Variety (July 1923)

Thursday, Jiily 2B, 182S LEGITIMATE \ 10 Jilt'' OUT OF TOWN REVIEWS i:.m: I f^ i.V. tlXTLE JESSIE JAMES Longr Branch, N. J., July 25. Tinker..•••>•••• Allen Keama .Miriam Hopkins lira F'loirw..{' ,,....Winifred Harric XrildiBe Flower lUldred Richardson • pTui Revere Maurlc« Holland ■^'r. BkKsK • ian|es B. Otreon ' Strs. Jamleeon Clara Thropp jeiwle Jamle«>n Nan Halperin William J. Pierce Roger Gray Si^e^ Robert y Cohen Harold ;l**iH' ^j!!y'"? Sinlly V" • • •.» Sf, '^w!'** l^reMa 's Ix>retta Flushing vranoea '. •. 'V Frances Upton ^tJJ^ ." Bobble Brenlau Blanche **^ Blanche OBrien Arnea. ...••••••••••••••••• • Agnea Morrte^y Rurti » i'*H^'* Connely j^ueilla ..•••. Lucllla MendM j^moia ,.«••«•••• BflARia Ramsey ? Whether "Little J«ssie Jame«," the omusical comedy presented here by ' L. tAwrence Weber. Is to have a •brief or Indeterminate^etay In New Tork. where it l« i.eAded, wtU more, or less depend on the i>onit of view ^ the sponsora of theatrical morals "take, from a Broadway a.u{)^. al -jleist. As dne young woman ex- pressed after seeing the offering, •/•'While It la not risque, it is cer- tainly wantonly vulgar." ■ Nan Halperin haa the titular role, supported by a wett-balanced .caat. v'The piece ia by Harlan Thompson, identifled with vaudeville writings. •He is responsible for the book and lyrics, with Hfirry Archer contribut- ing the music. Nobody seeme<^ to know much about him. The im- pression prevailed William B. Fried- Jnnder (Miss Halperin's husband) . anuy have undertaken the task < under a nom de guerre. -tThe pivotal situation is an auto- <,^m!itic and collapsible bed fixed in • the wall. It opens and closes by pushing^a birtton. Two of the char- acters hide in the bed. Side by side they remain concealed, presumably (or three hours. v/iUi the 1 usband of the ■vroman waiting foy i^er re- turn to the house, and the fiancee of the man asking impertinent questions relative to his absence. To make sure that the situation may be understood by the audience. a number of lines are furnished by the author in tiie hope that the . aalaciousness of the affair might be «omewhat glossed., a procedure that ...was not very successful. On the ■Other hand, it only served to pile u,) aany laughs at the expense o( de- ' <iency which, because of the comedy. ..WAS not resented at the time, but was sharply recalled after the play wns over. In the past when beda were used on the firtage for the sole purpose of supplying risque situations, the at- tendant busine»8 invariably took place in full view of the customers. _Mr. Thompson, however, has revolu- tionized this by leaving all to the Imagination. He has done most of his work well, even if his story Is a hit conventional. The ingredients, filched and elaborated from familiar €Ources of farce, hokum and bouffe. bu< presented with a devious fresh twist here and there, were uproari- bu.sly accepted. Two acta with one setting. Kight chorus girls, while not en- dowed with looks, iMiow how to etep and aided. From a melody arglo the songs, which included 18. ranging from one waltx to the inevitable jazz, will not be universally whi.«itled. "I Love You" poeses^ed the catchlost strain. No novelties were introduced and the plot did not call for much stupendous setting or gorgeous coe- tumlng. The James Boys, quoted on the proRram and announced as a Paul Whiteman orchestra, were in the pit and took good care of the mu- •ical Interpretation. Walter Brooks ■taged the piece and his work de- •crves encouragement. THE GREAT LADY DEDLOGK San Francisco, July 25. . After weeks of preparation. Mar- .•earet Anglln climaxed her summer i-^f^wn at the Curran last week V. with an elaborate premiere produc- tion of "The Great La^y Dedlock," » dramatization by Paul Keeter of Dickens' "lileak House." It is rather a pretentious produc- tion In four acts requiring 22 char- acters. Special sets have been built jrom deeigns prepared by Dickson «organ and Dean Arnold. George joster Piatt Is responsible for the airection. while the costumes, also true to the Dickens period, are the work of Lucion Lebaudt. „ The Great Lady Dedlock" is a costume play in the true interpreta- tion of that term, possessing all the leisureline^ of such dramas, yet at timee reaching the heights of gen- uine intensity. For the moat part ine characterizations a« drawn from ine book by Kcster are sumclently i^ickonse.sque to please the mo.st _«raont devotee of that novelist. Ke.ster has lifted from the In- T°7r<l plot of "Bleak House" such In i?^"^** ""^ ^^^^ o^ P'ot sufncient 'o knit together a dramatic fabric or rumulativo interest. iho first act opens at Chesney woiri. showing the facade and ter- J^ce of an old Tudor mansion. The "uc'jity ^vi,i^ which this quaint old «rticuire is built servos to stir the "naRiiKiHon and create an atmoo- vn^c (ha^ j^ijg materially in ostab- 'ishing tho Dickens flavor. *h»s act eutablishos tho prenalsos of the action and serves to Introduce the main characters: Lady Dedlock, Sir Leicester Dedlock, Inspector Bucket. Harold Skimpole. Hortonse, the French serving woman; Volum- nia Dedlock. Captain Alan Dedlock, Elsther Summerson, Mr. Jarndyce and Mr. Tulklngrhorn. Act two is the London slums, re- vealing a street corner, murky fog, dim gas lamps and a general atmos- phere of gloom and squalor. The second scene of this act Is the in- terior Qf Chesney Wold, a drawing- room of an old English mansion with its antique furnishings. Act three is in the same setting and act four returns to the slume, first the street corner and finally the gateway to a cemetery. The thread of mystery and por- tending doom as exemplified In the footfalls heard on "Ghosts Walk" Is utilized to good effect by the drama- tist and keys the Interest at a high pitch. A hit of modern mystery drama \u introduced In the death of Mr. TuUc- inghorn and the theft of the in- criminating letters. He is shot to death as he star.ds by a tabic exam- ining the letters that tell of the dead romance of Lady Dedlock. The shot Is fired from behind huge por- tieies that dr.ipe the right side of tho stage. Mr. Tulkinghorn stag- gers and reels in hlfl death throes, finally dropi>ing to the floor within a foot of whore the portieres pang. Then a hand is seen reaching through and tearing the lettersi-from his grasp. The mystery of whose hand \l wao serves to heighten inis- pense to a high pitch. Circum- stances point to Laily DedlocH as the murderess and this theory ia borne out by subsequent happenings until the very close of the act, where Hortense, throilgh a clever ruoe on the rart of Inspector Ducket, stands reA'ealed as the slayer.- Margaret Angli.. essays the dual ro!e of L-^dy Dedlock and Hortense, the noblewoman'o servant. The roles give her the fullest scope. As LaAy I>edlork she is the woman of quiet dignity, laboring under the weight of some seeret sorrow. As /Hortense she is a vicioua, fiery, vin- dictive and cunning creatiSre, blaz- ing forth her tirades at the slightest provocatio/I and launching her venom against her mistress as the occasion arisa^. Miss Anglin's Hortense Is a fine bit of artistry. Hjbr little tricks of character, the sketching of the tem- peramental Frenchwoman with her penchant for spitting and scratch- ing one minute and coddling when it so serves her spying purpose, are artistic transitions. Next .to Miss Anglin Is John J. Iv.incovlch's sinister and skulking Mr. Tulkinghorn. It Is a big part and an important one. Mr. Ivanco- vich endows it with all the pltileos relenllos.'ineas of a Javert. It would have warmed the heai-t of Dlckenr?. Wheeler DryUen Is Inspector Bucket. Here Is another typically Dickensesque portrayal. Dryden has a delightful understanding of Bucket and catches the very epirit of the author. He stamps the character more and more on the attention aui the play proceeds, especially In his several scenes with Hortense. Other notable characterizations were given by Emelle Melville as Volumnla DetUock; Elwyn Harvey as Jo, the crossing sweeper; Klwyn Eaton as William, the butler; Harry lUrfoot as Sir Leicester Dedlock; Allen Connor as Cai>tain Alan Ded- lock; Janet Cameron as Esther Summer-son and Roland Rushton as Harold Skimpole. The other members of the cast in- cluded Raymond Northcutt, Gladys Knorr, Francis Adair, Ray Goerler, Wentworth Green, Sally Williams. Richard Fordham. George A. Hen- der.sfon. Henry Mowbray, Richard A- Nichols and George Greenworth. Riven. THE ALARM CLOCK Washington. July 25. nobby Brandon Bruce McRae Charlie Morton T^loncI Pape Homer Wlckhim Charlea Twilte Theodore Boom John Daly Mun>»»y IlcKXlp Wynne Gordon A«h Frederick Dunmoro Norman Hackott Dr. Wallace Carl Anthony I{(>nrl Joseph Crehan Wills Walter flodcrling Mary Kent Marlon Cuakley Mrs. .'^unle Kent Blanche IUnK Mrs. Dunmore Coro Witherspoen Lulu Dcanc Mary I'hiUipa Avery Hnpvvood this time has something well worth while, his adaptation of "La Sonnette D'Alarme" from the French of Mau- rice Hcnnequin and Romain Coolus. The piece is chock full of honest laughter, and although the mechan- ics often crtak. the.se are nicely gloesetl oviT and enjoyment of the whole thing is not marred. Even a nlow opening was helped, and Mr. Hopwood should realize that from the very offset his play was given every opportunity by the brilliancy of the cast assem'.>l((l by A. H. Wood.s. The opening is noth- ing more than a lot of rather clever lines getting tho «tory started, but the way Bru e Mcllae handled them aided and abotted by the others of the cast even made that seem worth while. Bins, evsn If she, did get tMyond th« control of Daytd BurtQii, who pro- duced tho pleoo, and rosortod to musical comedy methodc Tho part iustifled her liberties, however. Th6 role of the aunt from the hlctf^town who becomes completely jaxslfied, even to tho extent of transferrins her abilities as a composer of hymnp to that of writing a fhimmy num- ber, couldn't have been more suited to Miss Ring had the author liad her in min4 when writing the piece. Hopwood may have taken a latitude with the original French script to give Miss Ring every opportunity. It la quite an aggregation of humans, these that tell us ths storj of how our bachelor New Yorker of middle age Is warned by nature's alarm clock In the shape of an at- tack of gout He thought it only rheumatism, until the doctor frames it to frighten th^ man into doing away with these aH-nlght parties. The family of the man Is brought down from the little burg in northern New Tork to give him a touch of roal homo Ufe. This fam-ily consists of a hymn-writing prospective mother-in-law to the man's nephew; her daughter, a little country miss with bOr hair combed straight back, delightfully dOne by M%rlnn Ooaklwy, srtd than the nephew, an awful hick—^long hair, mustache and goatca. He grew the beard because he thought it made him look like a professor. A tem-> por ry addition to this party is the lianker from the hick town, one of the oest things John Daly Murphy hx.^ don* here. , The tags of the first and second acts are uproarlshly funny. The .•ilngl^ of the oratorio as .composed «(>y the mother-in-law-to-be and the rube banker at the close of the first act brought innumerable calls. Miss Ring playing the planO and Mr. Murphy rasping out "Joseph, ^o- neph." was a "knockout." The con- trast of the second act closing when the iazz band comes to play the new work of the hymn writer also wa)i fine. The piece is practically ready as it stands for Its New Totlc showing a: i should prove a hit. It ^as its faults, but the results are there, and in comedy that Is what counts. MeaMn. BROADWAY REVIEWS i' '» \' TWO FELLOWS AHB A OIBL Comedy In three acts by Vincent LAw- rencr. Produo<M l»y <S«orije M. Cohan at tite VanderbUt. New York. Tboredigr. July W. ^ «. . L«a ■Hary Rsts Iwapley TiKNBaa BHdry. father Jack BenneU Jack Moorland '. J«>t>a HAlliday Jim DaJ# ^ Allan Dtnehart Johnson .*. Oeorfe Smlthrteld Dorla Wadaworth CSalborne Foeter THE CLEAN UP Asbury Park, July 25. Onmedy In three aota by Barry Connors. with llasei Dawn featured. Stased by Wllllnm A. Brady, Jr. Trocluced by WIH- 1am A. Brady at fhe Main Street theatre, Aahxnry I'wk. N. J., July 2S. Wni!e Mar.«(1cn .Haiaplirer Betart Nina nurkmaater. Haacl Dawn Mrs. C:ifr Collender Osraldine Wood Mrs. Lucrelia Aswell IPIorenoe Biarle Mrs Amos WooAniflv. Marlon Alien F.iisabeth Moore Itadieon...,. tfanet Herton Mr MrKenna Royal Byron .rohn Uuokmaster Mitchell Harris [Crocks Cadwell Henry Croaby I This is an ordinary play with an ordinary chance of success. There must be hundreds of such plays— plcfising hut without the qualities that insure popularity—seeking pro- duction, and the few that get on seldom fall to Increase the mortality that marks the struggle for exist- ence. But be It said for them that they owe their failure not to their vices but to their lack of virtues. The present example is a comedy verging on the farcical that tells the story of a woman's adventure In politick. Mrs. Buckmaster runs for mayor as candidate of the woman's party, and as a result finds herself de.serted by her own sponsors and involved In troubles without end. Her husband, after vainly trying to make her withdraw, gives up his position and leaves her; her cook leaves to run against her; her brother loses his Job. and the bank' calls the mortgages on her home. In desperation she borrows tlie money from a practical politician (McKenna), who is Supporting her, and then (and here plausibility falls) she borrows the same amount from an opponent under the pretext of paying the mortgage and hots It on herself. When seemingly she has lost everything she wins, her hus- band returns, and they clinch for the curtain. It's a harmless story, in vpots cleverly written, rather thin at times, and occasionally weak (nota- bly the curtain of tlie second act), and with a few incongruities that will doubtless be eliminated. The author might well study the practice in regard to first mortgages and learn what constitutes obtaining money under false pretences. Fur- ther, the relation of the capitalist. Brooks Cadwell, to the plot Is not clear. The salvation of the comedy lies first in the rich part of "Butch" Mc- Kenna, an old-time politician, gor- geously played by Royal Byron, and .''econd in the presence of Hazel Dawn, who, though not a great ac- tress. Is so good to look at one could forgive much more than needs for- giveness. She was generally very plea.«?ing. Her work was not con- vincing In strong scenes and her voice was In bad shape, but she car- ried the lighter parts splendidly and won her way. Th<» other characters are merely skctcjied. A single tag is attached to each one, and he is left to express hut a feeble flash of personality. With this, the greatest defect In the play, remedied 'The Clean Up" |\vould have a better chance to fulfill Th^ promise of Its name. The other members of the cast are' adequate, but their Interpretations I.Tck fiubtloty. This is partly the author's fault and, in view of It wais a big triumph for Blanche 1 Brady's predilections to rushing pro- Oeorge M. Cohan selected Vincent Lawrence's conedy. "Two Fellows .and a Girl." as his initial production Of the season, displaying It for the first time July 19 at the VanderbUt. Upon Cohan's recent arrival from Europe he immediately Jumped Into the task of seeing his new production properly staged* the Cohan touch prevailing, x ..;. ,^ As a atraight comedy "Two Fel- lows" as disclosed the opening night was extremely talky. This condition as rectified by the producer will be rephiced by action. As It stands It Is a ene-act piece, with the first act taking th« Ituuant. Tho olh«r two. ace uninteresting, with no real punch in either. • The piece starts well, but slides down hill, with the finish woefully weak. Cohan has taken. plays far worse than this Lawrence piece and turned out a hit after an opening that was decidedly off. There Is a possibility the producer will reverse the run- ning, starting with the last and fin- ishing with the first act. That would be the proper arrangement accord- ing to the value of the acts as dis- closed at the opening. For the tmsin the author has taken a truly American Idea and worked it out with ^ human intere«it touch in many ln.'«tance». hut has failed to furnish his players after the first act with an>'tblng other than ordinary dialog. The opening night the play ran until 11.8(^. For a straight comedy that in Itself made it apparent there was too much of something. , The story Is clean and wholesome. It starts with two chaps pursuing the same girl, with the girl unable to alternate evenings with them, but has both each evetiing on thr parlor lounge, the suitors trying to outstay each other for the final good night. It is an amusing situation and well worked out in the early act. By the toss of a coin she makes a selection for her husband. A lapse of five years •between the first and second act The huoband is a chap of meaps, of the country club golf flocked_well type. After the five years the un- lucky suitor reappears. He has made a success in the world, with head- quarters In London, and a fortune' from lumber. He still professes his love for the girl, with tho hutiband becoming a bit irritated, although the visitor is welcomed In the houso- hoJd an R long-lost friend. At this Juncture a miss of the flapper typo Is Introduced. She is all that the prcHent-dny flapper rep- resents, with a Cohanesquo touch added. It take.s h»-r oirt of the com- monplace rank. Tlils modern miss after a few houYs' acquaintance wins the avowQ4 bachelor who previously professed there was but one girl in tho world for him. In the cast of six is little fault to find. Some exception might be taken to «ie work of John HalUday as tho husband. Halltday gives a rather Rnglish touch at times to a real American role. It Jarring as the piece grogresses. Ruth Shepicy and Allan dnehart have the two other large parts, both playing with their usual finesse. Claiborne Foster is a delightful flapper, displaying, however, consid- erably more than could be expected of the avera„'e flapper. Her work was the only strength displayed In the latter portion of the piece. Jack Bennett was an agreeable father, his efforts being ('^onflDed to the first act, during which he provided several pleasing moments. George Smith- field, a capable actor, gave the butler role all it needed. With the usual Cohan brushing i 3 after the opening "Two Fellows and a Girl" should be rounded Into a money-making comedy. Uart. FASHIONS OF 1M4 Produced at th** I.,yreum. Now York. July 18, by Fashion Productions, Inc. Htased by Alexander I.,eriwirh: special numl>«>rs by Ted Snyder (s^ore) and H.irry n. Hmllh (lyrics). Cast: Jimmy Huss^y. Kdlfh Tatla- ferro, Carlotta Monterey. Arnold Daly, J')hn v. towe, Ina llayward. Rddle llickcy. John H. Roberts, Harry Maatem. Jack Kraft, John Davoiiport Hcymour, Marie Nordstrom, I>e Jarl. Klor'-nce Morrison, Itlakoly. Joseph Kayaer, Uene Dolmont. Frankly a fu.Hhion show with pro- fOHHlonal tah-nt employed for the entertainment sections, and the whole served up as a summer revue, billed as the Hr»t of an annua] series The program claims its fashion dis- plays to furnish "an authoritative forecast of the coming season." The contrlbuHons are from "the foremost ductlons, posrihiy the producer's Tho single set will not dent his bankroll appreciably. The audience here liked the play. and whatever its fate on Broadway It will return the author endlpss roy- alties from al')ck and amateur pro- ductions. It Is sure-fire for stock. Auatin. coutourleres and designers of America." The "Fashions" Idea as a theatric cal ontctralnment was concelvod by Alexander Leftwich. who for tho past several seasons has directed tha best of the fashion shows around Now York. Ho Introduced entertain- ment features, though not the vol- umo of professional talent as npw. It was proposed by him to the lead- ing style creators and the silk and lace moguls that no better exposition of their products could be given dur- ing the National Merchandise Fair. which openod its month's schedulo in New York Monday, than by a presentation in the form of a revue. Their ready contrlbntion resulted In the Lyceum lighting In the midst off stMnmer with a typo of attraction strange to its tradltlofi. . The manufacturom and fashion shops are doubtless Investing in "Fashions" as a publicity stunt. There is a chance of a percentago of the outlay being reaped from tho proceeda but so many firms are con- cerned that the individual iitv«»t- ments will probably not run to larga suma There Is no production attempt in v "Fashions." One set piece t>rovldes the atmosphere forsnost of tee fuTl- stage scenes or numbers, with a cy^ c!orama at times changing by means of projected colored lights and ef- fects. At times si ikon or material hangings are employed for novelty numbora The program la Jenathy. with a total of 26 "scones^' listed. Monday night several were out. Tho entire show was ro-routlned. and as there was not timo to make changes in the program the audience devoted many moments delving for tho cor- rect nu(9bera Jimrfty Hu.ssey Is the outstanding per.sonallty of 'Fashions" as far as the professional contingent Is con- cerned, and into the show ho has brought several numhors and bits usod by him when ho stabbed at being a producer himself, and also from tho Shubert unit show of two seasons ago, Hussey Is most yalu- able with a group of new song hum- bera In tho first of the two acts Hussey had "When Nathan Married Rose of Washington Bquaro." Into which he worked part of the comedy in his standard "Mighty Like a Rosenblum" number. Another new one that hit home was "We Have No Banana Blues." For his oomedy lyrlsal contribu- tions in tho second portion Jlromf was dolled up in white flannels, and His funniest number was "Why Did I Buy Morris a Morris Chair?" a auro giggle getter which had one line about "I got more out of Morris standing In the vesti- bule." The number was an encore winner, and for t'lat Hussey jiavo "I Must Go to Moscow." It Is a humor- ous lyric, too, with a melody cleverly fashioned from the Russian a|tyle. "Everybody Knows That Hhs's Abie's Irish Rose" was also well worth while, and given In the telling Hussey style. ^ Arnold Daly, though programed for three scenes, appeared in only one. That was for "The Real Thing," John Kendrick Bangs' satire on the servant-girl question. The bit took in the feminine leads, who appeared as wealthy matrons co.ne t6 socuro a cook, and all wore croa'tlnns credited to as many style designers (Michael, Hollander, Sophie Rosen- berg. Nardi, H. Jaeckel & Sons, with hats by Nicole de Paris and mesh ' tmgs by Whiting & Davis). Daly. h)oking a bit heavy, enacted "Doctor" Evanston, who charged a fee of $50 for the privilege of the elite to sit In his office and be interviewed by servants who might desire a situa- tion. Daly made his bit stand out, and so did Edith Taliaferro. Flor- ence Morrison played a coojc. her only appearance. When the fashion numbers were Introduced they were sometimes sur- rounded by a scene or business hit, and the styles presented were billed as "forecasting afternoon wear," or whatever class of costiune was to bo shown. "The Tea Garden" liad the doeeu manne<4Ulnfl on ahead of tho action. Th^re were several dance numbers inserted. Included were Mastors and Kraft in a Rii.isian dance burlesquo out of their vaudeville turn, intro- duced by Hussey as "Mr. Morris and Mr. Gest." The opening had Carlotta Mon- terey In a Harry Collins gown as a syml)ol of the stage. Sho gave a brief outline of the topic while the best figures among tho mannequins climbed to the apron from tho orchestra pit. The girls were dis- closed in full length fleshings, which provided a corking sight start. Mirts Monterey looked beautiful, though later she was not togged out in any- thing so alluring or attractive and one coRttirne wns spoiled by a tacky hat (it may have br-en the sm.irt thing). "J-e Sacrifice," which f ol- 1ow(mI, wriM a sort of ballet of the art nrni nrfides In the making of a r;own. II. K. Mallinson supplied tho materials, I'ulliche e.\ecuted tho dr.'ipoH and frocks and Sergei Prini- koff staged tho number. The cloao pl<fured a giri expiring when di- vested of f.i.shion. Doris Vinton as tho victim had llttlo more than .% golden 'c(»m!>Inallon" when dlvestf^ of many wrappings of gold cloth. An iTi^serted number gave Elsa (Continued on pag^ S2>