Variety (October 1923)

*"^H*r^?!P![^^^^S?^^^^r^^/ '■Of'^C* ■?V"'^«?VHiK»«,*9''Ti7'r'.T^"?^.'. t Thursday, October 11, 1923 LEGITIMATE ':.rm {■-:■" v\' TT^y^S^.T^f' 'W^' ^^ rr-6: /XTARIETY If NEW PLAYS PRESENTED WITHIN WEEK ON B'WAY THE NERVOUS WRECK Idwbi A Gordon present • •• fare* comedy^ by 'The Nervoui «i^.M>k " farce comeay uy Owen Davli j4a*«J '">" <"" > *=• i ''•"" ,''^"' /.rlrlully pobllehed In » Mun.ey pubilca- ?Sf Otto Kruger an* June Walker co- il^iured Production aupervleed by Sam SJieVt and .ta«ed by Addlw>n Pitt. In fl,r« act.. At the Sam H. Harrle, New Shv' M^fgaii June Walker ^Zy «"»-"';.;:;;;;;;;;;;;3'a'? "is^^^U'n AiMt'e'r' Underwood Albert Hackett JeroiTie Underwood William Holden Harriet Underwood... .Winifred Wellington Xndy Nabb ...Riley Hatch w„rt Hobnrt Cavanaugh nan" J* Elmer Thonip«>n Bob 'wiili Edward Arntrtd laid Morgan Joieph Bienr.an L- wis & Gordon have a laugh hir In "The Xervous Wreck." That is, It an a'niidance of laugrhs mak^s a bit. It so, the box office demand bespeaks of a brisk future through the winter. Lewis & Oordon as a produclnB firm identify themselves ^th this as their first sole venture. althouKh heretofore "In" on several other Sam Harris productions, In- cluding "Rain." "The Nervouj Wreck" has created gome advance notoriety because of its author's charge that Harold Llovd'.s latest Pathe comedy release "Why Worry?" had lifted the cen.> tral idea of his play to its detriment. Accordingl.v'. after several confer- ences with unsuccessful results. Davis will shortly institute suit for an accounting and damages against ijoyd and Hal Roach, the producer, for infringement. The !■'• io«er expressly sat through the film comedy the day preceding for the pu-pose of comparison but now doeu not venture to draw a con- clusion. It looks like a tough job for any court of justice if it ever comes to trial for legal adjudication. "The Nervous Wreck" as a play cannot be harmed by the Lloyd pic- ture. It cuntnins too many laughs that appeal through the aural rather than the visual senses to suggest that. Po?!SibIy one or two bits bear a striking resemblance, as for in- stance both Otto Kruger's and Lloyd's begoggled get-up as timid youths. The locale differs: also the equations. The only other bit Is the second act climax where Henry Williams (Kruger) finds himself trapped by the heroine's irate father «nd a vicious sheriff and saves the Way through the accidental dis- charge of his gun, causing all to •catter. That's a bit that created comment as being likened to the •creen comedian's antics. For the rest it's different. Henry Williams does not realize his affec- tk)n for Sally Morgan (June Walker) and the ensuing complitMitions con- clusively prove that. The complica- tions on analysis seem rather thin but that matters little. The result In laugh returns Is there. The casting leaves naught to be desired. From the featured players down It is almost perfect Each tteports himself or herself in certain and assured fashion and the result proves their efforts are not in vain. It's a laugh show of strong box- OBlcs potentialities. Ahel. BATTLING BUTTLER Deacon Onfton Bogen* MacOregor Itra. Alfred BuUler Hslen Bley MaiKjr Helen La Vonne aiarlgold Mildred Keats Bdith Mane Saion Oh&unaor George Sanda Alfred Buttl«r Charles Kugglea Frank Bryant Jack Squire 8meat Hosier William Kent weeney <luy Voyer ■pink Teddy lIcNamara Bertha Buttlor Frmncea Halllday Qnuvt ami wing, Shnda and Davis, George Ooibba. 12 Engllah Rocketa George Chooa enters the big town as a musical show producer with this American version of a British hit that he called "A Dancing Honey •noon" in Detroit and Chicago, where It was warmly taken. In New York he enjoyed an enthusiastic—often overenthusiaatlc—premiere at the Belwyn. The verdict of the Times Square assembly that constitutej'the audience was not unanimous. "Battling Buttler" is a strange combinajtion of an old-time book Piece to music w^ith the latest and smartest and costliest effects in pro- duction. From one angle it was mild 'are and from the other a tidbit to the birds with Broadway appetites. The likelihood is that it will be more generally approved when the unpro- fessionals predominate In front, and Indications are for a healthy run at •ubstantial money. Had the book stood up better there would be no contest. The tune.s are delicious, the production and atagini^ .are gorgeous, the cast is «lr tight, the costuming and effects are fresh and novel and rich, tlie speoi.ikips are sure fire and the dancing is incessant and tcrrilic and varied, but the comedy at times laggpd and dragged. In story ■ liattling Butler" in Just a sliglit revise of "The Hottentot" and "Cuing Up," the three telling the same farce yarn as applied in order to l)ugili.sm, raring and nviatittg—the I>n5ny heio getting all tangled up. uetling away with it, promising at the foolishment. Tliat story la all right—always has been. But the whimsies, wheezes, nifties, gags— call them philosophical observations or sidewalk comebacks or satirical asseverations or wise cracks—they are very good in spots, but don't cover enough spots. Ballard MacDonald adapted the book and lyrics. The laughs that do rise up, and which are not of the tried old situations, are typically his. But the book Is still thick with plot. wJth repetition, with meaningless lines—yea, paragraphs. New York- ers aren't dumbbells. They can get something from Inside without hav- ing every obvious thing ladled out and re-served when what thev want is action, speed, girls, laughs, prog- ress. Otherwise it was a whizz show. The first act had a dozen bang spe- cialties and got off on high despite the "unraveling." Choos has an ex- pert cast of comics and ingenues, and they are what make musical shows; he has a sweet chorus and a lot of cinch dancers, and they are what clinch musical shows. Now, if he had a tat blue pencij— But, there; in this world there is nothing perfect. Charles Ruggies, who hasn't been seen in a musical since "Canary Cottage," just proved that he's been wasting his time since then; this is his racket. Being a light comedian in th"e legit—often too light—he Is one of the hottest semi-low young fellows in this type of diversion. As the fake fighter he was a yell all the way. William Kent, a great ece^n- tric dancer who scarcely danced at all amid this maze of hoofing, made a whole lot of one of those "a friend" parts, just a bit lower than Ruggies. but not any too low. , The other two distinct personal hits in the cast were Marie Saxon and Mildred Keats. Miss Keats had the fatter part, but Miss Saxon had the slenderer limbs. And what limbs they are! Talented, eloquent, hoy- denish. tantalizing limbs, all- youth and agility and charm. Not since Ann Pennington first flashed on Forty-second street has there been quite as beautiflc and promising a little pippin disclosed. She sings, she flirts, she dances like a wind- blown orchid; she Is fresh, coy. cute and Just all-around adorable. Miss Keats, more staid, has a pretty voice and dances ravishlngly. They make a sweet sister team and two lovely, singles. Grant and Wing, with their hard- working and smooth specialty dances, stopped the show several times. But the heavy applause- grabbers were the 12 English Rock- ets, never heard of before by this theatrical sniper, but. there in that synchronic dozen stuff usually asso- ciated with Tiller. 'Very good, too. Guy "Voyer, in a character bit, made it, and Frances Halliday as a vamp outdistanced her lines—and that Is no light matter In "Battling Buttler." One production novelty number, a series of weddings from the first to the diamond (how did that idea ever run the gauntlet so long?), was of Zlegfeld splendor and class. Choos worked In his radium effect very effectively with thw Rockets. All the group appearances were tastily clad and spanklngly staiged by Dave Ben- nett. ^ ^ The curtain finales were somewhat British, and the second act one (there are three acts) anti-cllmaxed a bit on a lean comedy point after a strong ensemble. Benny Leonard helped out with a speech the open- ing night, but that spot should be built up Immediately, with the flash for the finish Instead of the high spot half a minute before the drop. "Battling Buttler" should enjoy a prosperous run, though It will not quality with such bonanzas as "Sally" or even "Wlldflower." It It stays In until Easter it can't com- plain of lack in hospitality under its deserts. Anyway, It introduces George Choos as ,a classy, coura- geous producer and upper-stratum showman who may as well be counted In right away as among the toppers In this game. Lait. And, without what would b« re- garded uptown as a commercial "name," the cast at the Oarrick of- fers as stellar a performance as may be seen in town, without a weak spot. This reviewer has not always en- thused about the Theatre Guild plays. In truth there has been some- thing in the nature of a little feud on between his mid-western tastes and the smug assumption of this money-making institution tor the uplift of the most Intricate of arts. But the undersigned would have to gush about "Windows" it It were written by Edgar Allan Woolt and acted by Walter Kelly. Mr. Gals- worthy may not understand the ref- erence, but his latest comedy is the cat's left hind ankle. And It has been staged and is being acted as he himself would relish, surely. The start discloses a family of male Idealists and feminine realists. (They clash seriously, but In com- edy treatment.) The father Is a psychological novelist; the son Is a poet and patriot; the mother Is Just a practical woman (not a shrew and Simon Legi-ee like In "It Winter Comes), and the daughter la Just a plain, wholesome girl. They, with a big, fat, romantic, stupid. Idealistic, practical old family cook, constitute the household. Comes the bi-weekly window washer, an old "character" with a ready philosophy such as only Gals- worthy can write, epitomizing in satire the humble, thieving, lying, hypocritical poor whom we in more comfortable and less happy positions theorize, sympathize and apostro- phize. Like the old cAbby In "The Pigeon," he becomes the spokesman of the piece. He lets It be known that his daughter, just out after serving two years for strangling her illegitimate baby, wants work; the family wants^ a parlor maid; the sentimental son and the altruistic father prevail against the sensible mother and the proper daughter. The girl Is "jrlven her chance." She promptly wrecks the house- hold by vamping the son and spilling her cry for freedom, not respectabil- ity. It sustains beautifully. There is one kiss, only, but it's full of dy- namite. The girl gets the gate, blows up in one final explosion In which she talks turkey (slightly like the wench in "HIndle Wakes") and leaves everything about where It was before the play began—except that every one In front hag had a dandy evening of It and gone home unelevated. unenlightened, unuplitt- ed; Just a little more charitable and a lot more fj^appy. The acting, under the direction of Moffat Johnson, who plays the fam- ily father. Is so natural and truly fine that It resembles nothing one often sees by footlight. Phyllis Povah. as the "lost" girl, is a rare combination of fire and guile and flesh aiid blood, as she was in a lesser role In "Pim Passes." Frieda Inescort, as the doughter of the novelist, a rather flat role. Is life Itself. Henry Travers sips the gravy as the window-washer, and not without credit of his own. Alice Belmore, who was the same cook In "The Pigeon," needn't be any better than that, ever. And Helen Wegtley as the wife. In what started as a plain-spoken role, stole the show In the last half minute, turning Ideal- ist herself under the warming In- fluence of a few shots of brandy. "Windows" Is good enough fun for anybody, much better than most revues and the fly off-color farces. It didn't thrive much In England, 'tis said, and Mr. Galsworthy offers a program Insert answering his 'Lon don critics, who didn't understand what it was about. They must be a stupid lot. Anybody can understand what "Windows" la about—it's about a girl who doesn't want to be saved; she wants to be loved; and she goes out to be loved; and the playwright leaves It that way because he thinks the rest had better be left to the imagination. There is an Interpolated scene In "one" added for America, apparently to clarity things. It Is very pleasant, but It clarified nothing; there was nothing that needed it. There la nothing "Windows" needs at all that it hasn't got and hasn't had from the start. [joU. UanaonI B. N. Lewln A Walter Waller b'uilerhcR A Oambler Wlllliim Marr aiulletta DInaraade Capt. Michael Kchedy .Vlarla Majeronl Henrietta Katharine t'urnpll Ulacomo Caaanova, Chevalier da Sdiealt. Ltowell Hhcrnian A LAestenant of Roman Archers Ralph llclmont Th* Inn-keeper at Cesena. .Edward L,e tiay Flrat Archer J. C. Wallace Second Archer Edward F. Snow I.educ Krneat Cuksart A llanker of Cesena Harold Hartsell A Gambler Harry Redding Monsieur DuUols Victor llenou The Abbe Bernis, Amba:,aador of France. Horace Ilrahnm Tha Inn-keeper at (he Hotel l>ea Balances A. O. AnilreWB Monsteur Ant'mie David Olila^ford Flrat Postillion James Powera Second Poetllllon Jacob Klngsberry Third Poslllllon Frank Newcomb Fourth Postillion Cliarles Vincent The Reautiful Governess... .Uypsy O'Hrlen The Dancer from Milan Mary Kills The Courtesan Judith VonselU Roae V Sheila Hayes Manon > Nellie Burt WINDOWS Mary March Frieda Inescort A. H. Johnny Marvrh Kenneth MacKenna sponsor CASANOVA Oeoffrcy March Moffat Johnson Mrs. March Helen Westley Mr. Bly Henry Travers Cook Alice Rplmore Faith Bly Phyllis Povnh Blunter George Baxter Barnabas Frank Tweo-l The sixth subscription season of the Theatre Guild opened with a rosy prospect. John Galsworthy's "Windows" is a peach of a comedy. very British, but very Galsworthy, which means It fits anywhere around the world. There isn't another touch in all contemporary playwritlng like Galsworthy's. He has the human introspection, the human perspec- tive, the genius for m.aking contact between his deep Insights and his broad expositions. "Windows" is a better play and a better comedy than "The Pigeon," •and that's flying high. The taJe somewhat reminds of "It Winter Comes." but is as much better told as the difference between a flop and a the end to retire, and thus ondinghit—at lent for staje purposes Woods and Gilbert tjowcll Sherman Miller Jointly ■tar "In the role of the arch-rogue Caaanova" to quote the proffram. Translated by Sidney How.Trd from the Itiillan of Loreno de Aieills. Htaged by Mr. Miller. In three acta and a prolog.'the latter a ballet pan- tomlne staged by Mtchel I*Niklne. Incidental music arranged and comnosed by D**ems Ta.vlor. Costumes fsppcially designed by t;e„rKes Barblar ani pxfrutcd In Paris by Mux Weldy. Settings d'*''lgned by Herman IloHse. Opened Sept. 2.' at the Empire, New Tork. rnoi.oorK "The Return From tiie Camlvur* Columbine Beatrice Delreva A Goiter Player Doris Pulrinclta .(Jeorge Royle ttatihtM. bis page Herbert Jatnes A Fat Man H arry Pii-I.llng A Centlemnn In Bl'ick Hnr.ire Ilcily A liom.tn Soldier George lUneKm<-.re F'lnt Harlequin Ivora Vlncl S. rond llarlc'iuln Alice Wynne Third Hnrlequln Desha Fourth H.trlc'juln Itenee Wilde First Mfisked Woman DInanade .-Second Masked Woman., Mirgtierlte Denys 1 bird .MasUe-l Woman,.. .Valerulna .^anlna Fourth MTfike-I Woman Janet Ju.'^tloe I-'lrth .M^hked Woman.. . ... Helen Iteckre .«lxlh Masked Wiman Nei:la Ravage A Guitar r!ft;/er Doraha TIIR FLAT Airin. Cell Philip Wood The credits for "Casanovnt", are many from production, scenic sar- torial and histrionic angles I ut each has contributed his expert little mile to fashion a cloth of rare weave. A production such as Messrs. Woods and Miller have invested in their star and play, respectively, is cot encountered every day in straight drama even if it is of the roi antic- historical school. Woods had the star (Lowell Sherman) and Miller the play. Between the two the piece has been done full justice. Giacomo Casanova, self-styled Chevalier de Seingalt, was a gay Lothario who held full sway In the middle of the eighteenth centui-y. His memoirs related of his thousand and one conquests, while in the play he only admits to 300 mistresses, which Isn't so bad for any one roue. However, the Italian original pro- fesses not to be a faithful adapta- tion of the memoirs, merely a dramatization of its central charac- ter; so that though the lady-killing gallant may have lived to see 80 (and In the play expires about a score and a half years sooner) mat- ters little. This point has been made much of by some of the daily scribes. Howard's translation might have been better, although suffl- clent. Its fanciful phrasing could have been improved upon, some of It sounding trite. The production will prove the lodestone. They'll go out talking about the colorful sartorial display and the quaint costumes. Of course Casanova's only true love of his wasteful career, which Is the back- bone of the story, has an appeal all Its own. His adoration and com- plete capitulation- for Henriette (Katherlne Cornell) leads him to give up a happiness never before known by him when, at the end of three months of luxurious squan- dering, he faces the world a debtor. Rather than confess poverty, his lips are sealed as Henriette is sent away, back to her forgiving rela- tives and a, contrite husband who was the cause for her desertion, rather than assume the strict exist- ence of the conventry her sire in- tended tor her. Immediately after her departure the French ambassador makes pos- sible an affluence Casanova lacked and was much In need of to keep Henriette as he wished. He dis- patches four postillions to scour the highways for Henriette, and after an hour three return with as many Henriettes. One Is a beautiful gov- erness, the other a Milan danaeuse and the third a courtesan, all of whom are not unfamiliar with the reputation of Casanova, the arch Lothario. The fourth postillion re- ports It Just missed the real Henri- ette as she was crossing the border. The last act. 22 years later, finds Casanova • broken-down old man. poverty stricken as always he has been In between his sporadic i>erlods of wealth, but still the "chaser," if not as meticulous in his choice of two kitchen maids. Enters his daughter, the Illegitimate offspring of Henriette, the image of the sweet- heart Caaanova knew a score of years before. The daughter, entirely unaware of the relationship, ex- plains that her mother and she come to this hostelry, the scene of the lovers' ■ parting 22 years ago, once a year at this time. The sh.allow C.iaanova looks out of the window to behold that his Henriette ha« suffered much under the strain and tear.i of the many years' parting, although the daughter Is as fresh and fetching as the mother ever was. Casanova, sick- ened and weary, falls to the floor kissing the footprints of Hl.s daughter. Even the kitchen maids who have returned for the clandeKtine tryst with the old roue shudder at the sight of the broken old man out- stretched on tht floor. It's a "fat" part Sherman has been written, a role dear to the heart of any troujK-r. And Sherman does It well, too, first a.i the youthful, Irre- Blstlhle swain, and later as the bent and spent old man who shows well the .Aligns oT lii>( existence as p.ira- mour to 3!)0 mi.stresses. Ml.as Cornell, an unknown quan- tity, opposite the star is a "comer ' in every re.apect and detail that th< term implies. Whatever her pa»t performances. Mi.ss Cornell ha-i carved .an enviUble niclie for herself with the role of Henriette, Kru-it Coflsart as the comedy servant Led'ic, has an oij) ■rtunily alv.iti- tagcoujly handled. I'or the rent, the rather long cast contrlbutaa effect- ively toward the sum total. The show must do consistently good business to pay off that heavy productl.)n outlay. In its first week it ei.Joyed a strong agency demand and the evening the .sliow was re- viewed (end of the second week) afmost capacity obtained. The nowjpaper publicity attend- ant to the suppression of the Thomas Seltzer publication of the Arthur Schnitzlcr "Caaanov.a'.i Homecoming" volume should have Its effect at the box office. Judging bo some pre-8:J0 comment by neighboring patrons, the Impression was the play was dramatized from the book. Abel. FOREIGN HLM REVIEWS PHILI Paris, Sept. 24- Pblli Is th« name of the monarch of an Imaginary country In central Europe overthrown by the Demo- cratic party which establishes a soviet, OS set foith in the up-to-date novel of Abel Hermant. from which Jacques Bousquet and Henri Falk have compiled a diverting Parisian comedy In five tableaux, written In verse, and produced by Mile. Jans Renouardt at the Theatre Dannou with success. Curiously enough the plot of the farce "Aller et Retour," nt the The- atre Femina, Is very similar In con- struction. After a flrst act of the dethroned king's departure came tho Pro- topoulo family, rich citizens without a country, who have made a fortune during the war and now wish to crowif their position by rubbins shoulders with royalty. Phlll (P. Barnard) has settled In Switzerland with his young wife Charlotte (Alice Cocea) whom he married for state reasons when a child. They are still almost strangers because of her tender years. Thus the fallen monarch Is accompanied by her chaperon, Baronno de Kratakus, to watch over the queen's youthful morals until she reaches the age of 18. This role is held by Mary Hett and la highly amusing. Phill Is also accompanied by his mistress MIgnonne (Denise Grey), a so-called opera plnger, and by Otto, his foster brother (Etchepare) who Involuntarily led tl.e revolution but now holds the function of kin. s secretary. The royal banking account has been closed, the hotel bills remain unpaid and the whole party la stranded, so that the offer of Pro- topoulo (Vllbert) to furnish funds for an imaginary revolution Is deignfully accepted. This leads to the corpulant capitalist flirting with the crafty Ml«;nonne, Otto reluct- ently carrying on with the buxom Mtrte. Protopoulo (Mme. Barsac), and the untimely consummation of the dethroned king's marriage, prior to his recall home to rule his mis- guided people. This kitchen-garden yarn Is told in clever rhyme, with many topical allusions which make the show a sort of a non-musical revue. There are other good roles. In the form of Protopoulo's son (J, Oaudln) posing as a paUtter. and his daughter (Christine Dor) casting eyes i-t fie handsome youthful king. P. Vllle Is the constant Marshall witling to serve onjr grade of government like the vicar of Bray, and Maud 'Gipsy a bewitching Marquise taking in paying guests at a Venice palace. It is a brand new Parisian play, with a feeble plot as an excuse for smart dialog, part of which la given before the curtain as introduc- tlonary remarks. Kcndrew, GOOD LUCK I.,ondon, Oct. 10. At the end of a very successful first night at Drury Lane. Ellis Jef- freys, the principal female member of the cast, made a brief speech. In which she asked the audience: "Is this what you want?" meaning is it (he sort of .entertainment that Drury Lane audiences desired. A sonorous "Ves" was the reply. The remarkable thing about It Is the keen Joy with which Drury Lane auilienceti uti'eut, year in and year out. identically the same basic for their melodramas, the only varlallon being scenic effects and method of untoldment of story. Some will re- member "The Sporting Duchess" brought to the Academy of Music, New York, direct from Drury Lane, and a long series of similar racing melodramas down to "The Whip." Tho present production, whh-h oiiened Sept. 27, la the twenty-sixth (Ir.ima which Arthur Collins has produced nt "The Lane" and, like practically all others. It revolves around the story of a sportsman- like lady of title, who will bo flnan- clnlly ruined If her horse doesnt- win, aa will all Iter friends, and she has a. sircnuoii.i time foiling th^e in- triRuing of the conscienceless vil- l.iin. There Is .always one thing, how- ever, that one can count upon a Collliia production at old Drury— sonietliint; novel in the way of a 111*' iLiiiica! effect. On this occasion h» iiffer.-) .•i'\er:il of tlnni. ,and the .■ili'jwiti;,' cif the wreck of a jaclit at