Evening star., 1947-10-24

ASSHc pa PAONINAA3G tAAS oehAAAS AAASNAS WV
The basic ingredient of the Pc
this he adds just a pinch of mis-
understanding on the part of the
young lovers. quite large dose of
music ranging from the classic to tn
Durante, and an ornate icing OF
Technicolor. 1t is an unvarying as
grandma's S recipe for angel food cake
and its persistent popularity with
moviegoers intimates that it must
also be equally tasty.
This Time for Keeps" is the latest
Pasternak production. 1t showed up
yesterday at Loew's Capitol with
Esther Williams, Jimmy Durante,
Lauritz Melchior and others from
M-G-M's attractive assortment of
amiable and innocent actors. AS an
added attraction, just for opening
day, it was accompanied to town by
Miss Williams herself, lissome,
athletic beauty who materialized in
q gold (colored) bathing suit.
**
Apparently. it has never occurred
TO those associated with This Time
for Keep" that the story ever could
take on shopworn look. Against
any fate so dire. they pin their faith
upon a whole warehouseful Of new
and highly colored costumes, an
album >of newly minted ballads and
some old ones that have not been
overworked on the screen, and few
big and brilliant sets.
Beyond this. and because 1t has
Miss Williams as its star, This Time
for Keeps" rests its case upon the
fact that 1t has the flavor of an
acouacade. Miss Williams. of course,
is diver and swimmer and If there
is a sport that displays a girl to
better advantage. M-G-M does not
want to hear about it, She spends
lot Of the pictures time on the div
ing board and in the water and
when the time seems ripe for it, she
is surrounded by bevy OF talented
sprites who join her in series Of
water ballets.
The appeal of the whole thing is
80 definitely, and so pleasantly, to
the senses, that only cad would
ask that it also make sense.
\
While it would be sheer folly to
repeat the story of This Time for
Keeps it might be sound idea to
point out how the roles are as
signed. Melchior is an operatic
star who impersonates the father OF
the hero (Johnnie Johnston) who
meets and falls in love with Miss
Williams, in spite of the fact. he
already is engaged to another girl.
Durante. an old vaudevillian, Is
kind of foster father to Miss Will
liams. and naturally good type for
young acquacade beauties to take
along on road tours. In the back
ground is Dame May Witty as
the heroine's doughty old grand
mother, a world renowned eques-
trienne in her day. and worldly
wise woman in this.
They are all charming, sentiment
tai types as they would have to be
In a Pasternak picture. Naturally,
there never is any question that
everything is going to work out hap
PLY for all concerned.
Melchior is Joined in handling
the vocal interludes of This Time
for Keeps by young Johnston, an
other youthful baritone who OBJ
vio,1slv has heard Bing Crosby, and
by Durante. The operate high
light is provided by the Met stars
Interpretation of the aria from
Martha followed later by La
Donna E Mobile" and topped off
bv the big mans descent to the
shows hit tune, Cole Porter's Easy
to Love"
Soundly enough, perhaps, no one
has bothered to change Durante's
musical inserts, or even his dialogue
routines. Vocally, he is his always
satisfactory self in his theme song.
'Inka Dinka," and the habitual
"The Lost Chord" both of which
have become classic in vocal comedy.
Time has taught the production
staff for Pasternak to get a high
luster on these simple. changeless
musicals. It has been demonstrated
that there is money in this sort Of
thing and it is quite unlikely that
"This Time for Keeps" will cause
pasternak to change his mind.
After all, Horatio Alger never
did.
II X
The act devised for Miss Williams
personal appearance recognizes the
fact that she is a pretty, captivat-
ing sort of girl quite unlikely ever
to turn into an actress. The ef-
feet at which it aimed was that Of
a charming sort of strip tease, in
which modest ambition it was mod
estly successful.
Otherwise, the Capitol stage bill
N,.oI,1doe the ooypcdv ro,ltina of tho