1957-10-12 — Page 8

**** **** *

In the

spider's web

GENE gets his TAINA

.. but

mind that

club Pal

with

KAY

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1957.

IN the past the films picked for the annual Royal Film Performance have been criticised for being rather pedestrian.

But what, apparently, has been worry- ing the Queen much more is that they've been too long; and this year she has stepped in to stop the trend.

SHOW PAGE COMMAND PERFORMANCE

the Queen said "No...

too long!"

of the title is blown up, hearts beat foster for some

probably wouldn't have been time now (though it's Kay's so dull.

first musical since her debut But it lasts for over two ten years ago in "London hours.

Town" with Sid Field) but When the Queen found for Finnish born, ballet our she asked for a shorter trained Taina, this is the ble one to be substituted; and chance.

R

the film that she will now And if it does shoot her to 500 on November 4 will stardom, she'll be following bc the new Cole Porter in the footsteps of another musical "Les Girls".

French girl whom Gene Kelly boosted to the top.

Running just under two hours, and owing much of its success to producer/actor Gene Kelly, this looks like Originally the panel made in Ceylon with Jack being just about the leggiost Performance film responsible for selecting the Hawkins, William Holden, Royal film flast year it was "Yang- and Alec Guinness.

ever.

tse Incident", the story of This, since the producers For its story of an inter- the frigate Amethyst) picked unleashed the biggest explo- national dance troupe on

Who, before "An Ameri- can in Paris" had heard of Leslie Caron?

In any case this looks like being the gayest Royal Film Performance in years.

And if it should turn out

a largely British film "The sion ever seen in films for tour makes much of three of to be dull, at least-thanks bridge over the River Kwai", the scene where the bridge the film world's most to the Queer-it will be

glamorous dancing girls-a America's Mitzi Gaynor, Bri- rain's Kay Kendall, and new French discovery Taina Elg.

Mitzi and Kay have been making tired business men's

short.

GENE KELLY shows 'cm off (from the loft) MITZI, KAY, and TAINA.

RLS

Would you think that THIS

MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN

I'M GLAD IT'S OVER, I

LOST MY HEAD, COULD

YE PLAY CHESS AGAIN,

SOMETIME-JUST

FOR FUN?

GLADLY COUSIN.

JOHNNY HAZARD

WOW! OR AS THE BOYS WOULD

SAY.

| DIDN'T WANT TO HELPHUM, MANDRAKE CONVINCED ME THE ONLY WAY TO PREVENT/ WAR WAS TO FORCE A OTALEMATE.

IM GLAD IT TURNED

OUT THIS WAY, ER- COULD YOU STAY

AND SHOW ME

A FEW MOVESĮ

NO, SIR!! I'M GOING.

HOME!

IT is just a wooden bridge

Ispanning a river gorge in

the smelly, festering heart of the Siamese jungle.

It is not very long. It is

quite ugly.

Yet this is a bridge which

I, for one, will never forget.

It has helped to turn a Alm called THE BRIDGE ON THE REVER KWAI into one the finest, most exelting,

of

By Leo Falk and Phil Davis

THEY SAY THE KINGS GOT TIRED OF CHERS AND PLAY POOL Now, So ENDS THE GREAT CHESS TOURNEY!

NEXT WEEKA "DE WESTERN"

By, Frank Robbins

PHEW! SIZMO MUST HAVE SPUN QUITE A LITERARY WED

TO TRAP A POLL, LIKE THAT?

X, WONDER... LET'S SEE!

-could be the centre of

something so tremendous!

by LEONARD MOSLEY

shattering and ever seen.

Alms I have

MIXES LIKE MAGIC

LUZCO

ICE CREAM

SIMPLY MIX.

CHILL,

WHIP

& FREEZE

AUSTIN!

THE CAR

for your

HOME LEAVE

METRO CARS (H.K.) LTD.

und lives to regret it. His plastic explosives to the struts fellow officers are flung into a of the bridge. punishment hut, He himself is brutally beaton and put in a contraption known as The Oven.

He is told that he can

They wait for dawn, and the arrival of the first Japanese train. And just as it is hosting come the last mile through the jungle, proud as a peacock

a jumble of It starts e as logs and bamboo laths lying on a river bank, but by the time it has spanned the tur- bulent waters beneath It the out when he consents to work. Guinness, Kwal Bridge has become There begins a duel between at this wonderful bridge, looks.

over the side and Hoes the almost a living being, and you Guinness and Hayakawa to see

The Jap- detonator line. feel a pang In your heart when who will break first.

his bridge ready in time, or he will have

it Anally dies a spectacular anese has to have death.....

Cruelty

The time is 1043,

to kill himself. Guinness has to face torture.

In the end in one of the most

Great film

piquantly perceptive plects of What--someone going to blow have seen, the up my beautiful bridge? he and long Alm drama I

Japanese commander gives way. whispers to himself. He cannot Hines of British prisoners hayo And at once Guinness, back in bear it. Monomaniac that he is, marched from Singapore to the Siamese Jungles to work for command of his men, plunges he has to stop the sabotage. the Japanese on the infamous enthusiastically to work.

So he rushes down, with the Hallway of Death.

He cannot see that, in helping Japanese behind him, to stop One battalion, led by their to make a good bridge and the commandos from doing their colonel (Alec Guinness), doing it in time, he is helping job. though they are weak, wound the enemy. All he can think of

and

men

WII they be able to blow it kiss kitod march is that, by giving his whishing into camp, not quite something to do, and persuading in time? For 25 minutes by the wrist, realising what they are in for, them to do it well, he la keep walch in my trembling

ing their morale, and also director David Leon keeps you

lite.

An American prisoner (WI- showing the Japanese how muchi in suspenie-the most shatter- Jinm Holden) tries to enlighten more efficient the British are ing 25 minutes of my film-going them,

ia an than the Nips. "but ́· Guinness orthodox regular soldier with a fem faith in the Geneva Con- vention.

Explosives

He thinks he and his men will_get, justĪCU. Instead they get brutish cruelty from the So the bridge is built. But camp commander (Sessue Haya meanwhile, in Ceylon, Intelli

and Guinneso

∙Fuld gence knwa);

has heard about the féllow-officerE это ordered to: Kwai Bridge, and orders go out Join the other ranks in building to destroy. It. the bridge across the River

Kwal

A

•

Then, with a roar that is also

the утоп

detonator İR pressed, and the bridge on tho River Kwai is emashed to pleees, Just as the Jup train is parsing

cross

As I watched it split and fall

to the river, it was like seeing old friend die-and part

on

of me died along with it...

Commandos,led by Jack Hawkins and Holm, parachute No, I shall never forget the into the jungle and make their bridge on the River Kwai, nor agonising way to the liver the great fun which tells the be "ubject to masuki labour Rwal In the night they attach story of its life and death.

|| Chitanume citer the Conventions

- that officer prisoners shall not

*