Evening Star Newspaper, April 1, 1929, Page 30

OPENING ATTR SHUBERT-BELASCO—“An American Tragedy.” Theodore Dreiser, expending much time and effert, wrote & book in two | volumes that he called “An American Tragedy.” One of any number of oth- | er tities might have served just as | well, but there was significance in th . one he chose. For while the tragic | events with which he dealt may have taken place in almost any corner of | the globe in almost any period of the history of the world, Mr. Dreiser evi- dently intended to study the effects of an environment and a philosophy that are peculiar to present day America. It is probable that he never thought that he was at any time engaged in expound- ing “a great moral lesson.” The nume:- ous moral lessons involved have be‘n dealt with much more concisely in e ten commandments, by Aesop and Dy any newspaper story that reiterates the calamitous results of writing, or a fail- ure to burn, old love letters. It is with something akin to shock and astonishment, therefore, that one learns that the week's offering at the Shubert-Belasco Theater, a dramatiza- tion of Mr. Dreiser's novel, is intended as a “great moral lesson” and that this thought is emphasized to the extent of a printed notice on the program &polo- 4 gizing for “some of the language.that may seem rather broad.” The audience is requested to “kindly view it accord- ingly.” And if the audience so views it the audience might just as politely but firmly request a more enlightening pro- nouncement on, what moral lesson is taught, and why. Are the young men of Washington on the verge of indis- cretions which they later will repent, and, repenting, go forth and commit murder? If they are, they should hasten to the Belasco and learn the “great moral lesson” that awaits them. there. If they do not learn this lesson, the electric chalr_is inevitable, One should always try to be fair, and it is fair to Patrick Kearney to believe that in dramatizing Mr. Dreiser's novel he had no great moral lesson in mind, but that he resorted to the use of un- adorned realism because he was telling a | very realistic story, for which 1o apol- | ogies are necessa ‘There’s nothing the matter with realism, but there is no end to what is the matter with unreal real- ism. Mr. Kearney has written a good play. In the hands of capable actors it might have been a great play. But one is compelled, in the present instance, to view it in the spirit with which it is offered. “Great moral lessons” may b necessary, but they often are great bores, nevertheless. ‘The Baltimore company which ap- pears at the Shubert-Belasco this week has attained a facile use of the lines. Experience is the best teacher, and the company has had a successful run as a | stock company playing at stock com- pany prices for the last two months or | more in Baltimore. Howard Phillips | shows real possibilities in the leading role of Clyde Griffiths, who left no doubts in anybody’s mind that the élec- tric chair was going to be a great moral I n. The use of lighting effects in | three final scenes is impressive and | the highly emotional efforts of the actors in these three scenes would have been equally 5o had nof the depths of human emotion been so thoroughly | sounded in the three acts preceding. POLI'S="Good News.” “Good News,” fast-stepping collegiate musical show, returned to Washington at Poli’s last night still speeding along after two years. There were many changes in the cast, with scarcely a good singing voice left, but the many song hits and the enthusiastic juvenile | cast retain the punch that has made “Good News” famous. ¢ The story, such as it is, concerns | "Tait College's great foot ball crists, with technique by Knute Rockne. follows colleglate flivvers, stockings of many hues with attractive feminine legs therein, freshmen, sophomores, foot bail men, astronomy, fraternities, soror- ities and many chorus men who look s _though they actually had been to || In Edwin Michaels is an ex- | | college. tremely fresh “frosh” and Dorothy Daw, the flapper sophomore, kicks and dances | her way to the front throughout the show. Incidentally Dorothy hails from ‘Washington. William Sully, substitute foot ball player, who waits for two vears for the chance to snatch up a fumble and win the game for Tait, is a comedian of the first order. Don Lanning as Tom Mar- low, captain of the Tait team, shares first honors with Dorothy Fitz-Gibbon and Evelyn Kinder, who take the fem- inine leads. With the exception of John Philbrick as “Pooch” Kearney, ths trainer, and Maurice Darcey as Prof. Kenyon, the cast is entirely juve- nile, and the youngsters give a swash- buckling, jazz _stamping exhibition which carries the show along with zip from the first to the last curiain. Song hits of such calliber as “Good est Colds Need Direct. Treatment It.1s an ob- stinate cold -~ indeed that can resist the direct double action of Vicks. Rubbedon the chest, it acts 2 ways at once: (1) Direct to air pas- sages with its healing va- released by body heat; (2) Direct, like a poul- tice, it “draws out” the h KEEP LOOKING YOUNG The secret of keeping young is ‘to feel young—to do this you must watch your liver and bowels —there is no need of having sallow complexion—dark _rings under your eyes—pimples—a bilious look in your face—dull eves with no sparkle. Your doc- tor will tell you nipety per cent of all sickness comes from in- active bowels and liver. Dr. Edwards, s well known | physician in~ Ohio, perfected a vegetable ‘compound s mixed with olive oil as a substitute for calo- mel _to act on the liver and bowels, which he geve te his pa- tients for years. s Dr. Edwards’ Tablets are gentle in their action yet always effective. They bring about that natural buoyancy which all should enjoy by toning- up the liver and clearing the sys- tem of impurities. o Dr. Edwards’ Olive Tablets are known by their olive color. 15c, ACTIONS IN' WASHINGTON THEATERS } ‘There | News,” "v:'rsity Drag,” “Lucky in Love,” “Just Imagine” and “A Ladies’ Man” have made the-show -famous. STRAND—'“The Bohemians.” Art Mayer, one of the best comedians in burlesque and one who has original ideas of funmaking and gets them over the footlights to roars of laughter and applause, with Frankie Moore, a lass of personality and many accomplish- ments, both in the singing and danc- ing lines, head “The Bohemians” an excellent burlesqug show at the Strand Theater this week. The specialties are out of the ordinary and some of them especially interesting. They include “The Shooting of Dan McGrew,” “The orilla,” “The Garden of Vampires,” d these are interwoven by many mo- ments of laughter, good singing num- bers and dances. There is also a fine choral ensemble to please both the eye and the But Art and Frankie are not the only ones of an excellent company that help to make the show one of the best on the Mutual circuit. Dolly Lewis shines in jazz and Emelie Billings. Johnny Gil- more, Paul Ryan and Micky Kane also contribute materially to the entertain- ment, each in his or her own- peculiar way. A wrestling match, with several addi- tional numbers, will augment the reg- ular show Thursday evening. FOX—"Heats in Dixie.” To those who have spent most of their lives below thé Mason-Dixon Line, and, therefore, are wont to view askance most of the attempts to de- pict the spirit of the South behind footlights or between the covers of a novel, the indescribable charm of “Hearts in Dixie” with its cast of plan- tation characters, whose performance seems far too natural to be conscious acting, is as refreshing as a trip back home. Althouzh the portrait drawn— that of the care-free Negro of the old South, singing at his work in the cotton flelds—is perhaps a picture growing more and more rare, it is drawn sc faithfully that it cannot fail to be rec- ognized by any who have known the Dixie of yesterday. ‘With skill these Negro actors depict the life of their race on the great plantations, which still are the charac- teristic feature of the far Southland. Their rich voices, raised in song to ex- press joy and sorrow alike; their gay “shuffies,” cal alks and capering THE _EVENING ces, learned in no school of terpsi- g::rem art; their paradoxical shiftless- ness and energy; their simplicity and deep-rooted superstition—it's all there, pletured by a master hand. We do not know the names of the :principitl figures in the cast. We do not need to kno®%. “Pappy” is the spirit of the bost that is 1 his race; Chink-a-pin is African youth, cager for- the Varnin’ {hat Pappy didn’t have; the ‘old voo- doo woman is their superstition; Cloe is mother love, which has kept the race alive, and Cioe's long-legged hus- band is shifiiessness in the essente. It would be impossible to think of these as other than the folk they appear to be on the screen. They live their roles. One feels that the movietone man slipped up on them unannounced and shot his film from the shelter of a .tree while they were unconscious of the drama they were performing. As for the sound feature this comes near perfection in recording the human voice. . An excellent slage offering accom- panies the feature, with Florence For- man doing some skillful acrobatic danc- ing and a youth introduced as “a local product,” “heading the laughter-makers with his interpretative dancing snd warblings. Others who entertain. in- clude the Happy-Go-Lucky Boys, Shel- ton & Ginns, Sally Hicks and Gladys Hart. The master of ceremonies, John Irving Fisher, is another fun-maker, and he has a coiorful Easter chorus of | Foxettes. b COLUMBIA—“The Broadway Melody.” “The Broadway Melody,” current at| the Columbia, is easily up among the! box office hits of the season, mainly be- | cause it has personality and a penchant | for putting it across. This M.-G.-M.| all-talking, all-singing and all-dancing effort might very easily have turned out to be sentimental stuff set to music had it not been intrusted to the very capable hands of Director Harry Beaumont, who endows it with authentic atmosphere and charming naturalness. Half of the acting honors should go | to Anita Page, Charles King and the rest of the cast. Bessie Love. who de- serves a column of prajse for her really great performance, in this 'case ~will | have to be content with the other half of the honors and only & portion of a paragraph. Her's is perhaps the most convineing and noteworthy comcback via the “talkies” to date, and there Lave been many. “The Broadway Melody” endeavors to reproduce big revue after the well known New York fashion, with four song_hits, & glittering chorus and a novel number called “The Dance of the Painted Dolls,” brilliantly tinted with technicolor, which but for the accept- ‘GOLDENEERG'S | . ‘Headquarters for - . Armstrong’ of all Grades! Goldenberg’s New Downstairs Ruf and Fl Ic‘aor Coverings Dept.—Use Our Budget Plan— . No Interest or Extras Added s Linoleum the finest (( (3 ndl o WooDWARD Summer. The new colors—the effective designs bring Springtime right into your home. . Surely you will want to see them—and let us give you an es- timate, * LaworzuMs, SixTH-FLOOR. & 30c and 60c. T e A, et o e e e AL 10™ 11" F.axp G STrEeTs N comparatively xcellently and con- vincingly 3 o0y done. The pieture, exhibited at™ Broadway prices, has been breaking house records in New York. “Confession,” an all-talkie playlet featuring Robert Antes and Carroll Nye, directed by none other than Lionel Barrymore, -and which furnishes the only “added,” is mJ)erlluve quality en- tertainment. Claude Burroughs and his orchestra, in their brief appearance, offer the score of the feature picture with zest' to complete a bill which is recommended. METROPOLITAN—“The Divine Lady.” Corinne Griffith was given a large order when she was assigned the role of Emma Hart, the name by which the artist Romney ¢hose to call “his divine lady, and whose tempestuous love affair with Lord Nelson is history. But, ap- parently, Miss Grifith has filled the role to the satisfaction of all concerned: The star i5 admirably fitted for this part because of her resemblance to Lady Hamilton, so startling that during the iming of thia cloema masterplect for FLOWERS 1407 H StrReET eMain 370] J l'-..fln-!': Moulded Design No, 3185 We believe that we have selection of ARMSTRONG’S LINOLEUM in this part of the country TaEHeenrt Co. F Street at Seventh A A AR A & LoTHROP Let Woodward & Lothrop —show you Armstrong’s new and complete assortment of the "’ smart linoleums for Spring and Above all, let their skilled experts “‘custom-tailor” your linoleum floors for you so that they will be permanent. N\ N\ . found today in this new of Armstrong Floors. of its own; a never-ending est as though Mother cess surface. Spot-proof, proof, easily cleaned. PLAIN . INLAID.. EMBOSSED . JASPE r ARABESQ + PRINTED ¢ and ARMSTRONG'S QUAK] Director Frank Lloyd had her dress and pose as_Lady Hamilton in Rommey's painting called “Ariadne.” © With art that appears to be wholly artless, she submergas her own pesonality first into that of the attractive but unschooled daughter of a cook, of an immature young girl eagerly striving for the ac- complishments usually possessed only by ladles of rank, and later as the wife of a diplomat, friend of a queen and savior of an army, ready to meet any social or official situation but that of a love initiated and governed by natural rather than by soclal laws. No less skillful is First National’s han- dling of the plot, based upon E. Bar- rington’s novel, “The Divine Lady,” which is followed sufficiently to be easi- ly recognizable and with the deletions necessary to win the approbation of censors, both official and self-appointed JVictor Varconi, as Lord Nelson, de- serves & prominent place in photoplay’s glittering firmament; H. B. Warner is more than adequate’ as 'Sir Willlam Hamilton: Ian Keith impersonates Sir! Robert Greville, Sir William’s mercen- int o prize these new - Floors as well “DE LUXE” ... . a group of . New Marble Inlaids ‘There was royal reason behind the choice of kings and queens for floors of marble. They do lend a tone of richness to any room. But there were not such reasons as the foot-comfort, warmth, and lovely colorings group In some, bold patterns speak. In others, there is no evident pattern. Instead, a lovely all- over graining creates an interest intere- Earth _ herself veined the marbling. Beauty a-plenty. A beauty safeguarded by the Accolac Pro- staine Armstrong's Linoleum e for every floor in the house Reputation The high reputation of SALADA has .- been earned by an unchanging standard of superb - quality. “Fresh from the Gardens” apart -na who usually turn out a pic-. ture that hes much to recommend 1':. But in “Children of the Ritz” the two 80 in for a somewhat heavier fare, and as the likeable enough comedy merges into intensc social drama, they. fumble .',;:dy I&mh d‘ifik vktorrled" and wonder ey 't Nhx ther eep up the comedy Unfortunately, however, “Children of ——— ary nephew and one of Emma's early loves, with dash and conviction, and Marie Dressler, as Mrs. Hart, adds some refreshing comedy. Other members of the . casc are Dorothy Cummings, Michael Vavitch, Helen Jerome Eddy, Montagu Love and Willlam Conklin. The' theme song accenuates the ro- mantic quality of the picture, and the roar of guns at the battles of Aboukir and Trafalgar add a few more thrills. As an artistic production, “The Divine Lady” is & work of outstanding merit. Supplémenting the feature are the Four Synce-Pets, a vitaphone offering of pleasing musical numbers, and the Pathe Sound News, in which Capt. Linar Lundborg, Nobile rescuer, makes a brief talk in very good English. EARLE—“Children of the Ritz.” The Dorothy. Mackail-Jack Mulhall combination is to light comedy what the Banky-Colman combination was to romantic drama—two young people who team together better than they play Make Your half galion is usually a nation-wide contest to further the creation of beautiful floors this group of Armstrong patterns were happily in- spired. They are an added urge to visit the spring display of Armstrong’s Linoleum at local stores this week. ; Here is a hint of tomorrow in floor design =32 modern vigor in outline and feeling. In some, blocked shapes melt from glow- ing light to dusk in a series of overlapping shadows. Another suggests swallows on'the wing. A third is an embossed design—a princely checkerboard on which to place your furniture. The colors are softly graded from misty ‘corals and sun-shot oranges to evening blues and a rich royal garnet. But every Armstrong Floor in this spring display deserves another rich prize from every housckeeper. 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Hazel Dell Brown tells yoy all about it in Home Decoration.” Full of intere esting pictures; colorplates, and helpful advice. Sent upon receipt of ten cents to cover postage. ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY, Floor Division, Lancaster, Pa. L) g / / i i & Yo