By A. K. "The Fountain"
G(-)OD fare fox high and lowbrows, in one programme-at the Plaza M London„ The P ti n ntaw, the fl lin verSion Of Charles Morgan's novel, tollowS closely its original ll you enjoy the rather ellola.ted, line-spun philosophic-at and psychological subtleties ot the hook, you will rind them vary subtly sh wn on the eare.en, li you get a certain sense or unsaListaction and impatience from the book you will get it even more from the plc:1+1re ve• Tr sbr story begins with the internment. in Holland during Me war, Of Brittee army officers. There are good seines in Ills inleinincid camp Iv!) en it plan of esea.pcs by Itienelling is devised and
purtly execithet. . .
'1'110 officers ale next put on parole and quartered in various places, Lewis Altson (plaN•ed by Brian Aherne) Iteing sent to a. Hutrh country house whet.: Julie Inlayed by Arm Harding', a childhood's friend and now marrfed to a German ;It; the front, is Itivinti; with relatives. Life is complicated for her by divided loyalties. The husband comes home a cripple. There are threc-corned 'philosophileal discussions on life and the nature of unpossessive love and kindred themes; the wife's confession to her husband Ii her love far kiwis and ids impersonel acceptance or i tio col re &glop; untidy the husband's dears; and then the friend, kinking theamy, iornmenting on the beauty or all II:Ln:ish spring, with the implication that ultimately that will be a back groan. for his owe. and hapset
"1 DON'T BELIEVE IT:"
I have not a finely enough temperee intelligences to apprec.tate flle people llies 11 101 with their ineidel alta subtleties. I Mid Omit queer hattwasehou.se I:Teat:tires; 1101 nOnebt flesh and blood, and not enough disembodied spirits to he angels. My reitetion is, triunity, that lir 1110 sinalt child confronted with u "I just don't believe it." \\len love gets to the pitch of impersonate y that it does with the huthand In this Illni it seems unlikely that it Sk (mid persist in a refrigerated state or suspended animation. It would, it Seoills, Miter resolve itself tnto a tremendous spiritual .perception and the percipient would chuck away eiitirely transtent for the eternal H I it become a saint: or the emotion would eitriophy end he would become cold mutton. think that is what fie does.
The film all tire. same Is very welt worth seeing, because il, makes you
wonder ;red speculate, and you will
thud so ti lying the extraordinarily, sensitive interpretation (It the sbaractors by the principal piayers. BriarX Aherne, Paul Lukas, itial Ann II riling gave more realigy to the rharacters than they intrinsically possess. The 1111001 L hi=11'41CLey6, tut), are wen east.
"Car 99"
TO 111311with 91.[torn introverT1
1041U1I412. \trun
vi'L-arici very,
This 11110 is it laughlog streak all
gengsf.fsild••iit fttot,istiti-. the .11 er gait :stale Pointe sleuth cyan,: JII /i!1ik.1y. rat-, 11111e,i lie:kr:ass here, mid cruets give, them a good rim for thrse pettot. yeung Fred elticMuseiy-suspetitied from the torce 10r nuseng man--. held, up, egged On by ies, less:el-eyed girt Friend, 1hie. e hole ettr-lied 031 Damn's, 1..Miug a Hying trapeze ;cep from ;1 mutor-Ineyele to achieve ii. Ile gels the A l'ulaess of the lIanLiji gaeg, ;le disiorai.!Vti.5. bY. SI!" Illy tithlid Lll Aizir.,1 i.i mbert. wit.) plays Nan, the gangsters' helping liand, is net the listen I 110 y good looks and nothing else found tri most thrillers. S:1-le has good looks in Plenty, hilt she has Os well init-iligence atrhteinglayaLl ilitiliftidthere is fascinatesIII iltie him5 shoe-lug of the men!, of a./1 Amerman ponce fa' the detention and purstianee crlme-a.n. Ideal Home eltiotency about eve/ell-tees-arid littings .rateulated, you would think, to pal any crimnal on his job. But then you see also tile gangsters* rontrol-switenes an over: 1.11e• dash-board to give nen-srOp (hanging ...e number mates. :send out obscuring smoke screens, and other devices for pulling j115t,1re off this triTilceiaLtly, the cars we see aft the motor show are -very unima.glnalitive and behind the tunes .with their gadget-S.
"Les Miserable.?'
VIEWED 13y M. B.
MR.W. P. LIPSCOMB made ii gallaill and, on the whole, successful attempt to deal with the wealth of Metdent and detail of Victor Hugo's 7.es efts erables, and he was successful largely because he dii not try to deal with all of it.
lie took just as much cif it as was necessary to preserve rqutirillity and make a good eLory. Thin he took just a little bit more, relying on a firstrate producer kind a superb cast to produce IL picture the; would last two hours and hold the audience to the last" shot, `there are flows, but it would be char, litsh to dwell 011 them when there Li mush to uraitit. From the first shots-the French law• courts of 1780, the young Jean VaIlean sentenced to live years Ill the galleys, the galleys themselves and the en mercifully bridal gaolers treating the prisoners worse than animal:1-e I the last shots or Casette, 'left safe and happy tending her wounded sweetie:etre and Valjean seeng his lifelong pursuer Javert plunl.ie to his death itt the swirl, ing waters, the secnrs a•re ,enough tO hold the rflot detached pi(lurvgi:er.
Mr. Charles Laughter' as Javerl, 1110 official of the law whose rengOil waS "the letter of the law," was amazing. Mr. Frederic March reayed dealt van jean well, capturing and bolding the sympathies (It the audienee from the very first, while Mr, Cedric Hardwicke's Bishop of Bienvenu is one of the most perfect pieces Of restrained acting eve4 given on the screen.
"Beyond Shanghai
( 41'1 lniowlerige or i:ftrobodia 7 tile, isilov,-ledge or the the, Tiritisti publk) is very limited, and 4N-C.: on thrilled by time cine malographical record of " forbidden jotatu.,,y to the ruins of Arigker. NYliat wilt' the ;sight Of unheard-of gruesunle arid the haunting t000Rejc.-‘vnits hip 1NIiiC11, we Wit1't1 told, V. :Is lets filigiori or those parts, and what with the visions'it those spip.ndill 1-1JiliS iL S 41fHII eity lief in a wileer lees, telt I hat kVe. were -receiving !sue iseney's worth.
Alas ! vift• lken ti■JAily 111(1 iii ivi'ut. WL` i'llid Ili Lite Efle.'y(ti.opa:d1C/ iiiat Angeor U. new ect In a public. park I Well, we hail °Tn suspicione all ;Alone f'SPO.LiallY 0.11011 u e were left to decks Ilea thii iflhiiiil operated by magic hand, seise the taily two \chile, men who ilea_ ever penetrated lo these h (Won places were all the time 1ppea,47. Mg together on the :Affect),