The Cinema " The Scotland Yard Mystery." At the Rialto
THE part of Chief Inspector Stanton, in this British Inter- national picture, is played by the late Gerald du Maurier. It was his last leading part, though shortly before his fatal illness he played the Duke of Wiirtemburg in Jew Suss, which has not yet been shown. The talkies came rather late in his career for him to take full advantage of the new oppor- tunities they offered to stage actors, but his economical, unemotional style suited them very well, and I shall always remember his quietly vivid sketch of the German army- doctor in I Was a Spy.
In The Scotland Yard Mystery he has an easy part, and his acting is sound enough, but a little, of the old verve seems to be lacking. Perhaps the part was too easy, or perhaps du Maurier felt himself overshadowed by the villain, who certainly has allthe " meat." This sinister individual, admirably played by Frank Curzon, uses his official post as Home Office pathologist to conceal his private direction of a series of gigantic insurance frauds, made possible through his invention of a serum which induces a state of catalepsy indistinguishable from death. It is important in this type of story that the villain should never for an instant lose his nerve, and Dr. Charles Masters never does. Suave to the last, he dies at Croydon Aerodrome with a hypodermic in his hand, jesting to his mistress about his insurance policy.
A few years ago British detective films were crude and stilted compared with the corresponding American article. The Scotland Yard Mystery attempts no great originality, but its production technique is pleasantly efficient.
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