Uses Familiar Theme To Quite Good Effect

Radio Record, 22 July 1938, Page 26

Uses Familiar Theme To Quite Good Effect

["Sinners in Paradise," Universal. Directed by James Whale. With Madge Evans, John Boles, Bruce Cabot. First release: Christchurch, duly 29.] ’

OR the purpose of providing some quite interesting melodrama and comedy, "Sinners in Paradise" uses the rather familiar device of the assorted cargo of passengers in an airliner who are catapaulted on to a tropic island and left to fight things out among themselves. As their civilised veneer is chipped off, their true natures are re vealed and they become very different People. Crooks turn out to be heroes, : the richest girl jn the world hag to peel potatoes, and nobody listens to the rantings of the former politician. Difficult Ending T’S been done before, but Director James Whale manages to make more than you. might expect from his ma-

terial, assisted ‘by several competent players and hampered a little by one or two poor ones. The sequerice of the airliner coming down in the storm is excellent, exciting melodrama; and thereafter the story keeps going nicely until the final scenes, when it just fizzles out with the castaways returning to take the punishments that civilisation has in store, Still, it’s only fair to say that I can’t really think of a better ending myself, in view of the present rule of the screen that justice must always triumph. 7 Was It Indigestion? ADGE EVANS gets stellar billing and proves herself worthy of it. Not so John Boles. I can’t think why Hollywood perseveres with the effort to make him into a dramatic actor. Here he is cast as the one white inhabitant of the island on which the plane crashes- g fugitive from justice, morose but noble. At least, that’s what he’s supposed to be; but when he is desperately striving to express deep emotion he looks to me more like a man in the throes of stomach-ache, ‘However, M7. Boles’s portrayal of a tortured soul is probably worth enduring for the sake of the good performances by Madge Evans, Bruce Cabot, Marion Martin, Gene Lockhart and one or two others, and because of the exciting and amusing, though somewhat artificial, atmosphere. ; In this picture, as in others, I. was interested to note that there is apparently a special providence which PAPLPTITITESTTTTLTITATETTTETATITITITITTTITITTTITTTTTTTTTTT TT TTT TTT TTT

watches over a screen heroine’s wardrobe When she is cast away on a desert island. Madge Evans escaped from the plane crash with only the clothes she stood up in-yet a few scenes later was observed disporting herself in quite a natty swim suit! Guitry Play PLANS are now.well ahead with Walter Wanger’s next production, ‘The Illusionist," which will star Charles Boyer, "The Illusionist," which the celebrated playwright. and scennrist Hdward Child Carpenter is now acapting for the screen from Sacha Guitry’s famous play, will present Charles Boyer as a college professor. :