Evening star., 1943-12-03

IcdSoIl tO dislike IL. OtnerS PROB
ably will, but for them, the Capitol
offers the compensation of Dunnin-
ger, the man who wanders telepath-
ically around in your private life,
reading your thoughts, guessing your
telephone number and, for all we
know, computing what you have left
in the bank. It's practically amaz-
ing at the Capitol this week, as
you can see.
Virtually every gag you ever saw
on the screen has been compressed
into the script of "Whistling in
Brooklyn" In the huttering hands,
features and body of Shelton, even
the Oldest of them has something
infectiouSly merry about it. The
man just has way with him that
lot of people like and nobody knows
it any better than MGM, which
does not go for these subtle actors
all the time.
1t is never quite clear what
"Whistling in Brooklyn" is about.
1t seems, however, that Shelton is
a radio crime actor whose work
gives the impression that he really
is a murderer, a fellow so obsessed
with his performance that he de-
cides to try it in real life. Once
this is roughly established, the pic
ture enters the pursuit phase. It's
first stop is an abandoned ware
house in which there is an elevator
which goes berserk every time some
one touches button. Movie eleva-
tors have been doing that, of course,
ever since Gloria Swanson was a
Mack Sennett girl, but Shelton, Ann
Rutherford, Jean Parker and some
other people revive the gag with a
quality of freshness that is surpris-
ing. They actually achieve a daffy
kind of excitement in a sequence in
which they are pictured dangling
one below the other, with Shelton
as top man, hanging onto the
rafters at the top of the shaft.
The picture is bit slow in get
ting around to the Dodgers, all of
them iE person, including Leo
Durocher and Buck NeWsom. but it
grows much livelier when it does
Skeletons role by this time has be-
come that of pitcher on one of
those bearded baseball clubs that
look funny either in or out of the
movies. The limit of the script
writer's inspiration was to have him
fill the bases by hitting one Dodger
after another and then picking them
off, one by one, with miraculous wild
throws. One supposes that a thing
like that could happen in Brooklyn,
where everything is funny, if you
can believe today's playwrights and
gagmen.
Dunninger, the man with the high
forehead who inherited the mantle
Of Houdini mot to coin a phrase) /
has been working elsewhere than
in theaters for the last decade or so
has lost none of his stage presence
and had added to his dimensions
as an entertainer. In his % domi-
nant minutes on the Capitol's stage
he rifles through nicely myStify-
ing routine which is reminiscent
of Houdini. who used to be this
department favorite baffler.
Dunhinger's best trick, among the
four which compose his routine, is
that one of adding sixteen digits
which he takes out of the minds
of four people sitting on the stage.
Adding sixteen digits that are tan
gibly in front of one on a black
board is difficult enough for some
minds. which naturally come to the
conclusion that Dunninger is as
founding when he does it sight un-
seen.
He brings his act to a conclusion |
with one of those mechanical tricks
that he did before he became strict
ly mental, or almost strictly men,
tai. With two complete strangers
holding his wrists he produces a
glass of water from an apparently
empty bag. 1t is more conventional |
and less entertaining than his other
tricks.
The rest of the Capitols stage
bill this week is composed of the
brakes, trio of one man
and two girls, who danced both |
well and comically, and of the Ar
nauds. comedy pair whose props
are couple of viOlins and whistles. /