Melodrama takes a new turn in Victor McLaglen's latest picture, "Nancy Steele Is Missing", at the Metropolitan this week. For a change a kidnapper is the here and succeeds despite the obvious difficulty of the role to win the audience's sympathy.

The film is well photographed, well acted, and the adaptation of Charles Francis Coe's story, while it retains little of the original, is certainly a superior bit of craftsmanship. But with all this it misses fire somewhere along the way; and it is difficult for the reviewer to tell just where.

Perhaps it is because the action is not fast enough for melodrama, and because there is a hint of anticlimax in the ending. It gradually gathers speed, works up to its climax, and then when the point is made an extra and somewhat irrelevant scene is added by way of explanation.

McLaglen's performance is careful and restrained. As Danny O'Neill, the kidnapper of Nancy Steele, he fits perfectly into a role which might easily have been mishandled by a less capable actor. Excellent acting is also contributed by Peter Lorre in a typical snake-in-the-grass part, by Walter Connolly as the father of the kidnapped girl, and by June Lang as Nancy Steele.

The stage revue, "Stardust Revue of 1937" introduces a number of starlets under the tutelage of Benny Davis. Among the many acts are several tap dancers, a pair of comedians, a baritone some roller skaters, and a cornet player.