them in other films which: might disappoint ‘in’ comparison wv with this production, ‘The story ig one of unremitting Vigilance’ on'the part’ of Jean Valjean (Fredric March) to avoid’ the* brutal dutifulness-of ‘Inspector J avert’ (Charles Laughton). After his ten’ ‘years in a. galley for-the-theft: of-a-loaf of bread, Valjean: fails to report: to ‘the’ police during the. -years.of his probation: instead. of ‘which-he establishes himself in a ‘prosperous and «respectable business He adopts the little daughter of an-em-. ployee who dies,.but Javert, who .knew him .in- the galleys, gets on his trail, and he is forced to forsake his hardearned comfort fora. position as gar: dener"in: the. convent to which-he has . entrusted the' girl’s education. The

third. phase of: his life is. spent.in Paris, with the grown Cosette his main inter-est-in ‘life. But again Javert, slave to duty, finds him out, and from here the picture climbs to a climax go perfectly dramatised that it is literally breathtaking, . March has the burden of many of: appearance and fortune to carry, and he does. it so convincingly that one. mentally smiles with- him and weeps for. him. Altogether, Laughton ‘has a stronger part to play, for he is’ unassisted by ‘changes of clothing, beards or résidences. He has two parts to play. in reality, for he is occasionally © just plain Javert, son: of a convict, but determined to .be none the worse for that.. But his heart is absolutely minus.where duty to the police regulations is concerned.. He is, in this role,. a greater monster than "Frankenstein" could ever hope to be,.for instead-of the suggestion of physical violence, his strength lies-in. his power. to cause men‘tal.anguish and horrible-fear of worse than death.- Laughton’s mobility of : features. is well enough known, but in no previous picture has he used his gift to such advantage. The only pity of it is that some people who have apparently had a surfeit of cheap melodrama have. had their wits dulled :o a fine . effort, at pure-drama, to judge by unconsidered titters with which one or two scenes were received by-some at this screening. ‘Sir Cedric’ Hardwicke is also in the cast, and hundreds of extras. provided: lively and‘ striking backgrounds. tothe main theme. ft takes«a. pretty big crowd to make Auckland's Civic Theatre look anyWhere. near full (it holds more than 3000). but at-no time during the season of the -Gaumont-British. film, "The Thirty-nine Steps," did the theatre wear that-deserted look that means "business

-medium to poor." Auckland -liked the film adaptation of John" Buchan’s | novel, and well it should, for, in .the opinion of this reviewer, "The. Thirtypine Steps" is one of the sincerest and finest films to come from an: English studio, It opens in-a London music pall, a riotous, rollicking place wiry lots of naughty songs (although -tk censor has seen to the morals of. the » picture-goer), and drinking’in the bar at the back of the. hall, It goes to a London. flat, where a murder is committed, tothe Flying Scotsman, with some magnificent "shots" on the Forth Bridge, to the. Scottish highlands. with authentic mist and rusbing streams, ° to Glasgow and finally back to London. Robert Donat is Richard Hannay, the central figure in the story-and -he’s the greatest. "find" in the iast five years of film history. Madeleine Carroll lends him good support. Don’t take any no tice of the people who say that she didn’t play her part well. It is unsympathetic to a certain extent, and she gauged its possibilities and demands. to a nicety. One. of the most.impressive players in the smaller roles was Peggy Ashcroft in the role of Margaret, the crofter’s wife. "The Thirty-nine Steps" is the sort of entertainment we want’ more of, : {JPon completion of Paramount's "Rose of the Rancho," Gladys. Swarthout will appear opposite Jan Kiepura in the latter’s first American film, "Song of the Nile." Miss Swarthout will then return to the Metropolitar. Opera to remain in New York until] next April, when additional films are planned for her.. THE first of the two musicals in which Columbia plans to star An» Sothern during the coming season ‘will be entitled "Moonlight on the River." James Dunn has already been engaged for the leading male part, and. Victor Schertzinger, of "One Night. of Love" anc "Love Me for Forever" fame, ig to direct. The vehicle was adapted. by Wallace Smith from gq story by Harry / B. Smith. . "ON (COLUMBIA announced recently the retention of Jean Arthur featured in a number of its productions during the past two years. to make a series of pictures for the coming, season : Amonz them will be the romantic comedy by Hugh Herbert, "If You Could. . Only Cook," in which she will’ be starred for the first ‘time. poly }{THEL MERMAN, by arrangement ".. With Samuel] Goldwyn, will-be féa‘tured in Paramount’s screen version of the Broadway :musica] comedy'sensn- | tion, "Anything: Goes," starring’ Bing fe. ‘Crosby... a ; } . Full details of the "Radio Record’s" Ehirley Temple-contest on pages 30 ang