3 MARCH 1933, Page 48

The Radio Review

THOSE of us who had already seen the German film version of The Captain of ICOpenidc could hardly help grafting on to the broadcast version a pictorial background supplied from memory. This may have prevented us from forming any really objective criticism of Mr. E. A. Harding's pro- duction. Yet to me, anyway, it seemed a quite masterly piece of work-one of the best " straight " broadcast plays I remember. Satire on the screen is comparatively easy to contrive (though it is a field not half enough explored), but satire on the wireless is about the most difficult task a pro- ducer can undertake. In this connexion I thought Mr. Lawton's representation of Mayor Obermilfier exceptionally good : in his nervous, agitated voice he managed to convey all the futility, the foppery and the essential smallness of this pretentious official. Mr. Harding, to judge by his pro- ductions, believes in trusting the imaginative powers of his listeners ; he would also seem to believe that explanations in a radio play are an indication of weakness. The result, so far as KOpenkk was concerned, was a briskness of action that more than atoned for any occasional confusion the listener may have experienced. There was, for example, an expressionist venture at the end which may have puzzled a good many people. The universal laughter created by this historic hoax is represented in the film mainly by a whirling confusion of newspapers from all quarters of the globe : Mr. Harding depended for his effect upon a crescendo of laughter. A special word of praise is due for the typical German brass band tune used for linking purposes. One of the most enjoyable evenings the dramatic department has provided for a very long while.