The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 17, 1927, Page 12

President Hadas ae and ie Merry Exposed in “Revelry” Samuel Hopkins Adams, the au- thor, sent a well-aimed torpedo into | the bowels of the good ship Patriot- ; ism when he exposed the doings be- | hind the scenes in the Harding admin- istration, in his “Revelry,” boards of the Masque theatre, after passing thru the dramatical fingers of Maurine Watkins, author of “Chi- carpenters able to unofficial Berton Church !€"8- the piay lacks the grip and pull of the book, chiefly because the role of Willis Markham, the president, as played by Berton Churchill, leaves the audience emotionally neutral. Markham might pass for a_ well- groomed chief butler as played by Churchill but hardly as the boon com- panions of the gambling, grafting, hard drinking, prohibition-enforcing, members of the “Ohio gang” that looted at will during the Harding re- gime. Indeed, outside of the presi-} dent’s prowess in front of the bottle and his rather anaemic clandestine love affair with Edith Westervelt, Willis Markham, seemed to be fit on- ly for the role of “The Perfect Sap.” Berton Churchill looks too intelligent to do justice to his role and perhaps lacks the dramatic genius to lose him- self in the character he essayed to portray. Despite its histrionic shortcomings and the indifferent acting of most of the players, “Revelry” is strong meat for readers of the Daily Worker. -Dur- ing its short-lived existence in Phila- delphia it gave the bourgeois quakers a colic in their political midriffs. They would have it locked up in a warehouse by court order. The Go- tham bourgeois would annihilate it by the gas attacks of their critics—a deadlier method. The curtain rises on a poker game in the Crow’s Nest, a snug hangout where the chips flew and the glasses clinked merrily. Gandy, the garralous and nervous secretary of the interior was there, and it did not require a close acquaintance with political per- sonalities of the last decade to mark this fellow down as A. B. Fall. Dan Lurcock, the boss of the gang and the “inventor” of the president, is there. Hard-headed, red-faced and unscrupulous, he can carry his Scotch and direct the operations of the gang without a lurch in his gate or a twitch of his nerves. Harding—beg pardon, Markham—arrives to join the party. Other patriotic thieves are present, Jeff Sims keeps the glasses replenished. Markham loaded to the scuppers decides to take a little walk in quest of adventure. He declines the offer of his companions to accom- pany him. He dodges his secret serv- ice bodyguard and in the next scene we find him mudstained and dishey- illed, with hands pointed to the roof in front of a revolver in the home of Edith Westeiqelt, the handsome tho rather frigid-looking woman who is tired of life and is nursing a cute little bottle of poison, which Willis Markham confiscates for her own protection after becoming enamoured | of her. This love affair never amounted to anything. It is nothing like the “President’s Daughter” with Nan Britton, playing opposite. But Edith Westervelt appears to be more ani- mated mentally than sexually while the reverse seems to be true of one of the other women in the president’s life. sensational novel | now appearing on the} ? he ship did not sink, the! being plug the hole in time, but the crew did not come thru without casual- ties. Among the missing were two cabinet members and several official and pay-rol- Cronies | MARK LOEBELL | Who will have an important role in “Lovers and Enemies,” by Artyza- basheff, which opens Tuesday after- noon at the Little Theatre for a series of special matinees. Charlie Madrigal, assistant to the secretary of the interior and one of} the president’s pets, makes love to the. president’s niece for business | reasons and to two other good-look- ing girls for pleasure, The husband of one of the latter, Duke Forrest, discovers the liason and, after imbib- ing a few hookers of booze proceeds to blow the love-thief off the map in the Crow’s Nest during a poker game. For disturbing the game and threat- ening to expose the players, Duke is promptly murdered in the bathroom. The threatened storm now breaks in all its fury. Senator Welling— Burton K. Wheeler in real life—is blowing off the lid in the senate. A. B. Fall’s purchase of a ranch for which he made an initial payment of $90,000 is ferreted out. Charlie Ma- drigal is caught with the goods. Three members of the cabinet threaten to resign. Dan Lurcock has his hands full fixing, fixing, fixing. The de- partment of justice is on a twenty- four-hour-day schedule framing Sen- ator Welling and his aides, Fall is frantic and begging for succor. Hard- ing still believes in his friends. He will stick by them. He is drinking} heavily, anon making patriotic speeches from the white house porch while members of the gang listen cyn- ically from the privacy of the cab- inet meeting room, to the “chief’s” pee perorations on home and country and flag. The protector of the family, the foundation of modern | civilization, retires from the plaudits of his admirers to enjoy a few illicit moments with Edith Westervelt in the cabinet room where national poli- cies are formally adopted after be- ing determined over the Scotch and poker chips in the Crow’s nest. All thru the drama the president is represented as the trusting, big- hearted victim of the gang of thieves that surrounded him. Despite the warnings of friends and the advice of |his clandestine sweetheart he signs a ;Sstatement written by Lurcock which! exonerates Gandy (Fall). Shortly afterwards in the Crow’s Nest he jcomes into possession of proof that his pet Charlie Madrigal is a crook who robbed the “people” of $90,000. Here Markham becomes animated and lays violent hands on Madrigal. |The latter is forced by Lurcock to confess .but not before he arranges with one of his sweethearts to make jcopies of his evidence on his pals which gets into Senator. Welling’s | hands. Irene Homer, who plays the part of Zoe Farley, is the Roxie Stin- son of Teapot Dome days. She gets her $40,000 from Lurcock and suc- —8 |him to recoup his losses. !eated in Edith Westervelt’s home and aa val Wall Ce J UNITED ACTORS, Inc. present - Ihe LADDE. by J. FRANK DAVIS CORT THEATRE 48th STREET EAST OF B’WAY Special Summer Prices—Best Seats, $2.20 (No performances Saturday) GUILD Thea., W.52 St. Evs. 8:30 Mats. Thurs. & Sat., 2:30 The SECOND MAN Little _— GR AND THURS. & 5 Man $280 FOLLIES cessfully double-crosses the crooks! after she learns that her sweetheart Charlie Madrigal was bumped off on his way to prison. “Shot while try- ing to escape” was the alibi. The boys are drinking and playing in the Crow’s Nest. .The web of scan- dal is enmeshing Willis Markham. He} is caught without an umbrella in an! oil geyser. He is in debt, and his | big-hearted pals want to let him in| on a good thing. He lost heavily in} a Barclay Oil gamble and is $100,000) “in red” on a broker’s books. His friends would make it possible for! And it} would be from oil. Of course Willis| Markham, the soul of honor, trusted his friends and did not ask any awk- ward questions! But Senator Well- ing did. Dan Lurcock had a stiff job trying to pep up the poker game in the Crow’s Nest. Jeff Smith did his duty | with the bottle. But it would not work. Gandy was in a state of ter-| —— ror. Markham was silent. The game broke up. Markham decided to stay | THEATRE GUILD ACTING CO— “oT, D ;E Sg E a TS fe) N G E N. Y. & London's Musical Sensation with Robt. Halliday & Eddie Buzzeli llth Month 39 St. & B’way. Evs. 8.30 CASINO eee aia ts. Wed. and Sat. 2.30 CAMEO: NOW | First Bway Showing at Popular Prices’ 5 POT EE Russian Film - "GREATEST MOTION PICTURE EVER MADE” | EMIL JANNINGS MAX REINHARDT DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS — & Film arts Guild eresre tacieHs ree BWAY A: Pe: MONDAY | Tremendous Jungle Malortoase / f aly THRILLING. INCREDIBLE — MUST BE SEEN 2" riecaam a~—- IN ADDITION — KETTH-ALBEE ACTS INCLUDING~ actor] votes Peggy Conway last seen in “Hit the Deck” has been engaged by L. Law- in the Crow’s Nest for the night, Lur-|tence. Weber to play the leading cock would have a bed made ready|! for him. When the gang leaves Mark- ham takes the little bottle he confis- swallows its contents. ly on a sofa. Lureock did not lose his nerve. He dictated the message that explained the president’s death to the nation. Accidental! And the curtain falls on He dies quiet- “Revelry.” aes ~ feminine role opposite Ralph Morgan in “Romancing ’Round,” which opens at the Little Theatre September 26th. |Theodore Westman, Beatrice Blinn, Fleming Ward, C. T. Davis and Charles Ritchie are other players. George C. Tyler will present Glenn Hunter in a new play, “Behold This Dreamer.” Thomas Wise, Sylvia Field, Dodson Mitchell, James Seeley and Patricia Hern are also in the ene The New Plays MONDAY. “THE TRIAL OF MARY DUGAN,” a new melodrama by Bayard Veiller, will be presented by S. H. Woods at the National Theatre Monday night, with the leading roles enacted by Ann Harding and Rex Cherryman. Others in the cast include Arthur Hohl, Cyril Keightley, Mevle Maddern, Robert Cummings, Anna Kos- tant, John Sharkey, Dennie Moore and Leona Maricle. “FOUR WALLS,” a new play by George Abbott and Dana Burnet, with Muni Wisenfrend and Clara Langsner in the chief roles, will open Monday night at the John Golden Theatre, presented by John Golden. “ENCHANTED ISLE,” an operetta by Ida Hoyt, will open Monday night at the Lyric Theatre. Greek Evans, Kathryn Reece, Hans- ford Wilson, Basil Ruysdael, Margo Waldron, George E. Mack and Madeline Gray are in the cast. TUESDAY. “LOVERS AND ENEMIES,” by Artyzabosheff, will be presented by The Grand Street Players for a series of special matinees on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning Tuesday at the Little Thea- tre. The cast includes: Leo Bulgakov, Albert Carroll, Eva Con- don, Otto Hulcius, Lily Lubell, Marc Loebell, Esther Mitchell, John F. Roche, Joanna Roos, and Paula Trueman. “THE COMMAND TO LOVE,” a comedy from the German of Ru- dolph Lothar and Fritz Gottwald, adapted by Herman Bernstein and Brian Marlow, will open Tuesday at the Longacre Theatre. Brady and Winan in association with John Tuerk are the pro- Mary Nash, Basil Rathbone, Violet Kemble Cooper and Henry Stephenson are the featured players. THURSDAY “CREOLES,” by Samuel Shipman and Kenneth Perkins will have its delayed premiere at the Klaw Theatre Thursday night, presented by Richard Herndon. | ducers. The leading roles will be played by Helen Chandler, Princess Matchabelli, Natacha Rambova; George Nash and Allan Dinehart. <7 ee eee ® = oe so anmeeroemes mens? ee ne