27 APRIL 1934, Page 14

" It Happened One Night." At the Tivoli THERE is

fine material • in this tale of a runaway heiress (Claudette Colbert) who travels half across America by motor- coach. She is escorted by an enterprising journalist (Clark Gable) who promises to get her unrecognized to New York in return for the exclusive rights in her story. The scenes of wayside halts and motor camps have a pleasant freshness ; we are shown an aspect of American life oddly neglected by film producers hitherto. But I should have liked more adven- tures and less back-chat. When it is quite certain that a young couple are about to fall in love, their quarrels soon become tedious. The journalist is one of those up-to-date heroes .who captivate a girl by mixing verbal rudeness with practical fore- thought. The part iuits Clark Gable, but I have seen Claudette Colbert better cast. She has too much character to suggest a helpless heiress who has never been allowed out alone before. However, most of the acting is excellent, and Frank Capra's direction is full of effective touches.

CHARLES DAS Y.