In Around the Cinemas on April 19, columnist Peter Farnham gives a scathing review of the Howard Hughes production The Conqueror starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward. At a cost of US$6 million, the film 'has hordes of extras and lots of battle scenes, with men and horses hurtling in every direction all over the screen'. 'At the end of the film, we learn that Wayne has been playing the part of Genghis Khan. His blood brother tells him that from now on he will be calling him Temujin. I was calling him something else', the reviewer said. Hayward plays the part of a Tartar named Bortai, who is kidnapped by Wayne as she is on her way to be wed. 'Hayward goes through the film with a sullen expression and it is my considered opinion that it is caused by the lines she has to mouth. Wayne has some pretty bad ones too.' He added: 'Hidden under the lavish costumes and Fu Manchu moustaches were a few good actors. Agnes Moorehead is unrecognisable as the mother of the Mongol ruler. Perhaps it is just as well because an actress of her calibre should not be proud of being in this film.'
It was also the week that Grace Kelly prepared to wed Prince Rainer of Monaco, with almost daily reports and pictures on the star's every move from her departure from Hollywood to her arrival in Monaco for the grand nuptials. And Hongkong had a small connection, as the Post reported on April 13. It quoted a recent New York Journal-American article saying Miss Kelly had chosen several 'Dynasty' house robes manufactured by Mandarin Textiles at Castle Peak Road in Kowloon. Life Magazine reported that Miss Kelly included a Hongkong tribute silk dynasty robe in an authentic medallion pattern in her trousseau before leaving for Monaco. In the Sports and Sportsmen columns, four records tumbled at the Royal Air Force Athletic Championships at Kai Tak in spite of the very hot weather on April 18. The records broken were the 440 yards, the 880 yards, the three miles and the javelin. Lo, the Hongkong Auxiliary Air Force runner, stepped into the front and held onto a 30-yard lead to win in 53.6 seconds. His previous best was 56 seconds. McKeown of Little Sai Wan (Green) shattered a longstanding record in the javelin when he heaved the silver shaft 147 feet and half an inch, bettering the previous record by three inches. 'Six runners toed the line for the start of the 880 yards, but as the race progressed it became a one-man affair,' the report said. 'Randles of Little Sai Wan (White) came striding home to a comfortable 40-yard win in a new record of 2 minutes 6.4 seconds.' Ramsey of Little Sai Wan (White) won the three miles in 17 minutes and 5.1 seconds. North Point took the team championship, collecting 109 points. 'Everyone had a chance to get in on the act with not only competitive events but veterans', children's and ladies' races,' the report concluded.
The stuffed carcass of Rota, Sir Winston Churchill's African lion, was offered for sale in London's The Times as the 'greatest historical souvenir of all time'. Zoologist George Thomson, who once kept Rota as a pet in his back garden and received it back from the statesman after its death last year, inserted the advertisement. The 17-year-old lion now preserved in a roaring pose is on view in London. An accompanying plaque reads: 'Rota, Churchill's victory lion. This African lion was presented by the Zoological Society of London to Sir Winston Churchill in 1943 as a war mascot and to commemorate the magnificent victories in North Africa.'
In the double-page motoring section, Courtenay Edwards reported that if a person did 15 minutes of skipping every day he would become a better driver. This sage advice comes from the Road Craft book published in London. 'It will help co-ordinate limbs and eyes, especially in the case of the slower type of driver,' the authors said. 'It is the 'Bible' of all police drivers, the instruction manual used at the Metropolitan Police Driving School in Hendon, Middlesex. It makes profitable Easter-eve reading and gives answers to the many questions motorists will be arguing about this holiday,' the report said. Another piece of advice: 'To improve his mental and physical condition, the average driver should live a normal and regular life and be moderate in all things; he need do nothing more.'