The evening world. Newspaper, February 3, 1922, Page 32

TS ae RE is nothing in life so selfish as youth, and no one knows this so well as a mother. This Poignant truth has been put into “The Nest" by Paul Geraldy, though little of its poignancy is realized in the acting at the Forty-eight Street Theatre. It is surprising and regrettable that Grace George, in translating the play from the French, did not see her way @lear to acting the mother instead of letting the role go to Lucile Watson, for if she had done so there would no doubt be quite a different story to tell Miss George could have given the character a delicate sensitive appeal that is barely suggested by Miss Wat-) son in spite of her uncommon skill! and intelligence. This is said with the feeling that what has been done 49 fair to neither woman. If ever there was a play of heart- ache it is “The Nest,’’ with the moth- er finding herself as far outside the lives of her married daughter and her philandering son as though she were @ stranger, or at most a mere ac quaintance. Her tragedy is seen clos- fag in upon her even in the comedy of an exceedingly clear and skilfully written first act filled with the nerv- ous gaiety and distraction of the daughter's wedding day, In the whirl of it the nineteen-year-old son is thrown with a woman old enough to ‘Ye his godmother, yet young enough to give him the answer to the restive- ness that has been puzzling him. Swiftly, cruelly, yet admirably, the dramatist esthblishes a situation of which the mother must inevitably be the victim. ~swAt only one point can the truth of Geratdy’s work be questioned, and it + fe reached six weeks later, when the godmother opens a letter from a ‘woman to the boy and Mme. Hamelin | guesses from herjagitation that Eve- line is her son's mistress. Here the author may be suspected of a weak- ness for Sardou’s old bag of tricks, usually scorned by the modern French mealist. But there are no more at- dempts at thrilling expedients as the ‘mother tries to make the best of mat- ters. As for the father, he merely | jamiles with a certain satisfaction on | learning that his son has an eye for an attractive woman. | Meanwhile, the boy eludes his| mother at every opportunity until she gains his confidence by telling him that she knows he is in love and sympathizes with him, but this mo- mentary bond is broken as soon as ‘she learns ‘he is spending money on pleasure-loving actress. The boy is \virtually lost to her, and when the daughter gets back from her wedding ‘trip she is comparatively casual in her delayed visit to the parental home and covetous of various furnishings with which to adorn her new “nest.” It is as a lonely widow that the smother goes to her daughter’s apart- ment-on her silver wedding anniver- sary in the hope of being asked to stay to dinner, only to decline a perfunctory invitation to join the younger guests. More pathetic still is her lingering to speak with a servant as a last excuse for remaining a min- ute or two longer. Finally she goes out through a door leading to the ser vants’ stairway, which her son, now fm military training and on leave in Paris, had taken a short time before in order to avoid meeting her and explaining he couldn't visit her just then as he was going to see some one else. The door closes behind a mother carrying with her an empty heart. Some of this, but by no means all, Miss Watson makes you feel. No ‘fault can be found with her wedding day scene, for she acts it charmingly, But later on she is too worldly in manner, too brittle, or what you like, ito convey the silent grief of the woman. Sometimes the note is lost in haste, as, for instance, when, in heoking at the photograph sent the son, she abruptly follows a talk with About Plays and Players By BIDE, DUDLEY ILLIAM FAVERSHAM, star- the Astor Theatre, states fear- Jessly and with considerable aplomb, whatever that 1s, that he intends to play “Hamlet” next fall. He has ‘acted other Shakespearian roles tn his time ut never the melancholy Dane. “When I act Hamlet,"* he said fast night, “I intend to act him as well as declaim him. The trouble with Hamlet is that he is read and mever acted. This is usually because few players have the physical endur- ence to act the role." We once saw @ young lawyer in Leavenworth, Kan., named Mann act Hamlet. The show started at 8, and ‘when we left at 1 A. M. was still going strong. Mann was a physically robust fellow, a fact he proved later én licking several guys who men- tioned his excellent acting. We were only twelve years old and we ran all tthe way home that night, thus foiling the throngs of hold-up men, abduc- fee and murderers who lurked along me route. |THE NEW PLAYS “The Nest” Poignant and Human By CHARLES DARNTON r ¢ husband by remarkigg pensively: she is pretty!" Pause here might given a world of meaning that is missed in the hurry of this significant moment. Ag@in, in assuring the boy she shares his feelings gladly, she fails to suggest the pang this must cost the mother. But there is true pathos in her final scene of forlorn widowhood Juliette Crosby and Kenneth Mac- Kenna act exceedingly well as the selfish children, and in changing from @ wedding dress to a travelling suit Miss Crosby achieves a reveiation with neatness and despatch. Chris tine Norman plays the fallen god- mother humanly, and Frank Burbeck bears up bravely as the father, though in doing it he is unbelievably stolid for a Frenchman. If the acting isn’t all it should be, “The Nest" so poignant and human that much may be forgiven THE BIG LITTLE FAMILY f[ Do wou INSINUATE “QINNIE "AND HER NEW HUSBAND - MY!SuEeH A I CavenT His KID OF YouRS MAIN FACES aT MY TIMMY —__¢ SHE RAN BoT I caucHT HER GOWAN MY Bones THaT Tit BE THE § (QS ASN my DevoTeD ME EYE —ALL SHES DEVOTED TO 15 THE OLE SAPS Douce ¢ pee SAY, You PooR saPHEAD — do vou KNOW Y'LEFT Your car OUT THERE AGain “Th' RADIATOR ? 2 STANDING WITHouT coverine | | ITS A {i DID cover It 2 fj LUHAVE THE LAUGH ON You THis Time ! Se MEAN To. (© MaARRE K SusT Fer HIS Money 2 r . —_ THAT Del Wes! any IDIOT CAN see “maT! fT PROBABLY BLEW OFF — COULDN'T PuT You ar Cc MARY. ARE NT > HAVE TIMMY’s MOTHER CATCH You | MAKING FACES ASHAMED To a { Sos) py 3 « » 5 Gi) SILENCE i a THAT SO ? WELL, TLL BET You Two Bucks SHE'LL BE MINE ¢ WONDER. You) \T BACK OH! THEY can HUH ? TO TCT ANSWER, ARE NT AH! FERDIE AND ALGIE ARE ARGUING ABOUT WHICH ONE TLL ACCEPT — TLL HIDE HERE | AN KEEP ‘EM IN SUSPENSE ! yOu WELL THATS WHERE “You HAVE THE ADVANTAGE WHY, ME <R-M-BEN HERE E — THERE SHE |S — “LEXINGTON AVENUE LINE ” L-ToLD You THE NEXT ONE WOULD BE MINE ! It Wasn't So Much of an Achievement! Cope. 1922 (N. Y. Ewe-Werld) By Prem PubCo, 5 — But Wait and See What Ferdie Gets! an | sie OUGHT “6 RUN FASTER 74 ALITTLE GRE Ny eral features of the London produc- tion. But they were not offered. Where, Mr. De Courville, is the fellow who tried all sorts of comical stunts, such as juggling, weight-lifting, &c., and always failed ludicrously? And where is the lady who opened a little window in the set at one side and sang “I Never Knew I Could Love Any- body” across the stage to a man peek- ing out of a similar window? And where is ‘The Dance of Death,"’ the dramatic sketch that was so impres- sively acted? Of course, we know you couldn't have the Duncan Sisters over here but—well, how are you, anyway? A theatrical man came to us yester- day with the statement that the num- ber of road companies playing the one- night stands this season is 1,000 less than it was six years ago. This means, he said, that 15,000 actors and other attaches are out of work through the abandonment of these road ventures. He explained that high railroad fares, high salaries and Equity restrictions have discouraged the small-time manager. We should be glad to print a statement from the Equity on this subject, or letters from OBSERVATIONS. We saw “Pins and Needles” when it opened the Shubert Theatre ‘Wednesday evening and hardly recog- nized {t. In London iast June we ac- companied Mare Klaw to a perform- ance of “Pins and Needles" at the Galety Theatre and Wednesday eve- ing we expected to enjay again sev- } om ay Pee managers who ‘have quit, Come on, folks; let's get to the bottam of it, be- fore they make restaurants and gar- ages out of all the one-night stand theatres, THE LIBERTY'S NEXT. “To the Ladies,” a new comedy by George S. Kaufman and Mare Con- nelly, authors of Dulcy.” will be the | RHYMED PROPOSALS Helena of Harlem a sweetheart with a view to matri mony. This little lady has written » such an earnest plea for aid in her quest that we intend to spare no pains to get her safely marricd off Incidentally, we wish to say th the proposals we print here arc We receive about half a di a day and many of them arc uine. pitiful cases. read, boys Tam a little But as gil, says she craves really to Helena Whose head is ull awhirl Because 1 have no su Am pretty, so they say, Twenty-two to a day And so I crave a sweetheart, Pretty clothes I sew galore, Hats? Oh, surely—by the score. T dance and play and sing Can COOK iiost anythin Oh, who will be my sweetheart? If a chap there is who's And thinks he's just for m let him fly on hig ar rabb Oh, For the To make hi ne next attraction atre, It wi there on Feb. 2 arest de now at the Liberty, will close Satur- day night, Feb. 18, and go to Phit- delphia, Helen Hayes and Otto Kru- the Ladies,” which includes also Isa- bel Irving, George Howell, Holton, Robert Fiske, Norma Mitch- ell, W 1 Seymour and others, In- cidentally, orge M, Cohan thas an- other ompany rehearsing ‘The O'Wrien Girl,” and will launch it out of town on Feb. 20. KEITH DINNER PROPOSED. A group of well known people y terday proposed to F. Albee that 16 accept a testimonial dinner as @ feature of the celebr of a century annive of the B, F. Keith Vaudeville Circuit, of which Mr. Albee is the head, Will- iam C, Breed, Seward William FP, King delivered the pro- Mr, Albee expressed himself ly honored but declined to ac- lividually, all the of the uit and it interc as many ineluded ‘The dinner ged as Mr. ry posal, as hig cept, managers affiliated vaudeville n the honow, if possible will probably Albee suggests. Keith ¢ wel should be art be arrar BALL FOR ACTORS The w FUND, the Allied Arts of for benefit at the Hotel under the au- The M p of Cath- autre will give Fund the ser are featured in the cast of To] Frohman, Sam Hardy, ting a silly tion of the ce ine ee up the golfers of the United st Prosser and | 40W! gol suggest that G|solf and suse n-|days at it Miller, Mae Murray, Vivienne Segal, Pearl White, Julla Sanderson, Irving Berlin, Richard Barthelmess, Daniel Jay Kauf- man, John W. Rumsey and H. B. Percy | Warner. NUTT’S DOPE. Jefferson Shrewsbury Nutt, correspondent of this column, turned to Bogash, ©., Monday and to-day we are in receipt of a letter from him’ suggesting a story. “[ hear," says Mr. Nutt, “that Senator Briand, former Prime Presi dent of Paris, says golf is ‘just hit little ball.’ This will stir special re- and ought to give us a great story Why not have I and the wife run n to New York and interview Molla Busted the noted golf cham pion, and the Original Celti that xreat golf aggregation? Undoubtedly they would say Briand never learned he wield a few times, or a smashie. I could get a great roar from these golf fiends, while the wi how the lady niblicks erled about and were heart-broken. If you want this feature notify us at once and ‘ent $11. Busty Marshall, colored, of this city, who announced he was a ndidate for Postmtaster last week, i sore, Jack Sullivan told him he'd have to write an essay on fence posts to get the job and he spent two To-day he discovered the met Jack Much excite sputter a it truth and Marilynn! ment but could learn nothing.—Jeft, GOSSIP. Charles De Lima and Carlotta Monterey will be in ‘Madame Pterre."* Jack Mason ts putting on numbers for “The Blushing Bride."” Cleveland Bronner and Ingrid Sol- feng have been engaged for ‘Make It Snappy Edgar Selwyn is to write and stage Keith vaudeville acts; M. 8. Bentham aanage them ‘he Midnight Rounders’ is to be presented in Shubert vaudeville, Green and Blyler, Harry Hines and the Rath thers are in it. Phere is an extraordinary press nt in the Broadway district. As he has not used radio phone yet stories in his work. A. G, Delamater's forthcoming yent- ure—his play by Philip Bartholomae ind Emil Nytrey—will be called ‘Brow ken Branches Edgar Nelson has been added to the t of the new musical play, ‘‘Just uuse,"’ now in rehearsal m Petrova's fiftieth ance in “The White Peacock’? will be attended to-night by a contingent of bellevuo Hospital nurses, a Mal perform- Ada King of ‘A BIll of Divorce- ment'’ has appeared in twenty English films but has never seen herself on the screen, Jack Osterman will begin an en- sagement at the Riverside Theatre Jack may be seen in musical this Summer Monday, comedy A THOUGHT FOR TO-DAY A Brooklyn candy, maker is sulpg a girl on the claim that she jilted him. Oh fudge!—Wellsville Optic. FOOLISMMENT. (City Series) Cleveland is a right nice city. Girls out there are often pretty, Dempsey won his title near there. Don't you knock it—don’t you davet Home of statesmen and the like, Young men favor the Van Dyke. Cleveland, you deserve three cheers, But, alag, I am in tears. Be brave, dear heart! FROM THE CHESTNUT TREE. “My son, Eph, he’s takin’ a course in singin’ music.’ “Whah's he at, Mrs. Scroggings?"* “At some musical college dey. calls Sing Sing.” fo THE SECRET OF SUCCESS a \ (ba is the secret of suc- cess?"’ asked the Sphinx, “Push,” said the Button, ‘Take pains,"’ raid the Window. ‘Always keep cool,’’ said the Ico. “Be up to date," said the Calendar, Never lose your head," said the L FOUND IT GONE '! Screenings By DON AGLEN “NO TICKEE.” Thomas Gubbins, who lived for years in China, speaks in many of the native dialects,' Knowing the Chinese customs so well, he was en- gaged to assist Norman Dawn in di- recting ‘The Vermilion Pengil.”" Naturally, all went well in the film, with this combination, but this ltt yarn doesn't concern that at all, Gubbins ambled to a Chinese laun- ary a’ couple of days ago for his other collar. He had lost the ticket. He spoke every dialect he had ever heard } or learned. The Chinese was obdu- | rate. | No tickee? No washee!" he bro- midically explained, and Tom went away empty handed. e j LA GRIPPE. € tj A studio “grip'’ was used as an emotion barometer during the recent timing of the ‘Dust Flower." Thi tarticular workman was so vistbiy affected by the pathos going on in tiv set that he would shed real weeps. All the director had to do in ord» to find out whether the scene wis pathetic or not was to glance at th: eyes of the scene shifter. If thcy were moist, the heart stuff was guin fair; if they were damp, it was prett: near all right, and if the tears rea \ flowed, then all was well. It that workman had developed 1.4) fever, they'd still be shooting remote shots and the “dust? in the tit would have turned to mud long ago. TITLES AGAIN, That film titles and sub-titles are coming more and more to the fore if evidenced by the great guffaws laughter that grected the best sub title of last week. It isn't necessary to press agent the film or star in order te tell the sub-title. The scene showed a lot of screen types cating. One had a generous supply balanced on a two- edged knife. Another character placed a restraining hand on the arm of the other: “Don't bite the knife you!"’ was the title. Foolish, you might say, but a big laugh. that feeds it i | ED'S FAVORITE, Ed Wynn has two favorite theatres Of course, for business purposes, “The Perfect Fool’ prefers the George M. Cohan, but when it comes down to pleasure he has selected “The Mayfair," down Great Neck way. Manager George Duck, no relation to Mallard or Teal, specializes in Harold Lloyd comedies, and Charli: Chaplin pictures, ‘just so," as b: glibly says, ‘Ed can see how to be come a more perfect-perfect fool thar he is on the stage."’ STILLS. Beatrice Van is the author of ‘Hoy Crazy,"’ Doris May's latest. Sessue Hayakawa affixed his sig nature to 168 of his photographs ax gifts to the officers and cadets o/\. the Japanese training ship Tsai Maru William J..Locke's ‘The Glory of Clementina’’ will be picturized by Rec, Jack Mulhall, handsome young lead. ing man of “Turn to the’ Right,” on his first Eastern visit in eight years, Was enthusiastically greeted by a million, ‘The 1,000,000 happened to be flu germs, He’s‘all better by now. Cecil B. De Mille, director general of Paramount, arrived home to-day af. ter a strenuous three monthaf allie A vantiag about! Europe. He's chock full of movie ideas. Mack Sennett came to bat yesterday with a regular Charley Schwab, Hi can’t see anything but prosperity for years and years, Teddy, the Mack Sennett dog actor, is able to be about, following his re- cent accident, but about is about all so far, Grant C. Carpenter, Goldwyn scen- arist, was asked to take an afternoon off recently and teach a class how to write. He advised tho class to corner @ surgeon and learn carving in three hours. Thomas Melghan's Iatest, ‘The Proxy Daddy," has been completed in Hollywood. Mary Miles Minter has just fin Barrel, Make light of everything,” sa‘a the Fire. “Do a driving business," said the Hammer | Aspire to greater things,”’ said the uimeg. “Wind a good thing and stick to it,’ said the Glue.—Current Opinion, ished “The Heart Specialist.” She Plays the part of a Turkish beauty. Glo 4 Swanson's French maid was, caught weeping during the filming of a scene recently, Gloria radiated hap pines because she had made her maid ery, Tt wasn’t that at ell. The maid had lost her pocketbook, ;