Picture Show (May-Oct 1919)

20 The Great Event By A. L. In their passage through the world men and women niny he said to experience only tliree great events," Birth, Marriage, and Death, but in only one of the three events does mankind liave any choice, and that one is marriage. I have known men and women exercise tlie great prerogative of their hves with less forethouglit and care than I have known them to give to the ordering of a new coat or in the selection of a new hat. Sometimes— in my own observation — Nature blesses the union, and, in others, slie has frowned upon tlie reckless alliance and has bestowed none of her gifts upon the inharmonious duet. Now for men and women of all ages, and even for those who are already married, there is room for a cultured treatise in regard to the various considerations which appertain 'to the Great Event, and I have come upon such an one in a book entitled "Matrimony: Tts Obligations and I'rivileges," by Mona Bnird. It is highly probable that this delightful aid to the thoughtful may be regarded b.v those who have not troubled to read it with a certain air of suspicion. This is due to the fact that so many despicable books have been cast up by a subterranean press, where science and honest inquiry have been used as a threadbare excu.se for pand.^rijig to the salacious and vicious. This work is far above all such suspicion. In so far as Matrimony is an lionourable state (and there is no one to question it), this work is worthy of its high office. The truth about marriage is conveyed in a plain, yet dignified, manner which must appeal to all serious-minded people. While it is obviously intended for those who are married or contemplate marriage, it can, with advantage, be put into the hands of the young of both s^xes, and, indeed, the sooner the better. I emphasise the importance of this work to young people by way of stressing the fact that, for anything but good, it is wholly innocuous. Indeed, its pages breathe the scent of verbena, of mignonette, of newmown hay on the breeze. And yet, also, one feels the sharj) wind and the salt spray on one's face as one finds in Jlona Baird's pages the great tonic of truth. It deals with the psychological and srciological side of married life. It points out the pitfalls of unhappiness and the certain way to obtain and increase perfect married bliss. It is an extraordinary guide to engaged and newly married couples, and those who have been married for some time yet have not succeeded in more than " rubbing along together." If Mona Baird in her book, which should be in the hands of all thinking men and women, expresses high ideals of all that marriage implies, these ideals are not higher than should be demanded of society to-day. To obtain a copy of this excellent volnme our readers should send P.O. for 2s. tid. to-day, to Health Promotion, Ltd., Dept. UG, 19-21, Ludgate Hill, London, i:.c. 4. MATRIMONY— Its Obligations & Privileges." Kame Addiess Post this slip with P.O. for 2/0 to HEALTH PROMOTION, LTD., Dept. lie, 19-21, Ludgate Hill, LONDON, E.C. "ROMANCE" DORIS KEANE to Play DORIS KEANE sat in her drawing-room — that wliito-and-grccn room of dazzling brilliance — one evening during the final week of " Romeo and Juliet." Erom (he girlish figure, clad in the brocaded, pearl-sewn gown and crowned with the red-gold locks of Capulet's fair daughter, to Cavallini of tho raven tresses and mature passions — llio Cavallini of " Romance" — might havcBcemed a far ciy. But sutii was not the case. You cannot achieve a great artistic triuinph without being forever reminded of it in the midst of otlicr achievements less great, less artistic. Cavallini, as wc all know, is, so far, Doris Kcanc's greatest contribution to the stage, and it was of Cavallini I begged her to tell me, whether we shoidd again sco " Romance " — this time on the screen. ]\Iiss Kcane smiled. " Ah, that is no new question ! she replied" Apart from countless personal queries, I have received letters from all over the world —from Africa, Egypt, China, Persia— all begging me to appear on the screen in " Romance." And al last I am goinr/ to do so ! In fact, I shall most likely appear in a film version of tho play before my next stage appearance." A Thrilling Adventure. MOST of us have, I think, wondered why you have not played in films before. Miss Keane." " Why, I've never had time before ! " she laughed. " 1 played ' Romance ' tor live years — two in America and three here — and it nearly killed me. The rest I took last summer was imperative, and by my doctor's ciders. And since then, of course, I've been, working steadily, and the rea.son why I have not appeared in films hitherto is because, when 1 had more leisure, they did not occupy the artistic position tliey hold to-day. Xoir to play for the screen is such a big thing — the thought of it i.s like a thrilling adventure ! " You know, " went on Miss Kcane quaintly, in that voice so peculiarly her own, with its curious blending of softness and rapidity, languor and energy, " I am not commercial ! I must do something that intcresis me, or " — again she laughed — "I would rather live in the woods ! So when I find something that interest.? me it absorbs me entirely for the time being, and that is why I, personally, conld not plaj on stage and screen at the same time. The Appeal of "Romance." APART' from the high standard of the acting, 1 should like to know what .you consider was the special appeal of ' Romance ' ? " I then asked. "It appealed because in it you saw the soul of a woman," was the quick reply. " Which do you prefer to play. Miss Keane, tragedy or comedy ? " " Oh, I prefer tragical roles," answered the actress. " I think women appreciate tragetly more than men, bocause they are so much more introsjicctive. At the same time, I .think the woman of to-day enjoys comedy more than tlie woman of the past, because she has 'a broader outlook, despite the fact that her life is so dillicult in tliesc times — perhip." because of it. But tlie subdued woman of the past liked particularly to see tragc.ly on 1 he s' ii; • Ik i .msr she JdL the tragedy of life to which sliO tlid not — as in tliese days — give expression herself, wliile the husband — the men generally— liked to seek relaxation." . Doris Keane, as yon know, i but a young woman, and in the comparatively short time she has been on the stage she has achieved success such as comes but to the favoured few. But her career has not been uU sunshine. Thr Picture Show, July 19(/,, 1919. ON THE REEL CAVALLINI for the CINEMA. Three Successes. IHA\ E achieved but three successes in my life," she told mc. " Rachel Neve in ' The HypocritcR,' Adrienno in ' Decorating Clementine '—an adaptation of ' Le Bois Sacrc ' — and Cavallini. There must be sun and shade in every life," she added with a little smile, " and every now and again I have periods of vegetation." Which reminds me that the late Sir Charles Wyndham once said that he expected a great success cveni ten years. Anyone who ha.s played successes and reached the summit of their art early finds it impossible to keep to that summit — always. There must, as Doris Keane said, be " sun and shade." Miss Keane will play many things, each interersting for themselves alone, but wiien sho again meets the character through which she can express her message to the world — for she is one of those women on the stage who has a message, l»it who speaks only through special roles — when she meets that character, she will once more astonish and electrify ns. In the meantime we must be content to take the interesting things she gives us, for they have more in themselves than we often find in the theatre to-day. In the meantime, also, Cavallini Ls to be re-born and made perpetuate — on the screen.