Variety (September 1921)

16 LEGITIMATE r*;rjnvf7^ "•Tf* J^TTiij-VTT.'J • ■ 1 ;■ Friday, September 16, 1921 0Dc*8 must vital ncedti. Olherwine, tlic "melody drama" idea loukH firKt rate. BLOOD AND SAND nuffalo, Sept. 14. Otin Skitiiier'H latr.st vehicle, "Blood and SmikI" -wriltcu by Tom Cunlung ^_^ anid fdiiiKU-d on Ibauog'H nov ol of tho j Baiiir u.:iii?^Tir*iT'Ti>iT»£JLiriir''Jftf!luTt*"OfY tfiypis and tuiuales, of toniporH and t<'iiiii<>raiiM>ntN, and of biillH and <*liiiia Khops. H'a SpaniHil to iho niUKtachic^K — liciioo perhapH i(H Mizzling dramatic liixli >potK. In it Skinnt^r addn an- o(lu r masterpiece to hlH already large ;;Ml!ery of Htago portraita, and one whicli will conic iloso to ranking with bin l/pst. Ah K1 (iallnrdo. the bull , fighter and idol of Spain, ho einhod. i its jiractically every vic«' aiul virtue ; known to the heroes of romantic ! dr.ntna. i I'l O'allnrdo, (he idol of his people, ' all'ioMirh of tlu' humblest origin, has' pl:ue(l hiniNelf <tr> the loftiest pedestal of <":\:iie by his own courage an<l ego- tism. IdoIix<'d hy all Spain, he be. liev< .sr liimKeif, with (lod's help, in- vuhieiahle, Th«'n comcH into his life i Dona Sol, a young noblewoman and; a heartless co<pjette. She pickB him j up, toys with him for a moment (or rather three nights, to be exact), and then tosses him aside, a human dere. lict to be ground under hoof in his next fight. A 8ort of Spanish Fool There Was —but with the accent very much on the Si)anish. Then, too. there is not a little of the (treat liOver in the stage st(?ry. In fact, the play is rich in that elusive Ditrichstein quality whicli always spells fascination and success with the women theatre goers. There is one passionately sii- zling love scene at the close of the secomi act with Skinner panting madly in his mistress' arms, which had the audience on the edge of their seats and brought a concerted sigh of reaig. nation when the curtain fell. That Kcene alone, as played by Skinner and Catherine <'alvert, is worth the nd* mission. It'll be the talk of sub.deb New York. In construction, the piece suffers from the necessities of adherence to the novelizetl story. The first act is excelient and the seeond, showing the untutored fighter's social crudities in the drawing room, stjill better. The thinl act drags and Hi merely drama- tized novel. The play coraes back hard for the first scene of the fimtl act—another passage between the hero and his mistress—and then drags off tS his death at the final curtain. Over 30 characters tell the story and the production is a pretentious one. Alias Calvert plays Dona Sol with rare beauty and understanding. • Her gowns are mugntfieient and she is filling to the eye and ear. Madelaine Dclmar handles well the difficult part of the hero's wife, and Cornelia Skin- ner, does a music teacher bit with charnf and intelligence. "Ulood and Sand" is not the great- est play the'star has ever had but it gives Skinner what he needs and the Skinner public what it waot^. Burton. weaker end of hia play, nod "Pot Luck" provides a refreshing leave taking to its audience. The quiet, cool Scotchman, Jame? Ucnnie, fills the .male role with a bit too much of the sober, demure spirit that is, after all, typical of the part- lie was throughout the evening a unique personality in this talc. The wife, in the hands of Clara M(>ores, received a plain. <lemure set- ting thar, could have gained fuller ex- pression by n more anin^ated person- aMty. Miss Moores had well studied the part with ihe thoroughness of a <>ii ker miss, but even New England folk nre not all crisp frigidity in the spliere of life occupied by the author's cli-racter. Terhapa to suit the chief player's S.otch calibre most of the cast vnrie<1 between hi.^ austere solemnity and (lie independcucf of the actual New l-hii^hnd folk. Townsfolk pervaded the play to n large extent, varied by the presence of RocklifTe Feflowcs as the associate pal, who engineered the m:!trimonial scheme. Scheucr. POT LUCK Atlantic City, Sept. 14. Kilbouni (iordon, plus "In*-.," evolved into the field of producing last evening at the CSIobe with a com- edy by the somewhat elusivcly tue- cessful Etiwcrd <>hildH Carpenter, Whose "Itomeo and Jane" is pleas: nt-' ly forgotten among our theatrical ventures of the past year. •Tot Luek," v^h a somewhat dif- ferent atmospheric setting, [h rernJ- nis<ent of the lately departed "No body's Money," as it tellw of the i:d- vcntures of a crook and his accom> plice. wherein one of the rouplet proves to have an lumest heart and a conscience that steels to the finish. Conne<ti( lit is the lo<ule. Wifh ntn)osphere provided by a eonslderai bio east o floral folk, the ttory in- troduces a maiden with a eomfort- uble income and a desire for a hus- band. An applicant and his rc:.ior.<c- fiil partner appear. The uneoui:* Ruit«>r f:ils and his companion suc- ceeds, they making a bargain to share her small fortune. Su.'cesH «Mo\vns the .'iclii.'venient of the husband until the ff)rm.>r pal returns to claim liis own from an author and !tio.'-r'«'ctiM< mayor. The village liter.iry einl) i,^ h*';iiiiic: Iiis new serial story, teillnn the adventures of tl'4 two pals with H( rini jnsl to date of the return of flie crifiiiiial accornpliee. The loeal lawyers jjive tlicir o|MniMii.«< an how fo outwit (he trickster with the result that lie disnppe:iis fr<>m view. There are two «-fs rf preliminnry |«le (lijit eonld he very well welded into one. with a drop rurtnin intei- vhI of time. Tlicn ((Mue two ve\v sntisfyinir acts of comedy with a 'oil of niehxlri^in itie interest woven in. The (lryi;ess and eomiiKniDlarr larlt of inte'-'>>f which have imikj.- the Iir^( acts y»rac(icallv afi in(i-odiict'on j;ive way to rdens.intries and ;'<'tion. ni.l "I'ot Lurk" i;lays itself into (he spiiit of home folks and the setting of New %ivlHnd. The eharacters are inter- esting and the whole storv built on a solid id«>t. The nlay seems liow- ever. to possess the fanit thrt is Devpr omitted from Mr. Carpenter's writings, namely, the inability to stretch his plot to the full length of the evening. Fortunately for "Pot Luck," tk« earlier portion la the TOWN GOSSIP Boston. Sept. 14. Ollle Fowler Johnny Doolcy MunilM Fowler Helen Broderick Nan Howard Bleanor Gritnth Arthur Johnson Vinton Freedlcy Mrs. Ophelia SuVren Florence Barle Peats Haffren Charles P. Morrison Ajcgie Suflren Rita Owin Violet Kay Lillian Fitsgerald John WIndlor Qlbson Stanley Ford Kdna Gibson Grace Moore Stewart Braaa Lester Crawford Dorothy Rogers Bdythe Baker Lola Conway Jean Shirley Gertrude Bvoy Muriel Stryker Madse Rushton Mary Phillips Ambroas Lionel Pape Oswald Horace Lee Davis ' viix •• •••••••••••«•••«•••• ••••.. (Jftrlo0 Jeanette June Roberts Paulctte Inez Mortie Byrrt Byfon Sophie Ornyce Brewer Walter Wellworth Ivan Arbuckls Minerva Huyler Fay West Husie SimpaoD Helolse Sheppard nangr«:r On Howard Ramie White Wings Malcolm Hicks Miss RItzi Beulah MacFarland Miss Worth Husel Webb The official diagnoaia of Ned Way- burn'a "Town Goaaip" seema to be that it is suffering from an*acute overdose of embryonic and mediocre talent. After a beetle opening week iu Baltimore with Wayburn^ en- ergies concentrated on financial prob- lems rather than those of production, he broufLt the show, which is a musical comedy rather thas a re- vue, into the Colonial here in a rag- ged condition with cast and chorus aeeming a trifle dispirited. It is not probable that Wayburn will tolerate for long a first act running over two hours, or a chorus that up to date is good to look upon, but still in the wall-flov^er state with- out one* real working number. It seems to be the old atory of too much on the shoulders of one indi- vi<lua\ Until Wayburn is able to shake off his "sole ownership" trib- ulationn, he will probably be unable to do himself justice in whipping into shape a cumbersome cast which he himself admits is still working in a ragged prodnction. ScenicallT and as regards coatumes he Is alL s«t, and in Harold Oblob's score he has one number "Just Like the Sunshine" which looks like a winner. lie has a pot.of unlimited comedy possibilities and a big cast of lesser principals, many apparently having been cast because of novel little specialties ranging from hand- sprin^a Upwn to whistling solos. It 18 in !augh8 and speed tl- t •'Town-Gossip" needa heroic action, and (he speed will never be obtained until Che show is slaabcd by at least half an hour and the chorus given some real work. The situation stems almost the same as was the case at the premiere of ('ohan's 'The O'Brien Girl" which Cohan, flanked by .lulian Mitchell and the late .fsmes Gorman, kept plugging and slashing; and building until he carried it for IS weeka through a hot sum- li.er aiMl closed to a $24,000 week. It is difficult to imagine Wayburq under normal conditions sponsoring a personal production containing rc- lejised*' gags, such as "Have I ever had the pleasure of meeting your wife—What makes you thing it is a pleasure" or "The garbage man is /it I In- baek door, sir—Well, tell him we <l()ii't want any today" or "Our auto has no engine because I heard Pa say it was missing" or "Our bungalow M.'i] have hu windows—What will yoi: do for a little son and heir." .lohnny Dooley is being featured e(pially with Lillian Fit::^crald. the former having found himself admir- ably whie the latter apart from two of her standard type of speeialties has a weak part and no entrance that i<l«'ntifies her from the flock of minor piinfipals. Helen Ifftderiek. who can s!ioof KURs across to a bulls eye, has MM opening role that starts like a lioiiKo alirp and which peters ou^ to iiolhinK before the conclusion of ilir two third first act. Grayce Brewir's Ladies' Jazz Band, featured as "Seven Ryncopat- ii.K Sirens" dominates an nctionlessi serond act, most of which is spent in a banquet table scene with Stan- ley Kord introdueing the specialties for all the world like a Vaughan Comfort ami with Dooley as an end man. .Tune Roberts, Muriel Stry- ker, Carlos and Ines, and Rdythe Baker are inclnded in the apeeial- Uea, the lattar at the piano proT- ing the high spot of the night ip spontaneoua applause. The plot opens in a buteble New Jersey home, two housewives. Helen Broderick and Florence Barle, being engaged in swatting ' flies and gab- bing married Hfe. One husband (Dooley) has just completed a cor- respondence school course as a de- tective and the other husband (Charles P. Morrison) beeauae not nllow<'d to amokc in the houfie, has invented a "swell Miner 'for briar pipes. The action then junins to New York in an "Uninvited Cigar Store" where Dooley works as a. detective, but in reality is being used by the Anti-Tobacco league to hand oat propaganda instead of coupons. From here the action jumps to the mi'l- ionaire chain tobacco store magnet's home where Lctscr Crawford labors with a hopeless part apparently built for him to keep in the cast with Miss Broderick. The entire second act is the same lavish set that dosed the first act. Rito Owen, an ade- noid type of flapper with a Char- lotte Greenwood build and dance, came into her own in .this act with a specialty which would have stood out more prominently but for the fact that almost everybody with a *rpeak- ing part has been given a chance to ,do their little epecialty, whatever it may be, apparently in anticipation of a wholesa'e slashing of those of least merit whenever Wayburn gets time to concentrate on his production. Libhey. IN THE MOUNTAINS Baltimore, Sept. 14. Carl Sohnltslsr * • .Mr. Mann Dora Schnltaler, his wife. Louisa Baavdet Dan Schnltslcr. tala son... Arthur Carew Bflla SchDitsler, his daughter. Prances Sttrltng Clarke Wlltaelm Brand Hans Hansen Balle Brand, hIa wife Kva Randolph Koae Brand. hIa daushtcr.Wanda Carlylo Charles Johnaon.'. Wllllajri llolden Josephine Johnson, his wire..Dola Adlei Pred Tanner Barl J. aUI>ert. Jr Morsan Rockafeller Wells. John W. Cowel) Hhaar a servant v .. Kenneth Lc« Freda, a maid Prancea Harlsnd ^luch too long and far too ^alky is the new Louis Mann starring vehicle, "In the Mountains," by Samuel Ship- man and Clara Lipman, presented at the Lyceum Tuesday. There is easily one hour that can be cut from per- formance, and the cutting should be done in the heavy dramatic section, leaving the comedy as at present, and, if anything build up that sec- tion. It is described as a Mmedy- dram.«, but drama at present far overshadows the comedy. The initial perforinaace was de- cidedly off; practically the entire cast were faulty in the lines and possibly tlie worst offender was Mr. Manu himself. It was very difficult to hear him at times, but that fault was also apparent with the others 'of the cast. One thing the out-of-town engage- ment will undoubtedly convince Mr. Mann of and that is the neceasitly of making several changes in hia cast. There are at least three people wh(> might be replaced to the advantage of the piece. They are Arthur Carew. who plays the juvenile lead: Dola Adier, daughter of the .Tewiah aotor. .lacob Adier. and Kva Randolph, iu one of the character roles. The Shipman-Lipman combinatioi. has given Mr. Mann a role in "In the Mountaina" that fits him perfectly Be is a lovable old character thai runs a mountain resort hotel on a rathjcr amalj scaje. He has a wife son and claifghtef." The ffrs! ifkeTlT' play eards and flirt with the younger male guests; the son is a classica' music bug. and the daughter haa beer betrayed by her employer, a politica' boss. As if this wasn t sufficient woe for one pair of old shoulders to carry, business ie bad. There arc but Fcven guests at th( hotel, a couple with a marriageable daughter who bps a dowry of $75,000 a political boRK and his young wife: a young advertiaing writer and a son^ plugger masquerading as a millionaire He is on the job to try and win ai heiress because of an ad which th« young advertisinK man lias writter stating that the hotel abounded witi wealthy, marriageable girls. Mann, as (^irl Sebnitzler. plan* the mnrr'aee of bis son to the gir with the $7r).O0O. The boy rcluctUnt ly etmsents under pressure beeausf^ lie is in love with the wife of th' nMliC.iMnn nnd slio .•eturnw the Kcnti- meut. The politieiaii is the employei *of Srlinity.ler's dauglitev. who ha trusted biin in the belief that Ik would marry Iwr. But he has cast her aside and eomr^eljed the daughtor of a umii that be lias saved from jai' to become his wifr. lie tells the girl that he is willing to make amends for the wrong that he has done her and she asks Iii^n to free his wife so thai her brother may have her. This hr eonspiits to providing that she will ii turn marry him. Tliiy scene oocur^- on the night of the partv where tlu engagements of her and her brother have just been announred; the boy t( the girl with the .$75,000. and she t( the young advertising man whom slu loves. She consents so that hei brother may achieve his happiness This arrangement upsets all of thr plans of the elder Sebnitxler and he orders the closing and sale of the hotel and announces his determination to leave his famiy. At the last minotc matters awing INSIDE STUFF ON LEGIT A Broadway producing firm has presented three fllYTers in a ron- thus far. The quickneaa of the closings and the general atmosphern created by mediocre business on Broadway gave rise to rumors th!. firm was in financial distress. However, the firm put over what looks like a real mofiey getter. Prior to Its opening- and the ruloa laid down for ticket agencies probably provided the'vapor that led to the rumors of financial strargTSts'r The treasurer uf the houcfe huldio^ the hit was instructed to tell the brokers that unless they paid for their allotment of tickets for four weeks in advance, with no retum.s, CO tickets would be given them. He was told to. tell the brokers that the firm needed the money. The agencies agreed, the total amount cf the buy for four weeks being $27,000. After the ahow opened, lUa brokers even asked for more tickets. "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife," due to open last week at the Kits, w^i postponed until next week because of a cast change which returnel ISdmund Breese to the companxp Breese appeared in the play during the try-out ahowing early in tire summer, when Mary Servos was in the lead, ttow j^Iayed by Ina Claire, for whom the part was miended. With the return of Breese to the show, Lester Lonergan, who directed it first, also stepped back to apply the finishing touches, Robert Mil. ton withdrawing. Both Milton and Lonergan will remain with the William Harris, Jr., office. ^ A special statement has been prepared regarding the riosing of "Bluebeard" aiicx iu» u^luhi^ in New Haven two weekii ago. Wil- liam Harris. Jr., states that the chief of police there failed to under- stand the play, that he acted arbitrarily and that there was no com- plaint, the officer taking actions on his own initiative. The manager denies the play has any salacious qualities. -^ One of the big stories of last week broke in Boston, when Urbiaii J. Ledouz trooped with his "church of unemployed" to the com- mon and started an auction along the lines of a slaTe market. Men out of work and stanring were offered to the highest hldde>'. the lat- ter to supply food and shelter in return for the seryicos of the mei^ who offered to do any sort of work. Much interest oyer the unique idea was arouaed until the Huh dailies came out with stories that the auction of the Jobless was a hoax, promoted by Morris Oest, whose "Mecca" opened there Muuday and who offered jobs to seyeral of the men placed on the "auction block." "Mecca" has a slaye mart scene and the newspapers insisted' it was. all a press stunt. Ledoux. who Is known as "Mr. Zero." in- dignantly 4^ied the charge and declared he would continue tiif auction to help his men. Though no.statement was made by Mr. Gest, the coincidence of thf aartlon stunt and his play and the fact that he put oyer auother spectacular stunt on the Boston Common before, speaks for Itself. Several seasons ago, when "The Wanderer" played there, the shecrp from the show were grased on the Common. It was claimed at the time that an old law permitted it. By the time the city authorities awoke to the stunt, the dailies had featured the sheep Incident to the full. During the auctioning Ledoux's yoice gaye out and Loney Haskell, who was playing Keith's, was called from the crowd assembled and corried on the appeal far aid. Frank Pope, *for eight years dramatic critic for the Journal of Commerce, has resigned and is now connected with Vanity Fair in a business capacity. When Pope Joined the Journal staff the gross business from theatrical advertieements was |8,000 auuually^ which he increased steadily, the publication getting about 145,000 yearly from theatres in recent seasoiis. The Journal of Commerce, lately changed hands, with a number of the original st^ff withdraw- ing. Mason Peters, formerly with the H. W. Sayage office, !r now in charge of the daily's dramatic department. The publication Is a specialist in financial news, with distribution yirtually limited to lower New York. William Harris, Jr., though not credited in Chicago reports, hai ' always played his attraOLions there at $2.50. that going for the boom times of tue last two seasons, when many Broadway attracions played the big sUndfi at 13 top and more. "Abraham' Lincoln" and "East Is West" are among the Harris attractions with that scale, which also fxtUined in New York. The'only Harris show at $3 was "The Bad Man" during the run at the Comedy. New t^ork. The show la now at the Princess. Chicago, at $2.50 top. When Percy Hammond, perhaps the best known daily-paper re* viewer of theatricals in America, left the Chicago Tribune for the New York Tribune, the Chicago sheet, which calls itself "The World'a £rr«iat.«»st .Nf^wapaner." appointed Shepard Butler to succeed Ham- i ciond. Butler was. years ago, a critic on the now defunct Cui<Ui40 Inter-Ocean. Since then he has been auto editor of the Trib^ine. DecauRc of Hammond's fame. Butler'8 Btort was watchftd with inter- est especial tp the circumstances, and Hammond likewise. Ham- mond, the famous panner, opened with extraordinary mildness in ■<• New York. FoV a week or more everything seemed to please..him. > Butler? Oh, he opened up by slamming "Llghtnin'" with Frank'" Hacon, which he called "a oimple play for simpletons." Thiw conies nearest to Justifying the famous quip pulled by Jimmy Dptklrt, the voteran office boy of the Chi. Trib., who, when Hammond was tf- slgned to cover the Peace Conference, exclaimed: "My Gawd— s'pose he don't like it!" I iround satisfactorily. The politician. n addition to riying np his wife, i.v ilso ready to give up the girl fo that ••he ean marry the man that she loves; the son f^ots^ the v.ife and the song plugger cops the .$7.').000 girl, nnd the old man and his wife are reconciled. The piece is* in four acts, two wienies btfiuK utilised. Tlif fxterior of the hotel serves for the first two acts and an interior, a parlor in the • «tablishinent. is the scene of action in the lant two. Mr. Mann as Rchnit»ler scored a personal triumph. His role is a com- bination of the old (icrman eharacters that he has exe<>lle<l in. There is a little of every one of the characteri- zations that he has portrayed in the last score of ye^rs included in his old hotel keeper. Practically plaving opposite him as a foil is Hans Han- sen as Wilhelm Bi«nd. the wealthy •'igar hianufacturer with the mar- riaeeable daughter. Hansen gave a truly splendid performance. The eveningV honors, other than those achieved by Mr. Mann, were bestowed on Frances Stirling (Clarke, who endowed Effie Schnitzler, Uie daughter, with a pernonality that made her ring true. She carried the weight of the performance, playing with reprtased emotion a role that could have been most easily over- acted. Her work in this play sog* gests that bigger things may be ex- pected of her. Louise Bcaudet. more lately of picture fame, carried the frivoloaa wife of Schnitzler role aloni; at a diz«y pace. It was a performance that she will be liked in. Wanda Carlylc. an th?* dar^ghtcr of Urand, gave a fAirly satisfactory perfonn- ance. while William llolden as the politician managed to convey the sug- gestion of the heavv rather suceess- fully and Earl J. Gilbert. Jr.. wa« a breer.v little od writer. John W. Cowell, as the song-plugging wife hunter, might have gotten a little more comedy out of his nssirnment There 'are two minor roles. Kenneth Lee playing an old servant and Fran- ces Ilarland as a hotel sLivey. wits a corking character make-up to dii- gnise her undeniable prettlness Arthur Carew. a« the son of Schnitzler. failed to impress. HeJi stilted and mechanical. The mi scene he has in the third art was • iorrv Qffair. - "In the Monntsins" has a week anj a half, Washington and ,WilmingtoB booked after Baltimore, but that d»ei nyt seem to be time enough to gei the show into shspe for New Yorl, Fred: I