12 MARCH 1954, Page 12

CINEMA

Rio'lobe who has directed this fairy_ tale in ,10 Worldly a manner that no one can fail to Delieve every word of it. For all that it Weaves a spell of enchantment, a magic In Which the atmosphere of youth and love can be recaptured by a whole audience. , In contrast to the sensitive approach to love , made by this film there is a romping naMfisted bedroom comedy at the Dominion called Fast and Loose. It is written by the 'wig of farce-writers, Ben Travers, to a Pattern which he himself devised a great '11ally years ago, which threw me, as a girl, Into convulsions of mirth and which now, alas, seems so appallingly silly that it is Positively fascinating. Mr. Travers's farces at best are not cut out for the screen, their wild improbabilities demanding a full Measure of theatrical libellee and a lot of over-acting, and Fast and Loose is not ,.°ne of his best efforts. Brian Reece and Kay Nendall, separated from their conjugal partners on the way to a weekend party, are `There to .spend a night in a village pub. is, of course, only one bedroom. qerY situation, from signing the register to

• r. Reece getting tangled in a blanket on the moor, every character, from Stanley Holloway and Fabia Drake as putsuing parents-in-law to Juno Thorburn as the young wife, is pure

that corn, and only amazement Tat this is still considered entertainment, 'flat the theme and its variations have not altered at all in the past twenty-five years prey at

one from screaming out loud. A °dIY cast has been mustered for this .cr,,gedY, Reginald Beckwith, Dora Bryan, Hope and Charles Victor, to name but • 'ew who suffer with the stars.

J. /3"--. Priestley's An Inspector Calls, an Xcellent play in which a mysterious stranger Interrupts a family dinner party to ask questions concerning the death of a young 'Oman, and reveals that everyone present, • 3' callousness or carelessness, has been 'instrumental in her suicide—this play symbo- lising the responsibility of every human being for his brother's happiness has been turned .a really admirable film. The Inspector Ala Sim who proves once again what '▪ ,une straight actor he is, and his supporting ytaYers are, without exception, excellent. Wenham in particular gives a lovely priori-mance, gentle, sad as befits the recipient t the world's thoughtlessness, and, as her rr,Inentors who, through weakness or self- ygateousness bring her to her grave, Arthur Worth Olga Lindo, Bryan Forbes, Brian fill°11rdl and Eileen Moore act faultlessly. The Po' sinuits Is directed by Guy Hamilton, and, he the heartrending moral simply and sy„°°thlY, investing it with a melancholy tic7PathY for human frailty which 'is never- e'eas sharp enough to pierce the conscience.

VIRGINA GRAHAM