Evening star., 1939-12-16

COMEDY 1OTmuld OF master QeteCtlS
master detective-gal friend duo hap
Blondell is fortunate for the pic
ture, but not even they can conceal
the fact that the inspiration Of the
story runs definitely thin.
AS a matter of fact. the most tell
ing evidence against THE Amazing
Mr.. Williams" is that to be found
in the fact that its most bubbling
passage is that in which Mr.. Douglas
dons feminine disguise to pursue a
phantom slugger The suave Mr..
Douglas embarrassment as he
stands there in his slip, silk stock
ings, high-heeled shoes, ETC., is oddly
amusing in the way that sort Of
thing always has been amusing
even when cramps did it as
Halloween gag.
The plot which projects this Incl
dent as its most hilarious moment
has to do with Miss Blondells ef-
fort to get Mr.. Douglas off the
homicide squad. marry him, and
have home life in which the hus-
band will not have to spend all his
nights chasing down murderers.
Solving crimes is in his blood, how
ever, and all her cute tricks to make
him look like sap fail, one by one,
until he gets what is coming to him
in an ending that has the kind of
cleverness o. Henry achieved in his
reversible plots.
More subtle and neatly executed
is a sequence in which Miss Blon-
dell does nearly pull the trick of
having the boy friend kicked off the
force for disobedience He is as
signed to take a prisoner to Sing
Sing, an assignment that conflicts
maddeningly with date the pair
have. Miss Blondell fast talks the
detective into taking the prisoner
edward Brophy) along on the
party, gets the latter a girl friend
and leads the oddly assorted little
group to an amusement park, where
come reasonably amusing situations
naturally pop up to the advantage
of Director Alexander Halls picture.
Mr.. Douglas and Miss Blondell, he
suave and superior, she addle-
Drained and very determined about
it, have grown very smooth in the
respective rolls to which they once
more are assigned. Their adeptness
at wringing a situation dry of its
potential humor, of giving a stubby
line a streamlined effect, is very
much to the advantage of "The
Amazing Mr.. Williams" but nothing
to what it would have been had the
situations and dialogue been more
to the advantage of the principal
players.
The rest of Columbia's cast for
the picture is chosen with COM
mendable care, Clarence Kolb as
the martinez captain of detectives,
Brophy as the killer whose zest for
living makes up for his lack of So
cial graces as that humorous party
for four at the amusement park,
and Donald Mcbride as the dumb
fellow detective of Douglas.
Sy Bartlett is responsible for the
story of "The Amazing Mr.. Will
iams," and collaborating with him
on the screen play were Dwight
Taylor and Richard Maibaum. The
three are among the front ranking
writing teams on that sort of thing,
but this effort lacks the brightness
of some of their previous work in
spite of its vagrantly humorous Sc
quences.
II =
The Earle's stage program, fre-
gardless of any billing, is featured
by the return of the Roxyettes, who
were turned out to pasture for a
six weeks rest in November. Fresh
er, fairer and maybe a trace fatter,
the house ballet returns to its prac-
tice of charming audiences with
new energy that makes the same
old talent more impressive than
ever. However symbolic of the va
cation it may be, their two routines
are favored with the spirit of the
great open spaces, one a Canadian
mountie hit, the other q cowgirl
number. both of which are danced
with spirit and precision.
Milt Hert's interesting swing
combination of organ, piano and
drums worked itself up to an en-
thusiastic reception in the major
spot on the program and the three
Arnolds, acrobats who are some
thing more than ordinary without
being extraordinary, merit q mede
Of praise.
he rest Of the bill Is composed