Evening star., 1939-06-02

attention of a technicolor camera.
Certainly We have not been waiting
for Kenny Baker. pleasant though
his voice undoubtedly is, to reach
that maturity where he felt his ar
tistic stature equal to the demands
of Nanki-Poo. Anyhow, we at last
have "The Mikado" on the screen
and a tasty dish it is, fit for king
if he has time to run over and see
it when he's in town.
THE Mikado" fits with the ut
most grace into the cinema medium,
especially as it has been here trans
lated by Director Victor Schert-
Finger and the Savoyards. This is
fidelity which amounts practically
to reverence, there being only a few
minor changes which cannot be
challenged by even the most rabid
Gilbert and Sullivan admirer. There
is prologue, for instance. to make
certain no doubt that movie audi
ences will know how things stand
when Nanki-Poo finally finds his
Yum-Yum again, but it's fine
prologue, done mainly in pantomime,
no one having attempted to write
lines of gay wit and flashing satire
to equal those of Sir w. S. Gilbert.
The only other changes have been
a few minor deletions; there has
been no tampering with your
"Mikado"
In fact the only change from the
"Mikado" that has been relished
every time the D'Oyly Carte troupe
has brought it here is a change for
the better. It's the same rollicking
Gilbert and Sullivan fun with the
same people romping through it,
but, as some one said once or thou
sand times before, the camera has
scope. The camera can move around
and point out things you might miss
or only half see if this all were on
stage. 1t can slide down and get
closeup of Sydney Granville's
ponderous piety when Pooh Bah is
about to accept another golden 'in-
suit" 1t can sneak up on one of
Martyr Green's best grimaces when
he discovers the Lord High Execu-
toners first task is likely to be his
own execution.
The cinema gives THE Mikado"
something more, too, which the stage
can't give it. On the screen there's
a quality of fantasy that can't quite
be attained by real people singing
on a real stage. It's almost some
thing of a Snow White" quality
and it makes The Mikado" truly
delightful fun indeed, even if you
have seen all the "Mikados" there
ever have been and have vowed
never to see another. The sets and
costumes contrived by Marcel Ver-
tes fit perfectly into this mood of
fantasy, too. They're not like any,
thing you ever saw before, but they
are almost amazing in their COM
blning of humor and beauty. And
even the technicolor is fantasy-not
quite natural shades but certainly
attractive ones.
Performances are of such uni
formly high quality there is little
point in doing more than noting
them here. All the nuances of
their playing and the tricks en-
ployed by Messrs. Granville and
Green have been commented upon
before and certainly they are the
best Pooh-Bah and the best Ko-Ko
ever. There are some very pretty
girls about, too, the prettiest and
most often about being Miss Jean
Colin. sweet-voiced lass who must
be the kind of a girl technicolor
cameras dream about at night. And
Constance Willis is a splendid Ka-
tisha, John Barclay an admirable
Mikado and Mr. Baker sings nicely
enough that he is no detriment to
the fun.
No. the film musical is not dead. It
has just been waiting for librettist
like w. S. Gilbert to fabricate a
droll fantasy and pepper it with
sparkling satirical thrusts at all
the customs of man: for a COM
poser like Arthur Sullivan to write
some songs like "Titwillow," The
Flowers That Bloom in the Spring."
"A Wandering Minstrel 1" and
Three Little Maids From School"
1t Is very fine that the cinema finally
discovered them.