The Bioscope (Jul-Sep 1931)

August 26, 1931 THE BIOSCOPE 39 Warners’ “ The Star Witness ” Walter Huston examines Chic Sale in Warner Brothers’ new picture “ The Star Witness,” which is creating great interest in U.S.A. just now. London trade show is fixed for Friday next at the Prince Edward Theatre, at 8.45 p.m. An Indictment of Gangdom Warner’s Retort to New York Outrage “Born to Love” Wins Ballot Plumstead Likes Constance Bennett The popularity of Constance Bennett with the cinema-going public, demonstrated when her recent P.D.C. picture “ Bom to Love ” had pre-release runs in London amounting to four weeks, has again been unmistakably proved in a voting competition organised by S. W. Alhvood, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the reopening of the Globe, Plumstead, of which he is manager, as a " talkie ” house. In this competition patrons of the Globe were given a printed list of fifteen of the year’s most outstanding pictures, including “ Bom to Love.” They were required to select what they considered to be the best six "talkies” on this list and then place them in order of merit, the prizes being won by those whose lists corresponded most closely with that of the majority. On Monday last, at a special evening performance at the Globe, it was announced that the P.D.C. picture had obtained first place with an overwhelming margin, and Councillor Miss G. E. Walters, the Mayor of Woolwich, presented the prizes. At the same time a competition was announced in connection with " Bom to Love.” A short time before " Bom to Love ” is due to be shown a leaflet will be distributed giving extracts from the dialogue, and each of these extracts will have to be assigned to the speaker, the corrrect or most nearly correct list winning the prize. Laurence Olivier as Star Radio Pictures announce that they plan to feature Laurence Olivier, the young English stage actor, in a future production. This decision was made immediately following the American screening of ' ‘ Friends and Lovers” (formerly “The Sphinx has Spoken ”), in which Olivier is said to have given a sensational performance, in spite of the fact that he was up against such talent as Adolphe Menjou, Lily Damita and Eric Von Stroheim. Howard Estabrook, the scenarist responsible for “ Cimarron ” and other successes, is at present searching for a suitable story to feature Olivier. " Friends and Lovers,” which is based upon the Maurice De Kobra story " The Sphinx has Spoken ” (which was the working title of the picture), is laid against the picturesque background of the mountainous districts of Northern India, where brother officers of the Indian Army work out their love destiny between skirmishes with the tribesmen. “The Lawyer’s Secret” Worth Money Owing to the tremendous popularity of Paramount’s all-star drama “ The Lawyer’s Secret,” it has been decided to keep the picture on for a second week. At every performance Clive Brook, Fay Wray, Charles Rogers, Richard Arlen and Jean Arthur fans have been turned away, all seats and standing room being sold out every evening. Matters are further complicated by the large number of followers of Charles Ruggles anxious to see this great comedian in his first star role in " The Girl Habit,” which will also be kept in the bill. The outrage that took place recently in New York, when innocent children were killed and wounded in machine gun fire by gangsters, horrified not only America, but the whole world. In order to help the parents of the unfortunate children, and also to arouse the American public to a sense of the menace which hangs over their heads, Warner Brothers opened " The Star Witness,” a drama of the inevitable conflict between decent citizenship and the evil reign of gangsterdom, at the Winter Garden Theatre on August 3rd, ahead of schedule, devoting the entire proceeds of the first night performances to the families of the victims of the shooting. " The Star Witness ” deals with the tragic situation in which an ordinary, decent American family find themselves when they become involved as witnesses in a gang killing, and their terror that, if they testify against the murderer, a certain and fearful revenge will be wreaked on them by the murderer’s friends who are still at large. It is a startingly vivid and timely reflection of the problem facing the inhabitants of the New York district where the recent outrage occurred, for nearly all the witnesses of the crime, terrorised by the fear of reprisals from the criminals, have refused to admit having seen it or those who perpetrated it. Charles (Chic) Sale, Walter Huston, Frances Starr, Grant Mitchell, Sally Blane, and other prominent players appear in the cast of " The Star Witness,” which will be trade shown in London on Friday (August 28th) at the Prince Edward Theatre, at 8.45 p.m. Masquers Comedy Goes Big Included in the programme at the reopening of the Leicester Square Theatre on Friday last was the second of the P.D.C. special Masquers Comedies, " Oh ! Oh ? Cleopatra ! ” with Wheeler and Woolsey, supported by an all-star cast. The cleverness of these unusual comedies, commented upon already by the trade press reviewers, was demonstrated by the hilarious reception with which this one was greeted. PATHE S T.T. THRILLS Motor-racing enthusiasts and others are promised unprecedented thrills by the release in Pathe Super Sound Gazette of exhaustive pictures of what is usually regarded as the motor-racing championship of the world, the famed T.T. races in Ireland. The Pathe contingent arrived in full force at Dublin to take complete pictures of this racing classic, and the scenes depicted on this occasion are said to be even better than the achievements this news reel has obtained in respect of such events in the past.