Theatre &cinema

“BOLERO” a sereen drama by Horace Jackson, Carey Wilson and Kubec Glasmon,based on an idea by Ruth Ridenour,directed by Wesley Ruggies and presented by Paramunt at the Paramount Threatre.

You would imagine that by casting the sleek, sinister-looking George Raft in the role of a cabaret dancer the result would be a striking and effective picture,but, alas, “Bolero”which is now grinding out a week at the Paramount,just fails to fulfill its promise.

It is not entirely Mr. Raft’s fault .The picture which deals with the life and career of a dancer in pre-war Europe, begins with the hero staring out as a gingolo in a Paris cafe. He is an ambitions fellow, determined that nothing shall stand in his way to success. His only interest is dancing and he is shown casting heartlessly aside his various female partners because they do not share his almost insane love for that art. Finally he meets a woman (Carole Lombard) who is as ruthless as himself and he falls in love with her. The war interrupts his career and when he returns years later he finds that she has married another,but they dance the last Bolero together and our hero then conveniently dies of heart failure.

When I mentioned above that the weakness of the picture was not Mr. Raft’s I meant that the producers cast him in a role that required a wider talent than Mr. Raft possesses, His is limited to a amall range .When he acts “hard boiled”he is in his element but to make him run the gauntlet of hman emotions in expecting too much.As a dancer he is more than adequate but as an actor he fails because he can play on but one note.It is really too bad.Raft has done some good things for the films but to try and make another Paul Muni or Edward Robinson out of him will result in nothing but a loss of popularity.

However,”Bolero” is still better than the average program picture.

You are disappointed only be cause you expected so much more.