ROUND THE LOCAL CINEMAS .sx How Cinderella Helps .sx ONCE upon a time there was a girl called Cinderella .sx For centuries she enjoyed nightly publicity in the nurseries of the world .sx But it was not until a place called Hollywood came into existence that she appreciated the real meaning of power .sx Her work in connection with films was seldom acknowledged , yet she always knew when her story had been adapted as fodder for the blonde and brunette girls who graduated as Hollywood's Cinderellas - but under different names .sx " Sin Takes a Holiday .sx " One of the stories she apparently inspired was " Sin Takes a Holiday , " which is among this week's films scheduled for general release to local cinemas .sx On this occasion Cinderella finds herself impersonated by a very talented girl called Constance Bennett , who receives some hundreds of pounds a week for undergoing the transformation from spinsterish plainness to married loveliness .sx The Bachelor's Secretary .sx See what influence Cinderella has had on " Sin Takes a Holiday .sx " In the opening scenes Constance Bennett is the undistinguished little secretary of Kenneth MacKenna , a successful man - and bachelor .sx When he decides that marriage is essential he proposes a purely business arrangement to his secretary whereby she will become his wife in banking account name only .sx Holiday in Europe .sx She accepts , and at his suggestion goes on a holiday to Europe .sx How Paris modistes and men's admiration transform her into a beautiful , fascinating woman occupies the next two thousand feet of celluloid , while the last sequences are , of course , devoted to the " dawn of love " in Husband MacKenna .sx " Sin Takes a Holiday " is ultra sophisticated entertainment , glittering with good lines and carefully developed situations .sx Suave Impertinence .sx The suave , luxurious impertinence of the whole thing carries you along and never looses its grip on your interest .sx Of course , Constance Bennett glides through her part with never a false step .sx Kenneth MacKenna , who is more or less of a new comer , holds his own well , and Basil Rathbone , a London actor , is all a potential bad man in a dinner jacket is expected to be .sx " Sin Takes a Holiday " certainly justifies an evening away from home this week .sx If you like it give a kindly thought to Cinderella , for without her , it might never have been made .sx " THE GREAT MEADOW .sx " Whether or not you become hoarse over cheering " The Great Meadow " depends entirely on your attitude towards " Big Tall " stories .sx If you are one of those people of strong character ready to sacrifice the silk of Broadway for the homespun of the old pioneers , then " The Great Meadow " should find you in its audiences .sx It deals with the Kentucky pioneers and how they pushed on into the unknown rather than become smugly satisfied in one place .sx The interest form the point of view of the cast lies in the fact that Eleanor Boardman makes a come-back and succeeds in looking extraordinarily lovely despite the years that have intervened .sx John Mack Brown , the leading man , never rouses me to shouts .sx " Follow Thru .sx " Again , in the case of " Follow Thru , " it is a matter of sharply defined taste .sx Either you like or loathe musical talkies .sx " Follow Thru " is a " musical , " based on one of the most successful of Broadway's theatrical productions which , nevertheless , failed to prove a sensation in London .sx Faulty casting , they said , was the cause .sx The picture escapes that defect largely because Zelma O'Neill is there to " put over " the important song numbers , and Nancy Carroll is on hand for charm .sx The music is excellent modern stuff , but the leading man is Charles Rogers - again a matter of sharply defined taste .sx " Other Men's Wives .sx " The eternal triangle turns up on a railway in " Other Men's Wives , " an effort by the estimable firm of Warner's to interest you in the domestic secrets of American engine-drivers .sx Round about the end of the plot there is a flight and a smash .sx Which , as you say , is not really surprising .sx " Other Men's Wives " is innocent but honest entertainment .sx ROUND THE LOCAL CINEMAS .sx The Charm Of Claudette .sx WITH my delicately tapering hand resting lightly over my heart , I am able to assure you that the phase of journalism represented in " Young Man of Manhattan " - one of this week's general release films - approximately closely to truth .sx Monta Bell , the director of this Paramount picture , has resisted the current temptation of endowing journalism with either rich glamour or though vulgarity .sx He sets out the puppets provided by the author - a sports writer , Toby McLean , and a film critic , Ann Vaughan - and shows you how the " front page business " jeopardises their married happiness .sx When Work is Done .sx While the sports writer is content to do his job and then forget it in speak-easies , the young film critic nurses great ambitions and plugs away at spare-time work .sx To her encouragement comes in the shape of commissions for special articles .sx To him encouragement comes no more a blonde innocent than her first name suggests .sx Towards the climax a spanner of drama is thrown into the plot's wheels .sx Ann , the film critic , drinks some bootleg whisky bought by Toby , and in consequence goes blind .sx Maybe you will detect this incident as the conventional herald of a happy ending .sx You will not be mistaken .sx Claudette Colbert .sx Some pictures are jolted out of the rut of mediocrity by good acting .sx Others get the acting they deserve .sx It is a high praise to say that " Young Man of Manhattan " is one of the " deserving " sort .sx There is a sort of trim , rather indefinable charm about Claudette Colbert that occasionally gives a fetching twitch at the heart strings .sx Opposite her is Norman Foster - her husband in real life .sx " Billy the Kid .sx " " Billy the Kid , " another general release , holds particular interest because it was made before " Min and Bill , " and , therefore , show a definite stage in the rise of Wallace Beery to stardom .sx John Mack Brown , who has the privilege of playing the name part in " Billy the Kid , " proved to be one of Wallace Beery's scalps .sx While John Mack Brown has the spectacular part of a cowboy Robin Hood in New Mexico , Wallace Beery has to be content with playing sheriff .sx Yet Wallace Berry comes near to walking away with the picture .sx " Men on Call .sx " Calm yourselves about " Men on Call , a picture wherein a man persists in misunderstanding a girl until the last sequence peeps into sight .sx There is no lack of drama and action in this picture , but no one expects you to leave the cinema stirred to the depths .sx Edmund Lowe is the foreman actor .sx " Cast Iron .sx " " Cast Iron " enjoys the advantages associated with a east containing such names as Walter Huston , Kay Francis , Kenneth MacKenna , and the Englishman Paul Cavanagh .sx The story , which is set in Russia immediately before the war , introduces you to an eternal triangle constructed around a scientist , his wife , and a general with death sentences in one pocket of this tunic and single tickets for Siberia in another .sx A picture of considerable merit .sx Betty Compson Again .sx " She Got What She Wanted " presents Betty Compson in the role of a wife who is seeking what she calls " the soul of true love .sx " Three times a " true love " specialist plans to elope with her , but on each occasion fails to turn up at their rendezvous .sx A reconciliation between husband and wife brings the film to an end in a blaze of respectability .sx " Africa Speaks .sx " This week's general release list has the distinction of embracing the name of " Africa Speaks , " an impressive exploration film that won great success on its first London showing .sx An African tribe's fight for existence against lions , locusts , and other jungle perils provides some of the best shots in the picture .sx You will also get your first introduction to pigmies and a white rhinoceros .sx Of course , some faking was employed in the making of " Africa Speaks , " but it is negligible compared with the genuine work done in Africa .sx GOOD FILMS WITH BAD NAMES .sx Why " Quick Millions " And " Body And " ?sx By CEDRIC BELFRAGE .sx APART from the general reflection that there ought to be a Claudette Colbert in every home , and a committee should be appointed to see what can be done about it , no very pregnant ideas are inspired in me by the week's newcomers at West end movie cathedrals .sx One way and another , this would seem to be a great week for hiking and similar manly pursuits of the Great Outdoors .sx The Bright Spot .sx I am , however , as confirmed a believer in silver linings as the next man , and this week I can perceive one in an unusual spot - the Capitol .sx It is quite a while since the Capitol occupied the position of Silver Lining Extraordinary to the West-end film cloud .sx For the Fine Palate .sx In an ideal world " Quick Millions " would attract the congregations away from all other places of cinema worship .sx But it is not for the vulgar palate .sx Because of its brilliant direction by Roland Brown , an ex-writer who now makes his debut with a megaphone , it is stuff for the connoisseur .sx Mr. Brown is quite clearly a man of intelligence and ready wit , who knows how to tell a story pictorially and keep it moving .sx There are a hundred masterly touches in it .sx I have never heard of Mr. Brown before , but I shall expect to hear plenty in the future .sx A Racketeer Hero .sx There is nothing highbrow or essentially original about the story , although I believe this is the first time we have seen a film of racketeering pure and simple , unmixed with bootlegging .sx " Quick Millions " shows you how it is possible , without doing any honest work and without giving the police any direct evidence against you , to make a fortune in a hurry .sx By means of clever dialogue and a fine performance by Spencer Tracy , the racketeer hero who performs this feat is made almost sympathetic .sx How It Is done .sx All the racketeer has to do is to see to it that mishaps are always occurring to delay the activities of business men and shopkeepers .sx For instance , you knock over coffee-stalls , spray the contents of modistes' shops with paint , distract the attention of men hoisting girders so that the girders fall and knock holes in semi-completed buildings - and so on .sx If you are careful , you can never be arrested .sx You drive off before any one knows what has happened .sx " In a Nice Way .sx " In " Quick Millions " Spencer Tracy describes it as " just getting what the other fellows got in a nice way .sx " It is in this " nice way " that Capone has made most of his money - not , as is often supposed , out of bootlegging .sx His favourite racket in Chicago is the dyeing and cleaning business .sx If Mr. Achille Serre , for example , plied his trade in Chicago , he would have to pay Capone a percentage - or else his telephone would be buzzing all day with complaints from customers that their clothes reached them full of bullet-holes , or covered with tar , or smelling of decayed fish , or not at all .sx In a week he would have no business .sx From start to finish " Quick Millions " is notable for its avoidance of the obvious .sx The characters act more like real people than any I have observed in gangster films .sx The romance theme is well worked out .sx When the racketeer has made his pile he tries to throw over the " common " girl who really loves him and pays court to a " lady .sx " The two parts are very well played by Sally Eilers and Marguerite Churchill .sx The " lady " is the sister of a building contractor from whom our racketeer is levying tribute , and his self-assurance is such that he thinks she goes round with him because she likes him .sx A Gangster's Fade-Out .sx When the racketeer turns honest , it is too late - the " lady " marries some one else .sx Furious , he decides to dress up his fellow gangsters in top hats and take them along to kidnap her at the altar .sx But by this time the gangsters , too , are against him .sx It is his last ride .sx As the car approaches the church , he is riddled with bullets from the revolver of his former lieutenant , who sits next to him .sx