Variety (November 1923)

-<*9tti f ... 1 . ^-j,t.»:,;.C,n«| ; "tfiutsday, November!, 1923 LEGITIM A TE Variety ti court to tliQ companjr'B leading lady. Bcaraiiipuph« gallantly propoaeB BxarrlaK« to the fllclUe womaa In order to ^ave her from falling for tb« -proposal of the Marquis, who, aa her lateoded paramour, paints ambltloua dretua plcturei ot the pos- ■U>i!ltlea of having her own theatre In Paris. She refuues. In kcopInK with hla role of the mischief-maker, Bcaramouche util- liea his publlo appearances to •pread hl« allTer^tonKued propa- ganda to the maaaes, thus adding fuel to thfi smouldering revolution- ary embers. The climax in the last act finds the hero as the "citizen rep- resentative In command of a Pa- risian district in which Madame De Plaugastel's salon is located. The inadamc is Scaramouchc'a mother, unbeknown to him, the secret re- •uittng from the fact he is a son out of wedlock. .The wallop is the "mother" dis- covery and the revolutionist's for- doing of patriotic idoala to save an acknowledged royalist. The post-climax, by now some- what obvious, is the discovery that Sqaramouche's arch enemy is really his father, the Marquis. For the Mkc of the tie, even though dishon- orable in men's eyes, the revolutionist effect.t the Marquis' escape, which aytomatic.tlly makes possible the union witli Aline De Kercadlou (Marir.nlo Oillmore), for whose hand the Mani'ilff was also an arxlent as- pihiiit. The play builds up from the mid- dle of the Hrst act. Its start is in- auspiciouf;. but the second and third acts bcapt'ak a most promising de- nouement. The fourth act is a let- down wilh its banal sentimentality. It's H tough one to doflne. Itather than remain non-qommlttal, as a Play by itself its chances arc rather limited. What benefit tl^ picture will liHve nil the stage version Is the puzzler. Thv ijl.iy has a magnillcciit pro- duction and charm that should get the women, either those wh<i have or have not seen the film, but larks the nece.i.'iary punch. Judging strictly on Its merits as a Morosco Theatre venture and discounting the Metro benefits, if any, a couple,of months seems ilsllmlt. Sidney Klaokmer, featured, has a "fat" roln and could not have been Jj^lcirr if authored by himself. Mar- galo Oillmore Is charming opposite r Mr. Hliirkmer. Vlvlenne Osborne ; also has a role to which she more than does credit. Frederick Wor- lock as the Marquis ot Azyr was Buffloiently repellent to Impress as the heavy, and H. Cooper-Cllfte as . Blnct, the pantaloon, did well by his characterization. "Scaramouche" at $3.30 top must ; do considerable business to pay off that production and the large cast. ARct d.-=3»--=mrr I ■ 'NOBODY'S BUSINESS Comedy by Frank Mandel »nd Ouy nolton. producrd by Rnbi^n Mct^ushlln at the Klaw (Vt. 32, BtarrinK Franctne IjHrriiiiuru. DlrectM by Prank Conroy. A prolog and two actR. Bralicman Alfred Weit Vera Rnnltb Josephine Drake Uarjorle Benton Franclne Larrimcre * Jerry Moore....',, t,0ujs Bennlson Train cooductor Arthur Sparlts Pullman ronductor Paul Yapte "Uncle" Wlllla Travera Burke Clarke Arthur Moore Charles Webater Dick Abbott Fred IrvInK I.ewle Bine* Caryl Qlllin VUicent Frank Dae Paul UragDrj Frank Conroy OltTer Pratt Wallace Ford flarannah Elaine Oaviea Though now a producer on Broad Way, Robert McLaughlin, the Cleve land stock manager and himself a playwright, did not cut -away from his stock Interests. "Nobody's Busi- ness," his second presentation this season (first was "Twecdies," at the Frazec), was tried out by IiIk Cleve- land stock, at which time It looked good for Franclne Larrlmore. whd had Just tried out in "Tin Gods." She was .xent for and accepted the rihow as a starring vehicle. It was McLaughlin's stock which also tried out "Polly Preferred," a piece by Guy BoU()n, who. with Frank Man del, wrote "Nobody's Business." The new piece Is sexy, is made In tercsting without resort to vulgar ity. treats of the theory that a girl has the rl(?ht to live as she likes, ■which kIv.'s the pI.Ty popular ele- mentf. Tin? wi.'^dom of the propriety of a maiden to dip iulo tht> flesh pots al>lu to male h:vs nfdn l)con a topic for the staRi!. Maiuiel and Bolton !!jt ii: "What a tiirl clioosi^s to do Willi iK.r life is noboily'a hu.'-l- ne«s." f.sually there sfcm to bo plenty of per.-uim ooiu'irni'il. Th(' :iuiiiois make no prrinun at tempt to piovi; that tenot. 'i'hoy arc more hitcni on provldiiiK an intor- ostlni; I iiloi(:iinm< lit. The licrolne ai m " "! f. 'lll' . bi i t - ls k e p t-r lviin. M i iU ' h perliiip. is a good point In tlie ntw play.s .l,uu,'» of laiulini;. jj(lt,int; from ill.' l.ii.<iiiopH drawn by lotjio of the l.i!.-.-.t iirc>..Mlati"'ii.J of dirty plecis. Coii|iliii '.ulii II. e s. \ f:.. ifir. tilt WTlti'is (••■...■r a 111'', ly ibut it i iitall.-! mon r-l-.iil tii loli the truth .'in.I ni;il<o peopl-. |.Vi:\,> it th.Tii it docs to Ihvon: :t <■: lio^h Mous .lie pro- pouiiil. (I |.v .Ttiry Mooro. \lvalthy broker. . I.o has m;ide millions In biiyiriu (If tons and who l)ili< voa he can do tlic sa«io with women until he BIO'IS Marjorie Ucntou on the way from .St. Albans, N, Y., to New York, lo make her murk as an artist. He explains he Is not a marrying man and that he is ready to aid Marjorie at any time provided she ^Ive herself to him. The girl ex- pounds still another theory, that a woman can stay straight if she wants to. Follows a fade-out from the prolog scene on the platform of an observation tralp. The first act is within the apart- ment of Moore a year later. His will is being read over by his at- torney In the presence of his nephew, the chief heir. Bequests to various girls are named, and Marjorie is mentioned for a sum quite in excess of the others. The lawyer and the nephew coax the wealthy man to explain. He is averse, but on the point of telling the story when the girl in question is introduced. One of the exe^^u- tors. a rising young banker, called In to read the will, secretly sends for Marjorie, to whom ho is engaged. The gh-1 does tell the story, the set fading out with the bulk of the show a flashback, the action taking placo within the flat of an actress with whom the girl lived because of loneliness. A composer wins her love, telling her his wife Is hope- lessly insane, but though he cannot marry her they «in live together happily. She la about to dcpaVt with him when the ex-husl>and ot the vaudeville actress, who has con- vinced her the booking offices want them as .a team, Idcntifles the com- poser as un orchestra leader, now turned Bohemian, but whose wife killed herself because of hia treat- ment. That smashes Marjorie'^ first love dream. Moore, arriving Just after the dis- closure on tho tip of a colored maid planted In the flat by him, attempts to win Marjorie on the claim she had accept^ $5,000 as an option she would give herself to hini If she found her theory didn't hold. But the girl tells him her feeling for the composer was love and that Moore would not dare to enter her room. The wealthy philanderer is con- vinced of tho girl's sincerity, and though she bitterly orders him out after returning the money he says he will yet find a way to aid iier. That is the explanation of tho be- quest. Tho scene "flashes" back to the Moore apartment. Marjorie's fiance Is assured of her honesty and purity. But when the couple leaves Moore propounds again his theory that It is hard to convince people of tho truth. The others telKthe girl they believed her story, but as the curtain falls they agree there Isn't a cliance in tho world of it being true. In presenting "Nobody's Business" the production was not successfully worked out in the matter of settings. The supposed flasht>ack from Moore's apartment to tho flat entails a wait of reveral minutes, and again there is a wait when the scene shifts to the apartment. It is true several characters must make costume changes, but the delay is. neverthe- less, not mitigated, as it gave the impression of a slowness in develop- ing the story. The play was directed by Frank Conroy, whose speech in the first act w.as BO much muffled or mouthed through his rapid stylo of delivery that first-nighters back of tho mid- dle rows found it dltficult to hear. Miss Larrlmore always has been more or less indistinct, and that her lines were sometimes directed t,o an gles of the stage Instead of over the footlights made things wors^. Word was sent back stage after the first act, and the players did better thereafter for a time. As Marjorie Miss Larrlmore gave a positive and effective character- ization otherwise. It wa* at the Klaw that she registered so well In "Nice People." Josephine Drake also was lucky at the Klaw, finding "Lilies of the Field" a fine oppor- tunity for her. She has the "lines" In the new play, cleverly creating the role of the vaudevllllan who has been "married twice and doesn't know how to paint yet." Her best laugh came with: "The finest kind of women fnll for the biggest bums." There is a laugh In the will-reading scene, one obserx-ation being that several of the girls named for be- quests are "P^oUies" girls and need more than others. Louis Bennlson rnt .Terry Moore was line all the way. It Is said sev- eral plrtycrs from McLaughlin's stock were brought on, several of the CTst names being new. t;harlcs WolK^tir as the nephew was humor- Otis in n. nm.all part. Ikit Krank Dai's plrturizatlon of a .■^^tnoll time vnudcvllUan was cxcellrnt. ami so was Wallace l''or(i » ."inall town hick satislied with himself in N<\v York. ' .N'olwiily'.s Uusiness" i< liatidi- u.ilijivi by faults, yet It sli.iuM l:;ivi' tlon of Abraham Ltncolo musi have sat, as~ did this reporter, wrlgglinR in embarrassed sympathy to See so excellent a pkiyer retch and struggle through a bad role in a mlsguide<l play, miscast aa a Jewish rabbi. "Steadfast" is authored by Albert Koblltz and 8. J. Warshawsky. Whoever they may be, they know only enough about playwrlting to turn out a play slightly worse than "TM Bronx Express." wblch marked the last previous time that a good Christian actor got the Inspired Idea that Jews liked to hear their dogmas bandied In a theatre and would hall with surprised delight a Christian playing an old Orthodox Jew. In truth, Shylock has been done by the greatest non-Jewish actors In the history of the theatre, and has never t>een successfully played by a Jew, even in Yiddish. Wilton Lackaye acted a memorable rabbi and William Norris a remarkable "schnorrer" In "Children of the Ghetto," and Brandon Tynan scored as the reserved old Hebrew In "The House Next Door." It Is no novelty. And MiKJlynn's Jew was no thrill. Hia maiceup was aa exact a replica of Kabbi Sllberman as was his other of the Great Elmaiiclpator. But the effectiveness of characterization ceased there. Despite curved nose, venerabl* whiskers, upraised palms and other stock manifestations of the stage and real Jew, MdOlynn never "registered" a son of Israel. He acted tragically, poignantly, wringingly rather than ringingly. That was partly the fault of Messrs. Brennan, Koblitz, Warshawsky and Iden Payne; the last named directed the ill-starred venture, and what he doesn't know about Jews was only accentuated by what Brennan doesn't know about plays. 'Steadfast" is one , of tho most all-.around amateurish, hopeless and miserable dramas that this revlewc-i' has evor suffered the misfortune ot being sentenced to. It hasn't on>' outstanding—In fact, no one re- deeming or condoning—virtue. It Is maudlin, verbose, distracted, the- atrical, loud, crude, blunt, clumsy and witless. It is devoid of human Interest, to .a Jew am well as to just a theatregoer. It shrieks for sym- pathy and never gets it. Its com- edy is pusillanimous, vapid and In- sipid. There are several concurrent stories, none of them interesting, and none certainly new or even well told, running simultaneously. The central vein is the old man. The stories are of his children and the children of his old friend. One of his sons marries the friend's daugh- ter—all smooth, though the son is a fututrlst painter. His other son marries a Christian. His daughter has "yielded" to his friend's son And there are "consequences," as the re- sult of which, after she has annoyed everyone with sniffling and ravlnn for two acts, she graciously drinks cyanide and ends her part. The next act sees the old man groaning, wrenching his hands, praying In Hebrew (which he ml.s- pronounces), pawing the Talmud, standijDg pat for an obsolete ortho- doxy, raving about dreams he has dreamt and lights he has seen from On High, making everyone (especi- ally the audience) unhappy, and leaving It all unsettled when the final curtain, the best thing KobUtz and Warshawsky put In their script, descends all too alowly. The last soane, with his youngest child, a boy with a distinctly Irish profile (and mamma acted like such a respectable lady, too!) sits on his lap and begs him to relight the Sab- bath candle of the son who has wed a Bhiksa. The old gentleman finally conceded as far as to say "We will see." We had better see quickly, be- cause Leblang won't be able to hold it up long. Lait. whose face he ha« never seen. He hopes to trace her by a peculiarly (tvlightful perfume she used. He goes to hla uncle's house and en- counters once more a figure with this subtle aroma, which he era- bracos and proposca to, b'Jt which eludes hlaa unrecognized. Ills uncle's family, knowing of this ad- venture and of bis matrimonial in- tentions, immediately proclaim t,hemselv»a as the unknown one— the claimants being his three ci>u«ins and the cuok. He leaves for bis otwn country house, but the persistent quartet follows him, and in desperation he locks them up in different parts of the house, from which they emerge finally, only to find to their disgust their quarry has found the real artlNe In the form ot the parlor maid. Before the war. It appears, the maid was a lady of position, iicnce the perfume and masked t>all, and the four Imposters retire dis- comflted. "Trust Emily" Is not likely to re- main at the Criterion any longer than it' takes to find a successor. Jolo. THE CO-OPTIMISTS London. Oct. II. «Tlie seventh edition of "The Co- Optlmlsts" In their picrrotic enter- tainment opened at Prince of Wales' Oct. 11 with two cltanges In the cast. The newcomers are Aiutln Mclford and Wolseley Charlea Whether they are an improvement over their prede^ssors or otherwise Is purely a matter of personal pref- erence. After the show last night there was more or lens of a diversity of opinion as to the relative merits of tho entertainment as compared with that of last and other seasona The chances are It is Just about aa good as the previous editions, anil aa such Is likely to enjoy the same degree of success. It seems Incredible an up-to-date show of this kind can perpetrate so many gags that are old to theatre- goers In the States. Here are a few of them that can bo recalled at this writing: "There's something about you I l(ke, but you have spent it all," spe.aking to an aspirant for a posi- tion as actor. "Have you ever been round behind" speaking about ex- travagant wife and the money she spends. "I haven't given her any yet." Walter C. Kelly's kangaroo story. Intoxicated man at box of- fice to buy seats fur tho show In- formed he cannot go In because bo's drunk; he responds if he were sober he'd know beller tlmiV to go In, and ' so on. Prom time to time there has been talk of "The Co-Optlml.it-" going to New York. If thoy do they'll better let some American edit their boo),. JOJc NEWS OF DAILIES (Continued un page 10) been out of an engagement for .■jonie tiini" ami bad no money, lli' will be i-.'i.iniiiu'd further later. IViv-lnti'iil rumors huvw it that Alexander D. B. Pratt and his wife, formerly Mrs. John I'arrymore, have disagreed and ai-e contemplating divorce In Paris. Mrs. Itatl wm> Kiitherine Harris, prominent si'trf^s. Wanda Ilawlcy has been grunied an interlocutory decree of divorce In IjOs Angeles from Allen B. iiaw- Icy on tbe grounds of noii-support and ey^rcnie cruelly. Among otiier things the screen star charged her : husband called her a "HumlMll." Clement Vautel. Parisian wrl»<>r, ' la qiintnd In the dnltles as saving: "These stories* about the hand- ' somcHl actor In the world und thi- highest paid baby In the world should be taken with a large dose »t salt—especially since we liaM' wen tho man." r:;ii .'l^.y on iiroauwaj. STEADFAST FOREIGN REVIEWS TRUST EMILY London, Oct. 11. Thomas C. Dagnall presented at the Criterion last night a farco In three acts by May Kdglnton, en- titled "Trust Kmlly," staged by Sidney Blown The central chararttr Is that of a young Englishman who returns from a lengthy stay in Australia and is more or less ot th« "silly ass" type. It Is played by Hugh Wakefield, who made a tri-- mi-ndoua succesei In another Inanr role in 'Ulucbeard's Klghth Wife' It Ij v.hlrfpered around lhi'.itrli:.il Inslilc circles tiiat Wakellcld is tiling out with a view to boomli.g him as a successor to the lati- Kit (^}Mrl«.M IlHWUay, who was mor.i ' iir Lloyd Hamilton, film romnllan. In being sued for separation by Mrn. Kthcl Hamilton, former aotress, who charges In a Los Angeles court tliat he la cruel to her and refuses to support her properly, although he makea plenty of money. Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Plckford have telegraphed ihntr New York attorneys to file suit against "Screenland Magazine" charging libel and slander. O'Brien Malevlnsky A Driscoll, KalrbandW lawyers, are preparing to take step" ■ against the publication, which re- cently printed a report the couple had quarreled over another woman. Kvelyn Brent, formerly leadlni; woman for Kairbaiiks, wliose mime was Involved In the story, will Join Miss Plckford and Fairbanks In tin- llbr-l siilt, accordlns to her liusbatul, B. P. PIneman. ..- ' Marcus I.oow hag applied for |T.. ■ 000,000 life Insurance. The applica- tion for the policy was in the nature of a send-off to &ptchell May, Jr.. son of the Brooklyn justice, and Lre NunsliHum, who have recently cjn-. barked In an insurance partnership. INSIDE STUFF LEGIT (flontinucd from pagr IS) ' . ' So far as Chicago Is concerned "Rosle" could remain ii:dr(l,i.iely, liflnj. berthed In Cohan's own theatre, the Grand. -* It Is understood, however, that the cast of "Itosle" hold pontraets calling for a Broadway engagement this fall and the players are said t« have Informed Cohan a long Chicago engagcmsnt might cause with- . drawala. .^^'^ Very few Insiders know that the New York Theatre Program corpora- tion, which publishes the playbills for all the Manhattan legit houses, has for years been compiling and cross-Indexing the local records «o tliat i: now has a reference library of plays, authors and players covering the entire period of recent dramatic and musical comedy history. Ralph Trier, head of the company. Is proud of this "morgue" and Invite* the show business to use It as a source of Information at any time—bu' asks that he ehould not be swamped to decide bets or furnish dita ci other frivolous purposes. Upper Broadway Is to have Ita own theatre ticket agency, the Mliaes Waters having leased a store In the Alamac hotel at 7Ist street which U shortly to open. The sisters now conduct an agency In Times Square, nett to the entrance ot Loew's State theatre. All the major hotels In the heart of the city have lobby theatre ticket booths and there are agency Branches in the financial district. The hotel sei-tlon uptown, however, has not been considered Important enough for a branch offlce or that field has been overlooked. Franclne Larrlmore bought a ten per cent. Interest In her new slarrim? vthicio ''tiolioAy'a Busine'ss" the day before It opened. Tho Invcslnieiu U .laid to ruprcscnt several thousand dollars. Judging from tlie unfavorabU notiris and weak bu.'-lncas accorded the show the first tew nlghta (•( itn run it looks as If hor money Is sunk. But some of the wise one's .'llll lliink I'll: llolton and Mandel comedy has a chance. Kli.rl.'inne, a famous I'aria danH<^usc who opontd with the Zieii.'el.l • I iil!ii ft" and w.is not In tli- show next iiinht, has rejoined. It fd ma Ihn hitl" lady had never worked In "one" before, und when she had to con- Irri" lii-rself within the limited spuce, grew bewlldi-red and flopped txiilly /,irt;fi'ld, after tlie throes of tompcranienl always aseociated with li'-'.-lii; fir:t nlirhts. gave her anothrr chance, thjs time allowing bej lo r<lii-«r3<' .ir'l Ret u>eil to the t'>rritoiy bffore tdi' iii.'tain, whi.h In the Anistirtlaiu i 1; ivii.-id'.rcd d'cp f'lr American h'jue'S, J''l'..'!«fin'j lo>'ks ;ot n-jw for tl'" un. .,; ,\' y ■ ' \.: - \y'] ■ : .'■■'■ ',-.' ' - ',..'' ■ ■ ■■;' " . ■• !>;!■ il' Arcal. roUM!r! (o-lhe King of Spain, has yalletl for Lis dr.ir M'lilriil. K.ii.l.i .■,".,il..in Jn.l.jh .VVunin ' iir. ri.:i;i. .lU'.Hi. .Vorri.^ : :wir.ih IV.line ^'.'...rnr-' *lr.TI^"'. . l-'l.»reri''p .M'iri-u^"U. .. .\!;ir;.'in I; nil ......... I'.irlor ?.T.ti..vi'.3: Juilicr .... l-'rii:ik .M.1,1}' n Marie Ii.ii:i;-r ;i Hm:,' .M .r-,iii..r U"»fi'rl K.i.'iri'k I.i...;iii ll.,;,.rlli .I!..iy IV.,rr.. 111.MM I'l.v,,..* ..l.ulj M.ii- llutiliird . VI»'"' li'iii"' Wii.ki.l Oei'rri^ II"Iir • Tr'i.ter cr.ark* II. t lini- One of the saddest affairs of thf siasod, this. Anyone who saw Frank Mctiiynji in his classic cliaractcilza- .•,^s of a lixturc at the Criterion .hidgiiig W'akofleld by his 1>T f.irmance in this play would be an mju.-tico to the actor, for the riMson Ih! Is given scant opportunity ot di.MpI.iyiMg hia talent. The same mi^-!it'ap(>ly to the other prlnclpalH. who liavc Irniiosfllbly written roll's. The h.imor ihrtiughoiit Is forced o!il-fa.»hlor.ed and lai'king In origi- nality. After a sojourn In Austrairi. where he ha.'* amassed a small fot- tune, Arthur .N'ethcrby r<'tiirn.<i t.. the motherland with but one Mc^i ii, his mind, to find and wed a girl n'hoia he ntel a; a mukcd b.il'., bj: . -^--- -^— ' ■■ ■■ " • ■ "- "-■•- o ". "i' , - -. y 1^ whl.spcrcd behind the fans he brings tidings to His Majesty from h 'i..!n lilllc il.iricii', paiiiiir of an iol.Tn,iti.>n.i! .b.'iili oi.i:i fioor i ilelu ity ho \!t dl.HplayIng a huge diamond which Alf.niso M'.iii|iiil on her fingT ut. ii iiivillo last yutnnitr. Tho duke tsji greai p:il of Cb.iriie Cliapliu, al.so. Ml V.hlle here ran out to Hollywood to emoki- a jig.ircttc »\l(h tlH' cotnic, t'io sfr-ond night andiinee nt the Ami. i-s;iiV.r. wbere Frank Mi'Oiyltn I.taying a rabbi In • Str.i.lf.ivt." u.i.i inruifcd dlmi'st com|ii< telj from !• i-orib-rcrataion of I!.-it.bi t-'iU i-rm ;ii. Wiitlior they paid en bloc or I'i II or not at all. ^1 w.. lilie one I.Ir famii'.v, ai.J tlio l-jtzing in ttic inter- li-'ioiis w.\» an iiriii..-ii;. 1 m-h' for m Tin ': >^'iii ire Ih.-'itre, A groat ''(>U'- ' nr ti|) en the star's fir«: cntrnner who- 1'. w.\x i:"i!r"d I'ist i'li m il.eUfK ■i"- an uncnnny portrait of nabhi .itlverm.'.n, wl'h shapi-<t hose;'Vhi.iftiM. "> ; ■'. other Intimate (letalis Altlio'i;-h tK.K Would l.i^ r< ffardcd n« a huri-i- I ■-rl atiOIonc'-, U wi- n.' vo-('"t" ii'''i ;■■;''"''. AMsMiiBUi