Evening star., 1943-11-18

pmmend in her present form as W
tionars stage in the premiere of Rose
Tranken's play three years ago. For
That, Goth Century-Fox deserves not
only a pat on the back but the pa
Aronage Of the moviegoer who re-
yards himself as discriminating.
Claudia" is blessed not only in
the retention of Miss Mcclure in its
little role but in the presence in the
movie cast OF such newcomers as
Robert. Young, Ina Clair and Regi-
nald Gardiner. They help greatly
10 keep it a warm, wise and witty
piece of writing which Edmund
Goulding directed with an unfailing
resistance to what must have been
D temptation to let it become cute
That was the chief danger con-
fronting it as movie and it is one
of its outstanding distinctions that
It never is seriously anything of the
hind.
4 Miss McGuire's Claudia is one Of
The most intelligently and freshly
conceived characters of the screen
eeason. She is presented as young
wife, pleasantly far removed from
The typical. She is whimsical, be-
Eildered, curious, capricious and
faces with refreshing reluctance the
necessity for growing up. She is,
In short, a genius with an almost
infinite capacity for giving pain
as well as for giving enjoyment to
those Immediately around her
Whichever 1t happens to be at a
given moment, it is dramatically
powerful.
: In the main, Claudia" is bright
amusing figure. She is very, very
funny when she concludes that the
Naughtons cannot afford to pay
their income tax. She is the same
when her checkbook and the bank
statement fail to agree and she
concludes that the bank is trying
trudely to rob her of $780,
: She is no more misguided posi-
Twist, and an amusing one, in these
situations, however, than when she
concludes that her husbands laugh
ing tolerance is sign that he re-
CARDS her as too youthful to be
treated as a wife.
Out Of her weakness for listening
IN on their party line, she devises
an answer to that. There is an
English writer living down the road.
He has an interesting voice and his
phone conversations indicate that
he is just the sophisticated person
to help her discover whether she
has the appeal other women have
She contrives Irritation and she
Sarries it off so we'll that it vir-
tually wrecks their marriage until
the husband RECEIVERS sufficiently
from his shock to reappraise her in
her true terms.
Always behind her strange antics
Is an intimation of a dark, child
ish fear which motivates SO many
of the feather-brained actions. It
Is quietly and forcefully developed
throughout the picture and gives it
a splendidly contrasting element of
suspense and latent tragedy. The
terror turns out to be mother de-
pendence and 1t takes a tragedy to
correct it, tragedy which Claudia
Is able to face when it comes and
from which she climbs to solid
adulthood without loss of any of
her fundamental charm.
X X X X
Miss Mcclure plays her first movie
heroine in her Claudia" role and
plays 1t with deftness and intelli-
gence that few actresses could equal.
Mr.. Goulding and her associates
have paid her the SUPERB tribute of
letting her unfold in the new me-
dium in her own way and have
been rewarded with performance
that will challenge the best Holly
wood has to offer this year.
Mr.. Young who has labpred un-
der wraps in the cinema for much
too long finds himself with a worthy
opportunity in the role of the gentle,
wise young husband who recognizes
his wifes irresistibility even in mo-
ments when she seems most hope
lessly irresponsible and wsyward
His portrait of David Naughton is
an altogether admirable thing and
SO Is that of Ina Claire as the
mother Of Claudia who also seems to
understand her no matter how in
comprehensive she may be.
Another arresting performance is
that of Mr.. Gardiner as the worldly
novelist who takes Claudia at her