Evening star., 1939-04-10

PalaCe aCCTaCUlOn can De put GOWN
as considerably above average.
The queen of comedy has been sur
rounded by what the trade glibly
calls powerhouse cast. power
house cast being one with such per-
formers as Don Ameche, John Barry
more, Rex OMalley, Frances Lederer
and Mary Astor. That's competence
for you, or did you already know
that?
Midnight" is the tale of a mad
and beautiful chorus girl, a female
who knows what she wants in this
world and is not bothered by too
many scruples as to how she gets it.
She is introduced to the audience at
the distressing moment when she
and Monte Carlo have come to grips,
the latter winning. She is reduced to
her wits and a decolette evening
gown, very effective combination
let us tell you.
Don Ameche enters her life in the
guise of generous and noble, but
not sanctified, taxi driver, hailed
fellow we'll met. From there on, it
is a competition between Ameche
and the scion of bad champagne
family for the heart of the girl.
Script Writers Charles Bracket and
Billy Wilder have not followed the
usual formula in creating the subse-
quent situations. They have been
very bright in their dialogue and
extraordinarily inventive in the
creation of predicaments into which
they toss Miss Colbert.
A very amusing thing they have
made of one of those terribly Stuffy
moment musicales which Miss COL
bert crashes with pawn ticket. AS
even more amusing one have they
made of divorce scene, a passage
In which Miss Colbert seeks decree
from Ameche, whom she never has
married. If that sounds crazy, and
1t does, remember that was the pur-
pose of the dramatists. one that is
achieved with high skill by the
capable cast.
1t probably should be recorded
chat Mr.. Ameche finally wins the
gal. a just reward for the noble
sacrifices he has been forced to make
In so many of his earlier pictures.
The part which Barrymore plays
is one of those dopey things which
have become so handsomely and
entertainly his milieu. In one pass
age, for which you had better peel
a very keen ear because the audi
ence laughs so loudly, he fakes the
voices of an elderly lady and a
child with measles. That is some
thing to hear, coming from the vocal
chords which once read the Solil-
oquies of Hamlet into such memor-
able music.
Mr.. Barrymore's wife, Elaine Bar
Yie, also is in the picture, but just
barely. She is not part of the
powerhouse of Lederer, OMalley,
Miss Astor, etc.
Even so, you can count upon an
agreeable time at Midnight"
X X X
Movie houses are definitely seeing
to it that no one is lacking in en-
tertainment today . The Capitol
will offer five complete shows, which
Is to say five chances to see Fred
Waring do that very effective imi-
tation of Kay Kyser's college of
musical knowledge At the
Earle there will be six showings of
dodge City" and as many of the
youth parade on the stage -.
Ethel Barrymore Colts ptomaine
poisoning having removed her from
the show until some time later in
the season Only We'll bet the
other way :. Speaking of singers,
and we mean singers, Helen Hamil-
tons Troika has a new one, and
very beautiful >. She is Luba Ma
lima, whose name translates fas-
cinatingly into Love Raspberry in
English Miss Malina gets more
fun out of that than any one else in
the world Composer Arthur
Godfrey-why doesn't he ever go
any of the places we 60 any more?
had his "Grandma's Minuet"
played, and very fine, by Fred War;
lng's band at the Capitol Saturday
night.
Tonight's performance of "Sky-
lark at the National is a benefit
by Variety Club for the enrichment
of its welfare fund Let Free
dom Ring" a Nelson Eddy picture