Variety (November 1922)

■Vr» •f»».>if».)'- •'•"Tf^7 ■■fi'TN' IS '»■ , * ■ ^' LEGITIMATE Friday, November 17, 1022 '■■?^ B« ConvenlentTy dies just as he gets a political appointment and just as his daughter la about .to marry handsomely. From the nagging and squawking that she gives him, he would be jUatifled in kicking her In the face rather than leading her to the altar. However, her "love child." a sacharine youth, whom she has neglected In order to devote herself to the rising lover, saves her. He saves her just as one would expect from the son of that woman by some unknown seducer — by blackmailing his mother's recalci- trant paramour with the passion of his own daughter for this ill-born •on of his own mistress. The girl reflects her crazy mother and the boy makes good all he has been called, even the ugly name, liut the author-never takes that view— he Idealizes the girl's strumpet lechery, he apostrophizes the boy's dirty double-cross, ho sanctifies the woman's spineless obliquities and makes it all a syrup-stained fam- ily affair, as benignly beatific as gathering at grandma's for Thanks- givinp. each of the rotters seeking to outdo the other in verbose "no- bility." Women will probably care /or this play, since women always rally to the defense of women—the wronger they are the more they should* be defended—and always sympathize with children who b«ar the scarlet letter. As a matter of actual richt and wrong, every principal in "The Love Child," and moat of the minor characters, should have done SO days on the island. But with the vaporings on mother love and gratitude and good faith and love triumphant over every- thing (even horse sense), only the searching eye of the confirmed grouch like the undersigned can penetrate the brash blowholes. rrhe Love Child" will likely be a hit, and may even outdo "Bast of Sues," another Woods production treating of something similar, though it isn't flit to be in the same town with Maughdn's masterpiece— even if that town be New York. L,aU. FOREIGN REVIEWS THE ROMANTIC AGE Hufb Ford and PYederick Rtanffipe pre- sent A. A. lllUie'a comedy. StAsed by Mr. Htanbope. Opened »X the Comedy, New York. Nov. 14. Mrs. Knowle Daisy Belmore Mellsande. ber daughter.. Marir^lo Oillmore Jane Bagot, her niece Jean Ford Alice Ida Molthen ■ Mr. Knowle Marsh Allen Itobby Nell Martin (Jervaae Mallory Leslie Howard Km Paul Jaccia Master Susan J. M. Kerrigan THE SECRET AGENT London. Nov. 8. Joseph Conrad's position as a novelist is an enviable one. Work- ing gradually from the authorship of some of the best sea stories writ- ten, he has attained literary emi- nence, but "The Secret Agent," a dramatization of one of his best novels, and his debut as a play- wright reveals him as the merest tyro in the new art to which he has aspired. From a mass of fine dramatic material he has evolved a poor play, poorly written. His characters do little but sit around and talk, most of the action apparently taking place "off." For seven out of eight scenes his characters chatter; in the eighth the author tries to save the situation by resorting to full- blooded melodrama. M. Verloc is to all appearances an ordinary shopkeeper, but in reality he is a spy in the pay of a foreign embassy. Things are not working as well as his immediate chief de- sires, but look none too good for him. He consents to b'^come an agent provocateur and organizes a bomb outrage. Everything is cut and dried, but he has still to find some one who will actually hurl the deadly missile. Anarchists are pro- verbially good talkera and organ- izers, but prefer choosing some one else to actually do the dirty work. Verloc is no different to the rest, and looking round for a suitable agent, he chooses his own wife's half-witted brother. Proud of the honor done him. the youth attempts to blow up the observatory at Greenwich, but only succeeds in killing himself. Later Mrs. Verloc learns the truth and retaliates, kill- ing the secret agent with a table knife. The play is Interpreted by an exceedingly fine cast. Miriam Lewis gives a fine performance as the wife, playing with a passionate Intensity, while excellent perform- ances come from Hilary St. Barbe West, Clifton Boyne, Malcolm Mor- ley and Russell Thorndyke. As a story "The Secret Agent" is great; as a play it may prove a success when drastically rewritten and gingered up. As it stands its only chance is the Interest sur- rounding the author's name and work. Oore. St. James. He has seleeted Petro- grad in 1917, with the fall of Keren- sky, as the time and place. Taking the first night's audience as a criterion, the play is an un- qualified failure. It starts off with every promise of developing into a play as strong as Sardou's "Ther- mldor," and winds up with a lot of talk designed to depict the hopeless muddle into which Russia has be- come Involved through the efforts of the Bolshevists to establish Com- munism. Instead of making Russia in 1917 the background for a strong love story, as Sardou did with the Reign of Terror, Mr. Page has at- tempted to present a picture of Bol- shevism, but only succeeds in an uninteresting harangue on the hopelessness of the situation in that country for a long time to come. As if the play were not poor enough, the actors in it were un- familiar with their lines and did not prove themselves adept in the art of "stalling." Arthur Wontner has the leading role of a prince who realizes the necessity for a change of gov- ernment, and Doris Lloyd makes a charming princess with suflncient spirit to adapt herself to the altered conditions from wealth, position and luxury to dire poverty and suffer- ing:. At the conclusion there were In- sistent calls for the author, who wisely refrained from putting in an appearance, as it was evident to all that, had he done so, he would have been greeted with indications of disapproval. The Interesting section of the per- formance was the rendition of a series of Russian folk songs in lieu of aji overture and preceding the rise of the curtain for each act by the Grigori Makaroff Singers. So acceptable was this innovation the audience resented the continuance of the play, despite numerous en- cores. Jolo. BED^E CHATS '*• .'5 ■■'.*■■■ This, faithfully, is not A. A. Milne's "new comedy," really being rn old work which induced pro- duction after some of this young Playwright's subsequent work j/;:cved materially successful. It has the whimsical, gossamer charm not unlike some of Barrie's plays and yet the most hardy of present-day entrepeneurs would hardly dare a I>r'^'1uctlon liabMity n<« an nnfbnr'R r-aiden effort without some pre- vious suL.tantial repute. The second of this three-act comedy is one of the finest of the modern fanciful!/ romantic scenes. Melisande, the romuntlc maiden who shudders at the sound of her nickname "Sandy." finally meets up with her dream k ght, whom she has pictured a dashing Lancelot in doublet 4ind hose «.* cloth of gold. and who. w'ould woo her with all the rhivalrous abandon and ignorance of the palate's necessities so as to make breakfast and bread sauce and other such mui.Jane things un- necessary to their worldly exist- ence. Sandy hv.8 been fed up on her parents' conversations about bread sauce and food, and besides Is weary of her ordinary wooers, who wear the same black and white evening clothes, and talk the same things, and who are on the stock exchange and far frcm her ideal. At the end of the flr.'^t act such a dream knight comes to her and she is happy even though on the mor- row she fancies it but a trick of the moonlight. Her prince, Gervase Mallory, is true in the flesh and thus oddly attired for purposes of the masque ball. The second act finds the twain meeting once again in the wood- land glade, Gervase still the cour- tier costumed of old. His motor has broken down In the night and he never reached his ballroom des- tination, which the simple Meli- sande does not know. Wandering through the thicket on her usual morning Jaunt, she is greeted as the Princess by the gallant Gervase. He calls at her father's court later in the aftemocn to claim the kand of the princess (Act III) and Meli- sande is ruefully disillusioned by her Gervase in golf knickers and as conventionally costumed as Bobby, her former swain, or her father, or anybody else for that matter. That act of explanation, the transforming of Elizabethan ideals into the twentieth century setting, Is rhasterfully written and portrayed. One wonders what th^ fate of this faerv effusion woujd .be in less -Rentle hands than Mjirpalo Ginmore. J^eslie Howard, Daisy Helmoro. J. M. Kerrigan, Jean [Forcl and Neil Martin. Mr. Milno I would hardly have asked better treatment of any of his characters. Miss Gillmore was superb as the romantic Meli- sande. Howard was a gallant, dash- ing vis-a-vis, with the support of an •qually high par. A^cl. THE BALANCE Lonndon. Oct. 27. Tom Walls and Leslie Henson, who produced the sensationally suc- cessful "Tons of Money," are branching out with their production activities. Their latest effort was presented at the Strand last night. It is a frank, unabashed, old-fash- ioned melodrama, written by J^'rank Dix and Leon M. Lion—one of the "old school," wherein the villain is a solicitor—a rascal without one re- deeming trait, who robs everybody, even his own timid, shrinking little clerk (It must be pronounced "Clark"), and In so doing comes to an untimely end at the hands of said "Clark." No small measure of the probable success of the piece is due to the casting and production by Tom Walls. The players are almost without exception not only capable but brilliant in their playing, and in this connection the authors have provided them with roles well writ- ten dnd quite true to life. There was but one exception, that of the "heavy," drawn by the authors as altogether too villainous and not played, as was the others, according to approved, up-to-date standards of acting. There is a possibility the actor was ordered to character- ize it along the old-fashioned "ha ha" methods in an endeavor to fully sustain the villainy of the charac- terization. Tho cream of histrionic honors goes to George Elton, as the meek, shrinking solicitor's clerk who, when robbed of his wife for whom he steals a few pounds of his em- ployer and Is forced to sigrn a con- fession which Is constantly dangling before his eyes with a threat of Im- prisonment which he pleads will kill his aged mother, finally decides to revenge when his mother dies. There are numerous character drawings, straight and comedy, but next to the role of the clerk the most outstanding is that of a factory girl who deliberately goes wrong to pur- chase proper food and medicine for another girl who Is ill. Mary Clare invests this part with a sincerity and vividness that is most excep- tional. The result of a return to crude, blunt, old-style melodrama is be- ing watched with considerable in- terest In local managerial circles, and if it Is surces.xful will probably be followed by other plays of sim- ilar ilk. Joio. THE TOILS OF TOSHITOMO >^ ; London, Oct. 16. No name Is given &s sponsor for this presentation at the Little thea- tre of "The Tolls of Yoshltomo," a tragedy of ancient Japan by Tora- hiko Korl, English version by Hester Sainsbury. It is a lugubri- ous affair, with flowery dialog, pon- derous and pedantic, and stilted through being a translation of the Japanese language of the twelfth century. The story of the play Is gloomy in the extreme. According to the custom then prevailing, an Emperor resigned his throne, assuming the title of ex-Emperor. In the begin- ning of the twelfth century, in which the scenes of the play are laid, the ex-Emperor sought to re- ascend by force the throne which he had once relinquished agaicst bis will. As a result, many fauillies, wltOd^ falliOis, broth€:ra and eons were offlcers In the different palaces, were compelled to fight each other. Among the partisans thus divided Tameyoshl, a venerable gsandfather, long retired from public life, was called upon to take command of the ex-Emperor's army, while his son, Yoshltomo, was leader of the Em- peror's, forces. The audience were therefore confronted with the dig- nified old man orating to his son that he was no son at all If he broke his oath to the Emperor by not kill- ing his opposing general, viz., his own father; whereupon the son grows more and more melancholy. J. Fisher White as the father and Milton Rosmer as his unhappy son are effective in visualizing the dig- nity of their positions. They are ably supported by a competent cast, but there Is likely to be small curiosity on the part of the British public to witness the sufferings of Yoshltomo. Jolo. BT HEIUX BEVELL Wanted—Cirsulation Manao«rl / | This congress of therapeutics, who are trying to get a bill of health I>assed for me, explain that the cause of "my heart's bcrwed down" condi. tlon is poor circulation, and that I will have to boost it considerablyi before I will be allowed to sit up. Il I must confess I know more about the advertising ^nd editorial depart- menta than about the circulation end. But I always understood that whea .j our circulation falls off it is because our comj etltors are getting whaf^j should be coming to us. I am wondering who my competitors are. m< Now I suppose I will have to run a voting contest or give away prizef to Increase my circulation. *i I used to fret a great deal about the things the doctors did, or omltte<l '3 doing, for me. I often wondered If mine was an Isolated case. But afterf^: hearing about the proceedings In the Hall-Mills case over in Jersey. Ifj reckon it is the way of all nvedlcos, MrS. Mills was examined by thftfi coroner and his staff and they discovered she had a broken ankle. After ^i she was exhumed, and an autopsy held, it was found that her throat had^^i been cut from ^r to ear. And the first examination did not reveal thfv* fact. '."■/ . ■ ,'■ ,;'^ ,.■, •■ ^- ■'■"■' V My eyes have improved considerably. I can have the shades up and read my own mail. Can also read the large headlines in the newspapers. What a grand and glorious feeling it is, and how grateful I am for thatf^ privilege! And what a sympathy I have for anyone who'la. totally blind! .;' For three years I have been reticent about discussing a certain Incident In connection with the early pact of my illness, and have purposely;; refrained from discussing it. fearing that an erroneous Impression might be created. I was afraid people might get the idea that I was discrediting chIro«v . practlc, which I am not. It la not my intention to discredit any calling^ or method of healing. But as there have been so many conflicting rumors regarding the cause of my collapse, I feel that I should relate facts as they really happened* and that my friends in the profession are entitled to know the truth.' This breakdown had been coming on for two years. My step was getting slower and my nervousiless more acute. » Z': ' ,' ;'/^ "V.' After I had sat on rubber rings and surrounded Iby air cushions for months, and suffered with terrible backaches, a friend prevailed upon me to go to a chiropractor in New York, which I did. He gave me two treatments and the second day hurt me so badly my assistant had to come to take me home. A few days later Mrs. Elizabeth New, a masseuse who treats many theatrical people, was sent for. She looked at my back, ran her finger up and down my spine^ and remarked: "Why, I wouldn't touch you for a million dollars. Your back is broken." You can imagine my reaction. I was stunned—dazed. The next day I was X-rayed and horrified at learning that three vertebrae had been caved in. In the interest of justice I must say, however, I do not believe that the chiropractor's treatment would have injured them if they had not been already affected. The irony of the situation was that it was a brother of the chiropractor who had given me the treatment who was called upon to X-ray me. I would probably have gone to pieces very soon anyway with my spine in such condition, and I should not like to be understood as .saying that the chiropractor's treatment is wholly responsible for my Illness. But I do believe that they should not give such hard, rough usage without X-raying the affected area to ascertain if there be any diseased parts. And there's no question but that this chiropractor's carelessness added years to my suflfering. -, ,^.- , The mouse has been apprehended. N. V. A. cheese may be all right for rarebits or to garnish apple pie with, but as mice bait it's no good. Maybe the mouse wouldn't take It because there was no apple pie with it. Then, too, it was in a very fancy red mouse trap. Perhaps the poor thing was afraid to go in there to dine, afraid it would have to pay cover charge. Or, again, maybe he thought it was the Cheese Club, and remembered that overall parade. Last Friday Mrs. Horace Mortimer bought me a nickel mouse trap at the flve-and-dime store and loaded it with good old-fashioned kosher bacon. In 20 minutes we hai the culprit. Then a fine Knights of Columbus nurse, who glories in the name of Brophy. said. "It serves him right for eating meat on Friday." Mike and Mike. Goldreyer and Mlndlln, those precocious' producers^ started my week right by coming in early. They brought candy, proving they do not read my column. They also brought a fine half-pint fiask—« of perfume. They were on their way to make the rounds of the news- papers. I reminded them they were successful producers now, and dl4 not need to call personally on the newspaper men. Mr. Goldreyer says he is so accustomed to doing it, he likes it. Mr. Mindlln says he would rather do that than stay in his office and dodge offers from picture pro- ducers for the rights to their show. I was glad to learn that they felt safe in my room. But before they left, a well-known picture producer called. I introduced them. "I have been trying to get in touch with you," said the movie man. "I want to talk to you about tho film rights to 'The Last Warning'." If he gets them I want a commdsslon. *. ... THE BEATING ON THE DOOB London. Nov. 7. Austin Page, the author of "By Pigeon Post," personally presents his latest piece of staj;o writing, "The Beating on the Door," at the |many months to come. LAST WALTZ ^; London, Oct. 12. Produced at th6 Gaiety, Oct. 7, "The Last Walf^." Engli.sh adapta- tion by Reginald Arkell, achieved a triumph and seems likely to bring back the traditions of the old Gaiety days more than any other piece pro- duced since the death of George Ed- wardes. Much of the success was due to the reappearance of of Jose Collins, who received an ovation both on her first entrance and at curtain fall. As Vera, Jose Collins has an ex- ceptionally good dramatic part and is seen at her best. Klngsley Lark is excellent as the British officer condemned to be shot, but who will not break his parole when his high- born sweetheart gives him the chance. Bertram WalUs, a favorite of the old days, is only seen in the last act as Prince Paul. What comedy there Is in the show comes from Alfred Welleslcy as an old general. Amy Augarde as a match- m.aking mother, and Leonard Rus- sell as a young man who is in love from time to time with each of her four daughters, but cannot make up his mind. "The Last Waltz" comes to the Gaiety after a successful run in Manchester, where it is said to have played to over 1,400 a night. It should keep the (ialety packed for Jolo, Mary Margaret McBride of the "Evening Mail" and Stella Kahn of Leo Feist's staff Just returned from a tour of European cities and announce that the only American paper they could get in most of the foreign places was "Variety," and that the only paper printed in English they found in Germany was "Variety." Chris Morley, who is nothing if not humorous, has, according to Arthur Brisbane, written something which is too good for private circulation. Mr. Morley was describing a meeting of "front page alumni" gentlemen, like Dr. Cook and Nicky Arnstein, that have known glaring publicity and lost it. Toward the end of the meeting a member named Stillman remarked: "Publicity makes strange bedfellows." A voice at the rear: "You have it wrong. It's the other way round." There Is also an old saying that politics makes strange bedfellows. So does bootlegging, for that matter. But who would ever have dreamed, back in tho old pre-suffrage days, that we would some day see nuns at the polls voting? Tuesday of last week I requested the nurse to say to the sister In charge of the floor that I would like to see hQr. She replied that the sister had gone out. I facetiously retorted: "Gone out to vote, I presume." Later on in the day the sister came in my room. "Hello, sister," 1 greeted her. "Who did you vote for?" "Smith," she replied non* chalantly. I thought she was Just falling in with my mood, and paid no further attention to it until a friend of mine—a voter in this district—came in last night and told me-oUiis-^amazcmcnt at the polls to find the pla£fi- swarming with nuns. * The next day I hailed a sister who was passing my room and asked her if it was true that tho nuns from this hospital had voted last Tuesday. Slie assured me it was. I have heard of political parties selecting candidates on the ground that they could carry the vote of certain classes or nationalities. Now I am waiting for some enterprising young candidate to announce that h© expects to carry the nuns' vote. '