Evening star., 1934-11-28

SlVAACAJ
The cast of the film is responsible
for this ancient but still honorable
and much loved story getting a
break" Little Anne Shirley cher
name used to be Dawn O'Day, OF
June O'Day or something), o. P
Heggie, Sara Haden, Tom Brown and
Gertrude Messenger see to it that this
sugar-coated adventure of romantic
little girl who grows up-thats all
there is to it, you know-remains a
charming if slight ramble into the
sublime. Gentlemen who prefer their
tonic straight will perhaps not find II
to their liking. But, based on the
average Hollywood diet, this is the
sort of thing that has grown out Of
last Falls censor raid, and for which
the censors should be extolled. 1t is
vitality clean, vitality sweet and per-
fectly safe for any one, from poodle
to your Great Aunt Martha, to see
Although Miss Shirley Gas Anne)
gives a grand performance, whipping
out those "eXcrutiatings' and what
nots with great skill it is Helen West
ley who really walks away with the
show.
Miss Westley. being one of the New
York Theater Guilds prize performers
and one who should certainly have a
part in the current Valley Forge,
gets herself neatly fixed up as Marilla
Cuthbert and puts the book right ir
your lap. Although we are in the great
minority. not having read this Mont
gomery novel 1--WE have read Vanity
FAIR, it seems reasonable to suppose
that the picture approximates the calm
sugar of its predecessor and that il
will be hugely enjoyed not only by the
young, but also by the old.
What with Miss Westley's expert
characterization and Miss Shirleys at
tractive playing of the title role "a
difficult assignment which she handles
with genuine feeling), the quiet home
spun" novel gets the screen treatment
that it deserves. 1t is terribly, terribly
whimsical. 1t is terribly, terribly clean
But somehow you don't mind-just a;
you didn't mind Winnie the Poo" fol
the first few years. With the proper
frame of mind and with the proper
person for companion, you will enjoy
this very much. The ending is weak
but that doesn't seem to matter either
BARBARA STANWYCK'S option has
not been taken up by Warner
Bros. She will do little free-lanc-
ing now. Lost Lady, may have had
something to do with this.
y X
CAV some of I'VE Live Again" yes
- terday-and the Hollywood i'm
preston that we had Of Anna Sten
still holds true. She is not only a
swell person wonder what swell" is
in Russian) but a swell actress-and
she and Frederic March together are
the best of their kind.
X y X X
"XIALLEY FORGE" will go to Balti-
more next week instead Of to
New York as originally planned
Broadway will see the play the week
of December 10.
X y \ X
IMPRESSIONS of q first night (by
one who sat in Pierce Halls balcony
having, as Johnny said in IA Below
the fidgets and the horrors"): The
cast was better than the play II
was darn nice of those grand Loew-
Fox people to take a whole row.
Mr.. and Mrs. Carter Barron, the Gene
Fords, the Lou Browns. the Ray Bells
were all there and if that isn't
a nice gesture we'd like to know what
is ditto the presence of Steve
Cochran and Mr.. and Mrs. Hardie
Meakin, who scrambled out Of their
respective theaters and then had to
scramble back, and who stayed until
the bitter end =. that was Director
Frank Baer bobbing around the bal
cony-the director who did such a
fine job with his players and
under all those gardenias you prob
ably found the handsome and smiling
faces of Bess Davis Schreiner and
Mabel Van Dyke, who were brave
enough to stage this little ven-
ture they had the horrors
and the fidgets," too haven't
been to bed for three weeks
neither have the players Maude
Howell Smiths costumes were her
own idea-and, my christopher, she
rang the bell with them . . not only
that, she certainly rang the bell her
self =. got more pudding out of the
pudding than there really was .. and
IECAI. NnTUCES