London, Apr. 27.
The Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax held 30-minute parleys with the Italian Ambassador, Signor Giuseppe Bastiannini, yesterday, the "Sunday Times" diplomatic correspondent reports. He also announces the return to London of Mr. Playfair, who went to Rome some weeks ago at the time of the Anglo-Italian coal dispute.—Havas, "Gracie Allen Murder Case"
Gracie Allen Philo Vance Ann Gracie Allen Warren William Ellen Drew Bill Brown Kent Taylor Richard Lawrence "Gloomy Gus"
Sergeant Heath -Willam Demarest Whenever Gracie Allen gets into a film the audience is always assured of plenty of hearty laughter merely on account of her subtle (sic) pleasantries, but when she becomes involved in a murder case and bends her talents in endeavouring to solve the mystery then the result is—well, anybody should be able to guess! And so it was at the Cathay Theatre yesterday when the "Gracie Allen Murder Case" was shown to delighted crowds, Philo Vance, S. S, Van Dine's now well-known detective, with his usual clever scheming and masterly analysis of unconnected facts, gets to the bottom of a particularly gruesome crime and is able to effect the arrest of the guilty party, but not before he nearly goes mad as the result of Miss Allen's habitual eccentricities, The story is cleverly told and Warren William, as Vance, is particularly effective, but the team work of William and Allen, if teamwork it may be termed, overshadows all else in a mystery thriller that is as amusing and entertaining as any seen in Shanghai for a considerable time, Three well balanced shorts, including a newsreel, supplement a good programme.—?..¢,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.