Since "China Seas" Hollywood has been using its best brains to create unusual and romantic melodramas. "The Prisoner of Shark Island" is undoubtedly one of the best of the cycle. The story is authentic, based on the tragedy of Dr. Mudd's life. Convicted, in reality, by mob hysteria, to life imprisonment, the doctor who had unwittingly taken care of the injured John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's assassin was sent to America's hell hole off the Florida Coast. Warner Baxter, who contributes perhaps the finest performance of his career in this picture, makes Dr. Mudd the epitome of suffering humanity. The story, ably and imaginatively directed by John Ford, is told in such a simple, straightforward manner that the somewhat fantastic melodramatic details rarely seem exaggerated, and always are powerfully moving.

It is sometimes said that the business of the theatre is to create believable illusions. Fact and fancy are so cleverly interwoven in "The Prisoner of Shark Island" that this production ranks among the first when measured by such a yardstick.

Music Goes Around Satisfactorily

"The Music Goes Round" is not nearly as bad as the Moviegoer expected, he is happy to report. Briefly the plot is about a Mississippi showboat troupe specializing in the presentation of old-Kentucky founds of the dime-novel variety. This troupe, almost on the financial rooks is rescued by the gallant Broadway star impersonated by Harry Richman. There are a number of humorous moments in the film and a few good songs.