CONTEMPORARY ARTS
THE CINEMA
"Goupi Mains Rouges." (Curzon.)-" All Over the Town " (New Gallery and Tivoli.)-" Canon City." (New Gallery and Tivoli, March 17th.) IT takes quite a time to sort out the Goupi family. There are twelve of them, all adults, living in one inn in the Charente. Each of them, from Goupi-l'Empereur aged to6 to Goupi-Muguet aged twenty, has a nickname which, even when it is unpleasant, is a source of pride to its owner. This is a strange film bringing together as it does the extremes of farce and tragedy with no noticeable jolt, but after one has got used to seeing so many people on the screen at one moment, and has decided to let time and time alone enlighten one as to which is which, it is excellent entertainment. There are, among other things, murder, love, insanity, a large ration of comedy, a lot of vociferous quarrelling, a delightful interlude with the gendarmerie and a splendid treasure-hunt. At first, puzzled by all the faces and confused by all the nicknames, one despairs of ever getting to know the Goupies personally, but eventually they emerge, clearly stamped with their own identities and individually as much as collectively memorable. The little Goupi-Monsieur, seller of ties in Paris, Goupi-mes-Sous the miserly innkeeper, Goupi-Tisane who cherishes her imaginary illnesses, Goupi-la-Loi the ex-policeman- these all become sharply defined as do their many relatives, and each is a pleasure to know. M. Fernand Ledoux, M. Georges Rollin and Mlle. Blanchette Brunoy head the players, who are guided down their manifold paths by M. Jacques Becker with, considering the complexity of his task, an astounding sense of direction.
* * *
At the New Gallery and Tivoli this week there is running Mr. Delderfield's pleasant but by no means galvanising comedy All Over the Town. This is about a newspaper reporter who returns from the war with a yen for telling the truth, however unpleasant it may be, to the readers of the Tormouth Clarion. On one side we have vested interests and the delicate feelings of advertisers, and on the other Mr. Norman Wooland aided by Miss Sarah Churchill aiming to expose,'by means of verbal dynamite, the corruption and smugness which are corroding the town. I find it a little hard to believe that in so small a community such scathing criticisms of its behaviour would greatly promote the sales of the Clarion, for though the truth about others is delightful, when it is brought home it is merely rude. However, the film is quiet, parochial and homely, and both Mr. Wooland and Miss Churchill play their parts in true British style,.
pianissimo and legato, while Mr. Cyril Cusack, one of our finest character actors, gives a most pleasing interpretation of brisk incom- petence. The town, which is recognisably Lyme Regis, is charming to look at, and there are some wonderful, if brief, touches of comedy.
Should you wish for something meatier than the problems of a seaside resort you must wait till March r7th when All Over the Town will be replaced at the New Gallery and Tivoli by the story of a jail break. Canon City is a semi-documentary, a screen formula becoming increasingly dear to Hollywood, and of its kind it is excel- lent. Twelve desperate men smash their way out of the Colorado State Penitentiary on a snowy night in December, and during their brief hours of freedom we follow them to their destinies, some to be killed, others wounded, all to be brought back to prison. In little groups of three and four they terrorise the town's innocent inhabi- tants, forcing their way into their homes, holding them up or alter- natively knocking them down, and spreading untold alarm and despondency. Only the matrons of Canon City remain comparatively unstunned by the violence of the impact, and, half fainting with fear, seek redress with hammers and husbands' guns, giving as good as they get in a highly satisfactory way. The prison scenes tend, as they always do, to make one sympathise wlih the prisoners, but the behaviour of these criminals after the break is, though under- standable, outrageous enough to make one welcome their several fates with open arms. Mr. Scott Brady is introduced to us in this picture, and one must hope that, on getting better acquainted, ha will be able to relax a little. No doubt he can smile if there is some-
Previous page
