Evening Star Newspaper, January 18, 1931, Page 50

-~ AMUSEMENTS. Flashes From the Screen News and Comment of the Photoplay By E. de S HE passerby who surveys what has happened in film- dom in the past year and what is likely to happen may reflect and ruminate and mu{l over the following: A year ago the movie moguls gcreamed for song writers, drew them out with the care of the‘ spider, squeezed melody from | them until they were dry—and| now—are getting rid of “them; | Jadies with voices, and fair of face and figure, were signed on the| dotted line and hustled into plc—; tures with music and are now being hustled out of them; dia- logue took the veneer off some ofl the great, with the result that| they are no longer great; Clara Bow got herself engaged to Mr. Richman for the sake of publicity; Paul Whiteman was signed for a| picture, and annoyed a certain picture producer because he wouldn't consent to play the lover. Rudy Vallee proved himself the | worst cinema actor of all times; Ruth Chatterton made the most phenomenal _“come-back” ever staged by a theatricalite; Charlie Farrell lost Miss Gaynor; Charlie Chaplin kept to his dictum and succumbed to sound and noise but no audible dialogue; Norma Tal- madge went down a peg; Mary| Pickford did a sort of flotsam and | jetsam act; husband _Douglas went to England to play golf— and Dame Rumor pricked up her rs and said he was through with the films—whereupon e it “Reaching for the Moon,” 10,000 actresses, when interviewed, | said “the talkies will never sup-| plant the stage!” N ONI should like to prophesy for - the new year: That the Colum- bia play host to new and padded seats; that Marlene Dietrick will elimb to dazzling heights; that the Garbo throne will in no way suffer; that Fredrik March will become one of the most popular of the screen stars; that some one will sing “Sweet Mystery of Life' af the Palace; that Fanchon and Marco will, or should, do some- thing about their stage shows; Laurie couldn't have had any compunction seeing this—so mild with anything like super-crudity. 1 T current week's fine bill of photo- play attractions may take cour- age and hope, if they cannot feel assured, that the bills to follow give promise of being very interesting. There are not many units to report here, probably because the press agents | have not had the time to report them, or for other reasons which do not mat- ter. The few disclosed should be suf- ficient to soothe the expectant. The Fox ‘Theater, for instance, startles with the announcement of Emil Jannings’ first talking picture. And if that were not enough, the announce- ment adds that Marlene Dietrich, the little German star who has beer¥ winning sensational attention in the HE, heartsick and weary who may l fail to find perfect joy in the . Melcher. And then “The Man From Blankley’s.” Just why this picture must be included among the great is a mystery that baffles and rankles still. A genuinely exag- gerated piece of acting on the part of Mr. Barrymore—a thor- oughly ridiculous story—not saved by “sophistication”—it still seems one of the few breaches of good taste that this actor has commit- ted. The others have met with favor universally—except for “Laughter,” which was greatly liked by this department and singularly disliked by most every one else around. ok K ALTHOUGH “Part-time Wife” has now wended its way to its celluloid heaven, or otherwise, it might be of interest to disclose the fact that when the Roxy cor-- poration showed this film in New York Mr. Roxy objected so to the name t}l;mt it ws\st chgmzed to “The Shepper-Newfounder’—un- (@60 which Litle 1t was BapiZaiin | Coan oot ek, T liisle magazine form—and had a phe-|tainer of the waterfront who has at- nomenal run as is, instead of as;tz:cw:e the -m;xno;: ol’the big German star because of the interest as ¥ir. Roxy maintained that the |aroused in nis puplls Ehere Tvrfll?:: other title would not sit so well on ' &=° 2 o the youth that tumbled into the | how pietuse as o sioge ateoanbany the old homestead for the holidays—| The Palace of the Loew Theaters, and it looks as though maybe he not to be outdone, counters with the were right. Mr. Meakin refrained | announcement of Marion Davies’ latest from this, and one wonders, in- |picture, “Bachelor Father,” as the big | attraction for the final week of the ‘&"& ‘;:g;,:"’“ld have happened | Loew January Festival. But the picture which will follow Ruth Chatterton's fine * ok ok |offering, “The Right to Love,” will be "THIS business of titles is, in fact, a {111120;115 ;flmredl);; "E:;’ducm&' th;{la:- | est offering of e n stars Marle prlccoming something of & EAME. | Drecsier and Polly Moran. Tt sounds s, . ” {like good showmanship to follow up a week at the Rialto, was advertised | plessed cry with a roaring lsugh. Of in one city under the catchline|course, “Reducing” is the funniest cre “If you are easily shocked—stay |tion ever made by the Dressler-Mor: away.” And the proof of the pud- |firm of laugh producers. sor, “Caught Short,” established a ding was that even little Annie RTAEWALLE" T oo iR FENTAIOWD at Loew’s Columbia. A romantic thriller of railroad life, “Other Men's Women,” featuring Mary Astor, Grant Withers and Regis ‘Too- | mey.s:s bodoked rns Wml;neln' l'iTrle Thea- ter Saturday, and with it will come, as BREVITIES. a stage atiraction, Lillian Shaw, well The following are the pictures known dialect comedienne, who tells | stories and sings and has been heralded that grossed the most box office, {20 M0 A enemy of gloom.” The rewards for their individual com-| g show will inciude also & number panies during the year: “FLght” | or intoresting personalities. besid (Columbia), “Sally” (First Na-|Maxine Doyle, who is mistress of cere: been before the American public, is co-starred with Mr. Blue Angel,” “The Blue Ghost” of unhappy mem- ory, and in it, it is declared, Emil Jan- nings after many and sundry en- Marlene Dietrich, ~ deavors with an exacting professor in correct English is amply fitted for his “Victor Herbert Idea” and unharmfully placated was it | * ok x short while she has [ redeces- | that Manager Collier will do some | of the most startling advertising of the year—with splendid re- fonal), “Sunnyside Up” (Fox), “Anna Christie” (M.-G. M.), “Animal Crackers” (Paramount), monies, maybe the only one, for *Pop” Cameron and his gang of farceurs, with the Fourteen Bricktops,” America's sults; that the Little Theater will show one “men and women only” icture and then go broke; that E!v Ayres will be just about at the top of the favorites; that Ruth Chatterton will go on play- ing the tragic heroine with heart- rending results; that Mary Pick- ford will surprise her “public, one way or another, with her per. formance as Kiki; that Alice White will be busy with unem- ployed apples; that Norma Tal- madge will turn to the stage; that no more Metropolitan song birds will be lured to Hollywood—except mhly the new sensation, Lily ; that Amos 'n’ Andy will picture. thelt radio, and that the ic industry will keep on right ianuy with’ its ups and downs— e ups having the advantage. * % *x * LTHOUGH such matters are not discussed with the fervor that was theirs in the first ening of the talkies, the ques- mkof sound continues to engross the studios. No picture of recent days brought ’!ar& an illustration of this more forcefully than “The Right to Love,” In this the Para- mount sound units have con- tributed materially to soundless- [ ness. In other words, where the| Fox organization still suffers from the jarrings and grating that emanate from their screen be- tween dialogue, Western Electric— and hence Paramount—have in- vented a new “quiet” that is most pleasing and efficacious to the ears. There was scarcely an un- necessary echo during this entire film, the slightest sound being detected with authority, and the voices retaining complete natural- ness. The result was that many persons were not even conscious of the change—at least not until they had visited another film and been heckled by the minor dis- turbances of its sound troubles. Paramount is, indeed, busying it- self most pleasingly with mechan- fcal adjustments. *ox %% THE greatest personal triumph i of the week in the houses of inema art was scored by that| leasing little lady, Vivienne &gnl. whose voice needs no ad- justments on sound devices to| make it clear, strong and thor- oughly attractive—as is she, as they say, “in the flesh.” The greatest disappointment was “One Heavenly Night,” in which Evelyn Laye’s blondine beauty and John "Boles’ hardy expression couldn’t overcome a story streaked with sentiment of unflattering variety. * k% % first girl band, it is called, with Bobby Grice, who also is believed to be its feminine director. There are others, but these of themselves should be suf- ficlent notice that the Earle !s also in the running. “Holiday” (Pathe), “Rio Rita” (Radio), “What A Man” (Sono- Art), “Journey’s End” (Tiffany),| “Whoopee” (United Artists), “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Universal) and “Office Wife” (Warners). “Strangers May Kiss,” the mevs'l Norma Shearer vehicle, is now in full swing at the M.-G. M. studios, | those concerned being Robert Montgomery, Neil Hamilton, Mar jorie Rambeau, Irene Rich and a | 2ast, under the tutelage of Director George Fitzmaurice, that reads like a cinematic “Who's Who.” Norman Foster, the young hus- band of Claudette Colbert, who did so nicely in the picture version of “Young Man of Manhattan,” has been given one of the leads in “Among the Married.” Buster Keaton and Charlotte; Greenwood are said to be having| quite a time with the filming of | “Parlor, Bedroom and Bath.” Geoffrey Kerr has been signed |to a long-term contract by Radio Pictures. Mr. Kerr is, incidentally, the distinguished husband of that talented young actress June Walker who is prominent among those coming tomorrow to the Na.uon‘illl in “Green Grow the| % Lilacs. . June Walker, Edna Best is said to be greatly excited about her new M.-G. M.| contract—and will divide her time between California, New York and | London. This favorite of the Lon- | NATIONAL—"Green Grow the Lilacs.” HE Theater Guild will bring reen Grow the Lilacs,” a ghy of Oklahoma, by Lynn { iggs, to the Natiohal Theater Monday night for an engage- ment of one week. It is an American | folk-play of the period when Oklahoma was emerging from the status of In. | dian territory, and is said to be peo- pled with homely and pungent char- acters whose cus- toms, rich speech and colorful songs are woven into the theme. author i said to have provided a wealth of atmos- phere, characteri- zations and detail in arresting drama which at time fairly breath-tak. ing. Lynn Riggs, the author, is of the country about which he has written, He born im Claremore, Okla. proper is concerned with s romange and the hearty attitude which resi- dents of the cow country had toward it. Into the story is woven a group of folk songs and ballads, dedicated to In Capital Theaters ‘The | is | Which the performance turns. Among | - | others in the cast are quite a few who 2% Own Show” are declared worthy of don stage (and one of the most noted Peter Pans) was seen here in Washington during the week: that her husband, Herbert Mar- | shall, was playing in “Tomorrow and Tomorrow.” Chester Morris has been dubbed a star by the United Artist outfit, and joins the ranks of the immor- tals such as Chaplin, Fairbanks, | Colman, Jolson, Huston and| Cantor. Joseph M. Schenck, president and chairman of the board of directors of United Artist Cor-| poration, has issued his 1931 fore-' cast. Says “Comedy-drama will be in the ascendancy; a more extenstive market will be avalil-| able for the original manuscripts of playwrights and authors; out- ' standing stars, famous names, will | continue as the biggest attrac- | tions—and in the theater field the | trend will be toward smaller and more intimate houses. ‘ De Sylva, Brown and Henderson have turned dramatic, and will do | the story instead of the music for| the new Gloria Swanson film/ various themes, among them “Weavilly Wheat,” “Custer’s, Last Charge, “When I Was Young and Single, Wi Out in Idyho” and “Green Grow the Lilacs,” from which the plece takes its title. “Green Grow the Lilacs” was staged by Herbert J. Biberman, whose remarka- ble direction of “Roar China!” was re. cently applauded in New York. settings are the work of Raymond Sovey. For the leading roles the Theater |Guild has chosen a cast including June Hale, Ruth ward teen Walker, Helen Westley, Richard Pranchot Tone, Lee Strasberg, Ritter and many others.” Four- cowboys appear in the drama. They were engaged for the play at the close of the rodeo season at Madison Squage Garden. Matinees will be given on Wednesday and Saturday. BELASCO—*In the Best of Families.” THOMAB KILPATRICK'S production of a new comedy, “In the Best of Pamilies.” with the distinguished actor, Charles Richman, and Grace Filkins featured, is the current offering at the Shubert-Belasco Theater, where its ini- tial performance will be given tomor- row evening. ‘The new comedy, which the producer declares is not at all slapstick in quality, notwithstanding its farcical purpose, is ‘The | Chorpenning, Tex Cooper, Wood- | Now that the hundred thou- (At ACo Sront er sandth critic has bitten oft [ [ObeY That tmpulse the end of his pencil in an eftort | Will Play opposite Miss Swanson. to determine which were the 10| The new Ruth Chatterton film most potent cinematic offerings is to be called “Unfaithful” and of the year, along comes the Na-| has been written by John van tional Board of Review \}nd. h\lDru n, author of “Young Wood- one fell swoop, tells what's what | George Cukor will direct/ and wherefore and wherein ye | “New York Lady” in which Tallu-| ter of the sleuthing game has | lah Bankhead will first appeas| een wrong. | before the screen; Maurice Chev-, This is the list as pronounced!aner comes back to this country| with gusto by this venerable and | January 13, and “Daybreak” is to| Ben Lyon 1 rather of the drawing room variety, its | action taking place in the home of a | wealthy and exclusive Long Island fam- ily. It was written by Anita Hart and Maurice Braddell and was staged by Jo Graham. Also it is destined for presentation in New York later on. Great stress is laid, however, on th quality of the fine cast selected for its | u: portrayal. Charles Richman is vouched T. Arthur Smith Announces hty group, whose dictum is u‘ unimpeachable as the annual| cherry blossom fest: “All Quiet on| the Western Front,” “Holiday,”| “Laughter,” “The Man From | Blankley's,” “Men Without Wom en,” “Morocco,” “Outward Bound, “Romance,” ot Chance” and “Tol'able David. And thus, all at once a babble| of great voices is aroused, for the | likes of some are certainly not the likes of others, and there are a few on thjs list that the local ublic, for instance, has pald Etue or no attention to. Take the case of “Men Without Women.” When the Fox Theater was showing this grave and un- histicated and admirable picture the audiences were 50 meager that they scarcely seemed audiences at all. Up went the advertisements “Men Hungry for Women,” and since there weren't any women, and since this was the most flagrant misadver- tisement of the year, the theater thoroughly | sons PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA Stokowski—Conductors—Gabrilowitsch JAN. 20, 8:45, CONgTITUTION Owmip Gabrilowitsch, Conducting be the new Ramon Novarro picture. i | Dolores Costello, who renounced the screen in favor of domesticity as Mrs. John Barrymore, is to| come back to the cinema fold, and ' will be seen in a First National picture, “We Thre Pre-reports on “Cimarron” indi- cate that the screen has done well ' by this Edna Ferber epic, which is to be shown in the local houses the first days of February if all goes well. PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY OF NEW YORK JAN. 27, 4:30 CONSRIPTION BERNARDING MOUINARL Cepducting PROP. & MRS. ACHER STUDIO, 1127 10th ;. OLA1 D gClasses. Mon, and Pri, " Instruction Tiekets 3.2 a4 T. Ar Homer L. Kitt's. ANDERSON Member. Dancin y was duemdh save ton}ly a few worshipers who must have been gmpressed with all that went on. MINNEAPOLIS Orehdstra FEB. 13, 4:30—Nstional Thesire “Seventh Heaven. 1IE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JANUARY 1 PART FOUR Pictures Coming Soon GOLD MEDAL ME [ | Four Fox directors, each at some time winner of the gold medal award for the outstanding picture of the year; | Gominant queen of Left to right: Frank Lioyd, who won the medal for “The Sea Hawk”; Henry King, who won the award for David”; John Ford, whose “Four Sons” won him the award, 'Tol’able and Frank Borzage, twice winner for “Humoresque” and R. TARKINGTON'S new play, “Colonel Satain, a Night in the Life of Aaron Burr,” takes us back to the Paris of 1811, dur- ing Burr's exile from his own country after the duel with Hamilton, nd_to “an obscure wineshop called ‘La Mouche' on a Winter evening.” The royalists are plotting to put | Napoleon Bonaparte out of the way and bring back the King. Our reprehen- sible compatriot listens from the depths of a big armchair, turned with its back to the conspirators, and after he has listened long enough for the latter to compromise themselves, gets up and an- nounces that he is ready to join them. The royalists are led by the lovely Baroness de Bannalac and the dashing Mr., Burr_premptly makes violent love to her. There are plots and counter plots and even a duel with pistols, at 10 paces, right on the stage, between | Mr. Burr and a hot-headed young | American enamored of the baroness. | The young man wounds Burr slightly and Mr. Burr fires in the air, just as| Hamilton did in the fatal duel, and | | Burr explains that he has been waiting | | long for an opportunity to show to one | of Mr. Hamilton's partisans that he| could be just as chivalrous and ex-| [for as one of the best leading men in the countty, and for months he has been appearing in “Strictly Dishon- | orable” and is not with it now because | he did not want to go to London with | | the production. Grace Filkins is known | to Washington as the widow of Two Important New Plays i : By Percy Hammond asperating as Hamilton was. According to Burr, when men enter a d it is taken for granted that both are in earnest and are going to fire to kill, and it wasn't fair of Mr. Hamiliton to make & martyr of himself and put Burr eternally in the wrong. ‘The baroness fools the other con- spirators and Mr. Burr fools the baron- ess, or at any rate his violent and poetical declarations of love for her seem prompted less by passion for the lady than by his hope to use her to get & passport back to his own country. But Mr. Burr is & bit hard to make out. He is clever, dashing, romantic, sardonic, impudent and imperturbable. Nobody can tell just what he really thinks. In these days of historical de- bunking, of explaining pretty much everything by economic circumstances or the tralts of one’s grandparen probably Mr. Tarkington's story doesn't throw any very nourishing light on the | boy is being worked up by his vanity, the furious opposition of his father and the guileless flattery of some of his women friends, to go forth on his literary crusade, was pure delight. Young Mr. Harry Ellerbe, a newcomer to Broadway, was quite right as Philip and Cora Witherspoon as Mrs. Oliver, a prattling, many-times married friend of the family who had herself written man; unpublished and unproduced plays, a delightfully amusing assistant in bringing the callow young man to his decision. In the later two acts Mr. Kell argument is pressed a bit, possibly in- evitably so, but not so much so as seriously to mar the exquisite perform- ance of Dorothy Stickney as the board- ing house poetess, Miss Krail. It seem- ed to us that Miss Krail herself was best when we were supposed to take her, too, a little satirically, and one was a little nonplussed when the second curtain fell with her intoning an im- promptu 'm which Mr. Kelly appar- ently d us to accept as & flash of the genuine divine fire. Marion Barney as the boarding house landlady, who had been through the artistic mill herself; Thais Lawton, as the boy’s mothering aunt, and Thurs- ton Hall, as his ferocious father, were all excellent. Harry Gresham was well l::vsecond and T been chosen for the | event. character and inner motives of that| cast and altogether amusing in the curious_adventurer who dreamed of |brief part of Mr. Shonk, the talkative being Emperor of Mexico and killed | classmate of Philip's, who was largely AMUSEMENTS, Washington’s Players What Various Dramatic Organizations Are Doing and Propose to Do. QUEEN'S HUSBAND,” Fridayat the Community Drama Guild offics, and 8 | Franklin Administration Building. “THE ELOPEMENT OF ELLEN.” L ELOPMENT OF ELLEN" will be presented at the Pirst Re- uring | formed Church, Thirteenth and Monroe streets northwest, on January 30 at p.m. by the Christian Endeavor Soclety. CONCERT by the Little Symphony Orchestra (Benett for Unemploved Musicians) Tonight at 8:30 P.M. at the Jewish Community Center 16th and Que Sts. N.W. Admission, $1,00 courtesy of the ity Center stage, * th"l.cmllm\m“y Drama Guild sent on Friday and Saturday nights of this week at the McKinley Auditorium, streets northeast. An exceptional cast oLWnlhlnlton A delightful and subtle satire is this palif families of Europe, s certain i o Oraes Pobtrs Jehasen one of its leading characters. When this same queen prepares to take tem- porary leave of her mild-mannered hus- band and consort, and the royal court, | to start on a triumphal tour of the| United States, in which her chief objec- tive is a heart-to-heart talk with the President of the United States, the king murmurs in_sympathetic fervor: “God help the President when she arrives.” It is & story of a princess, too, and a delightful love affair with a mere secretary, when she might have had & prince forsooth. Revolutions and uprisings, intrigue and conspiracy are combined in delightful measure in this wholly imaginative and romantic play. Drama Guild Players who will be seen to advantage include King Eric VIII, Harry Welker; Queen Martha, Grace Peters Johnson; Phipps, Willlam E. Bryant; Princess Anne, Eleanor Hall Wagner; Lord Birten, Edward Roy Mc- Kenzle; Gen. Northruj urice Jarvis; Maj. Blent, Thomas Dr. Fell- man, Dr. Charles R. Gordon; Prince Willlam, Mannix Walker; Frederick Granton, the princess’ lover, Paul Alex- ander. Tickets are on sale at T. Arthur Smith's, the A. A. A. headquarters, and BOSTON SYMPHONY e s DRGHESTRA ~ JANET Condvuctor . AfS.. Fob. 8. 4.80. reene’s ‘Concert 900 G st Dist. RORDS THE Mgrning at 10:45 GAYETY-BURLESK JIMMY LAKE (IN PERSON) AND HIS BIG SHOW STARTING TODAY SUNDAY MATINEE MONDAY | ists like Mr. Mencken and Mr. Sinclair | pecially in the scene in which Burr | Rear Admiral Adolph Marix. Another | Washingtonian in the cast is Leonore | whose father is well known in | diplomatic circles. Johnny Brewer was last seen here in “A Kiss of lmpur-“ tance,” Mary Arbenz recently played in “Stepdaughters of War,” and others in- | clude Florence Edney, David Morris, | Marion Warring-Manley, Leonard Je-' rome and Dorothy Gillam. GAYETY—Jimmy Lake's Show. * JIMMY LAKE'S OWN SHOW” is the attraction at the Gayety The- | | ater this week, and the actor-manager | | himself in person is the hub around | have won theatrical acclaim in various fields, including talented Lillian Dixon, who sings and dances and has the feminine lead; Jack Kelly, “Donna,” Tom Breen and Henry Dixon. ‘The vaudeville acts in “Jimmy Lake's special mention. Olga Petronn spe- | cializes in “bl songs, and in_the case of the Martins, Rose does a char- acter “boob” as well as trick xylophone | playing, and Harry is the juggling act.| “Jimmy Lake's Own Show” will have | plenty of scenes wherein the spirited | chorus will be shown to advan 3 Added entertainment is provi Monday, Wednesday and Friday n! JANET RICHARDS, Tomorrow. IS8 JANET RICHARDS, in her regular talk tomorrow morning on “History in the Making,” will give a | general’ review of the outstanding | events in the world's work, both at home and abroad, for the past week. Among the subjects discussed will be: Final plan for dominion status in In- dia—with “reservations;” a glance at Venizelos and Mussolini in conference; the Hamilton Fish report on Com- munism; Secretary Stimson's rebuke to Liberia for practicing human slavery, and the plan put forward by the League of Nations for its relief; also, the part the League has assigned to the Inter- national Bank in Basel to help in the present crisis. ‘These talks are given every Monday morning at 10:45 in the Masonic Tem: ple, Thirteenth street and New York | avenue. d_on ights. | CLARA W. McQUOWN. IS8 CLARA W. McQUOWN has re- | sumed her talks on “Questions of the Hour in National and International Affairs,” and during the remainder of the Winter will speak every Friday morning at 11 o'clock in the assembly room of the Washington Club, entrance 1010 Seventeenth street. The<e talks are non-partisan reviews of important political happenings at home and lb{x‘ld. ‘The talks are open to the ublic. LOWELL SHERMAN MARY ASTOR - L of Farce one of the greatest Americans “Colonel Satan” is, in short, an old- | fashioned romantic melodrama. It is | full of Tarkingtonian touches—hig early | flair for gentlemanly romance in the | manner of “Monsieur Beaucaire,” a | sort of big brotherly tenderness for| humble nymphs like Zephire and Mille. | Tou-tou, in the play, and the final cu tain goes down on & bit of that folksy | kindliness which the natives of the corn belt used to think peculiar to their habitat until inconoclastic m Lewis wrong. The play is & bit talky at times, e assured them they were all fairly talks the clothes off the back of the slightly dumb British conspirator and exchanges costumes with him, but it is well acted and makes a pleasant enough evening for those not too young | still to cherish a liking for sword-play romance, and especially for those whose literary memories go back to the early '90s, and who feel toward Mr. Tarking- | ton, whether they have ever met him or not, as to an old friend. | L | IN his new comedy, “Philip Goes Forth,” Mr. George Kelly consents to indulge in an evening’s interesting shoptalk about his own job and to give some fatherly advice to that innumerable army of wistful Americans who dream of meking fame and fortune writing successful plays. It is inside common sense from & man who can “do” it to those who can only talk a lot about it, or fancy that if something or other | in their surroundings were different, they, too, could do & play. ‘To this end he has a nice youngster break with his contankerous business- | man father and go to New York to| become & famous writer. Once in the | wilds of Manhattan the boy writes one | terrible plece and meanwhile succeeds, | in spite of himself, at the business job | which he takes merely to tide things | over until he does something of real “emotional significance.” He decides before it is too late that he wasn't cut out for play writing; at any rate that he could just as well slog along at it in his spare time back in his home town as in Mrs. Ferris’ Lexington avenue boarding house, and he goes back to his father's factory. And the father, somewhat calmed down by this time, confides to his son that he will give the boy & privilege nobody else has ever enjoyed, and let him see the first 16 pages of a play that he, the father, had written when he was young! But this story, as such, and Mr. Kelly's moralizing—which gets just the least bit insistent after the middle of the second act—isn't so important a part of the evening's real excitement and gleuure as the characterization and humorous embroidery which ac- company it and the splendid playing on the part of everybody concerned. The first act when the young college Questions of the Hour National and International AF, Miss Clara W. McQuown THE WASHINGTON CLUB Assembly Room Entrance 1010 17th 8t. very M. Single Admission, ibe TOMORROW responsible for starting him on the starlit path of dramaturgy. Mr. Kelly’s “Don’t” may strike some touchy temperaments as a bit patron- izing, but he makes clear enough the difference between those who “have it" and those who are merely posing or kidding themselves, and there are enough of the latter to justify his lit- tle sermon, especially when it is floated on such true and amusing by-play. EAN AUBERT, French comedienne who scored an outstanding hit in “Princess Charming,” a recent Broad- way success, will make her local debut in Schwab & Mandel's musical pro- duction, “America’s Sweetheart.” Miss Aubert is the most popular Paris- ian stage star to visit America in recent years and is quite unlike any artist of our current theater. She is the wife of Nelson Morris, Chicago millionaire. ROBESON GREAT NEGRO TENOR Wed., Jan. 21, 8:30 P.M. Washington Auditorium 19th and E Streets N.W. le T. Arthur Smith 711 Fla. N enn 230 G St NW. Masonic Temple Tenth and U Sts. N.W. BENEFIT NATIONAL MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION Lawrence Brown At the Piano Boxes: $15.00 and $10.00 || Tickets: $2.00, $1.50, $1.00 [ 75¢, $0c STAT BETHESDA, MD. MONDAY TILL FRIDAY Matinees Monday and ts, §1, $1. . 51,9150 & 786, ATION AL 0802. Wed. Mat., 75¢ | $1.50, 82, & $2.50 NIGHT AND WEEK THE THEATRE GUILD, INC., Presents (The Third Play of the The Theatre GREEN gton Subscription Season). Guild Acting Company in GROW Second Wa: THE LILACS An American Folk Play by LYNN RIGGS Staged by HERBERT BIBERMAN Settings by RAYMOND SOVEY With This Distinguished Cast JUNE WALKER RICHARD HALE LEE STRASBERG RUTH CHORPENNING HELEN WESTLEY FRANCHOT TONE TEX COOPER WOODWARD RITTER AND MANY COWBOYS “GREEN GROW THE LILACS" was presented in Philadelphia and elicited enthusiastic reviews, from which we quo lowing: the fol- “Fully as entertaining as ‘Strange Interlude ‘R U. R.) ‘Wings Over Europe’ or ‘Porgy’ is ‘Green Grow the Lilacs’ . ... a colorful quick-paced American folk-drama . . . a cast of splendid accom- pliskment presents the play . . shillfully welded together . . . we think if's grand.” —Harry T. Murdock, The Evening . the entire production has beew v Ledger. “The author has packed & wealth of atmosphere, characterization ond detail that make for arresting drama which at times is fairly breath-taking.” “An inferential poetry infuses —The Inquirer. this highly prom: play . . . it am, has sympathy, warmth, color in abundance and is unashamed either a : g Wednesday, 1:30 Continuous Mat., Adults, 25c; Child., 15¢ Nite, Adults, 30c; Child., 20c SASSSISISISSNSS MATINEES of idyllic motes or forthright acti atmosphere in ‘Green Gr gether fascinating . . . s in ‘Porgy’ has beem to some extent recaptured in L the i . . what the Guild accomplishes the matter of —H. T. Craven, The Record. “The Theater Guild turned to that highly important and most waglected province of the drama, the folk-play, and the result . . . wes & colorful, variegated, exuberant evewing in the theater . . . eving in its hysterical intensity . himself proud by his direction of most difficult play.” rthur B. Waters, The Public Ledger. MOST IMPORTANT MUSICAL OF SEASON DIRECTLY PRIOR TO N. Y. PREMIERE OPENING MONDAY NITE, JAN. 26 Owing te the tremendous size of this production the Sunday night performance has beem eliminated PUBLIC SEAT SALE OPENS THURSDAY, JAN. 22,TA.M. Laurence Schwab and Frank Mandel Producers of “Good News,” “Follow Thru,” “Desert Song,” “New Moon,” ote., introduce As Thurs, se: en. Boc to $2.08. At $2.80; Mex,, $1.58 $3.00; Bal.’$i. si50 and $1; Gal, S0c BELASCO 3= MGMT. LER aad J. J. SHUBERT $2.00. PRIOR TO ITS NEW YORK 'PREMIERE Thomas Kilpatrick Wil Present A Smart Drawing Room Comedy “In The Best of Fan By Anita Hart and Maurice Braddell Staged by JO GRAHAM with & Notable Cest Incinding CHARLES RICHMAN GRACE FILKINS ¥Lo JO All Next Week—Mail Orders Now—Seats Wed. THE ACTOR MANAGERS, INC., Present RUTH DRAPER ORIGINAL CHARACTER SKETC! of Night and Sat. Balcony, $1.80, 81; Gallery . $L.50, 81 s $1.80, 8i; Balcony, $1.50, $1; Beginning Monday, February 84. The MESSRS. SHUBERT Fresemt The Sparkling Coredy of Modern Youth at Hs “Modernest” GOYO '-"'n-:, ey Manneer oreh &, Mew, 81 7’ es N 1 5 8 OE_EDNEY IE BREWER MARY ARBENE DAVID M Mot Orders Now. Seats Wed. Sinners” n-nn—mr-'r::-:--‘h;"t:: 'and 160 Times in Chicage Original Cost, Ineluding Dorothy Appleby—Raymond Guion—John Harvingten TS W A NEW MUSICAL COMEDY BY FHELDS, RODGERS AND NART With a Cast of Broadway Favorites including: JACK WHITING GUS SHY JEANNE AUBERT John Sheehan Inez Courtmey Harriette Lake Raoul DeTisney Dorothy Dave Vera Marsh Al Downing Three Forman Sisters Cheer Leaders Quartette Torry Carrll, Sus Moore, Virgisia Bruce, Alics Burrage, Francotta Malley And @ Charming Ensemble of Youth and Beauty. ALFRED GOODMAN’S ORCHESTRA Production Under the Direction of BOBBY CONNOLLY. Nites, $1.00, §2.00, $2.50, $3.00, $5.50. Wednesday Matines, 1. PRICES [55: &2i00 50" saturday Mutinee, 100, $1.80, $2.00, §3.50, e NEWM AN TRAVELTALKS l:orlon PICTURES SEEING\EUROPE "zssow B A MR P R