Through an atmosphere murky with the fog and rain of the Liverpool waterfront, passengers file gloomily aboard a freighter bound for more sunny shores. One of them is a young medical genius blighted by ill fortune, and he staggers aboard destined for an alcoholic oblivion, the precious serum with him. Another is the blonde and brightly smiling Lady Mary, who glimpses the doctor and has sympathy. Melodramatic, if you like, but "Grand Canary" makes a far better picture than most of Hollywood's infinite variations of the Arrowsmith theme.

Warner Baxter portrays the embittered young doctor who, landing in the Canary Islands during a visitation of the Yellow Fever, allays the plague and at the same time makes right his own Weltanschuung. The part of the girl whose life is saved, and who in turn aids in the doctor's salvation, is played with great charm by Madge Evans. The fact that she already has a husband--and an indignant English husband at that--complicated things somewhat. But at length the tangled thread is unraveled in true stoic manner. "Grand Canary" is an interesting picture, and the shots of the Canary Isles are superb.

The co-feature, "Ladies Should Listen," is a highly entertaining comedy of Parisian high life featuring Cary Grant and a starry-eyed newcomer named Frances Drake. It seems evident that our good censors do not object to a certain amount of sugared iniquity, providing it takes place in an apartment of the proper opulence, and also providing that apartment be situated in Parts. After all, with so many Frenchmen around, one must expect that sort of thing. Placed as foil to Grant's sophistication is the doddering Edward Everett Horton.