Evening star. [volume], April 09, 1928, Page 19, Image 19

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
OPENING ATTRACTIONS IN WASHINGTON
THEATERS
SHI’BERT-BELASCO—“The Spider”
Headlined by the famous magician.
Chat rand the Great, another excellent
program is presented. Sharing the hon
ors with him are two other excellent
acts. Mack and Larue, the skating mar
vels and Lvtell and Pant, blackface
singers and dancers.
Unfortunately for the rest of the bill,
last night's opening performance was
interrupted by a very tragic incident.
During one of the acts a member of the
audience was murdered. This necessi
tated calling in the police and holding
the entire audience as witnesses. None
objected to the inconvenience, since the
affair gave opportunity to witness as
thrilling a mystery as any regularly pre
sented in the theater.
The tragedy burst suddenly upop the
gayetv of the vartetv house, which util
ised the entire theater as a stage set
ting. In the midst of one of the acts
*■ there was an argument between a play
er and a Mr Carrington in the au
dience. Suddenly the lights went out
and a shot was fired When the lights
went on Mr. Carrington was lying on
the stage, mortally wounded. Mr Sam
uel Young, manager, displayed rare tact
in holding the audience in its place un
til the arrival of Scrgt. Morrissey of the
, police, who ordered the doors closed and
everybody held A doctor was called
from the audience, but his efforts could
not avail to save the life of the wounded
man
Most of the credit for the p rompt so
lution of the mystery should be given to
Chatrand. whose real name, it was
learned, is John Hallidav Mr. Halliday,
apparently incriminated by the circum
stances of the crime, was arrested al
most immediately. He conducted him
self with great cwolness and presence of
mind and was able to convince Inspec
tor Riley, who took charge of the in
vestigation. of his ability to find the
criminal by means of a spiritualistic
• demonstration and a psychological ex
periment of "bringing the scene of the
crime back to the murderer." Mr Halli
dav displaced great restraint throughout
and most of the credit for what hap
pened belongs to him.
Scarcely less credit, however, should
go to Paul Nugent, who was known only
as Alexander. Chatrand’s assistant, until
. the tragedy and its attendant investi
gation revealed his identity. Mr Nugent
was also held as the murderer and was
in the most trying position of all. but
he proved to be so fine an actor that he
was able to hoodwink the actual
criminal until Mr. Halliday had wrung
a confession from him.
A word should be said about a lady
grid a mother known as Mrs. Wimble
don. whose real name was found to be
Merie Stanton. This person, by her in
sistence on leaving the theater and by
her antagonistic attitude throughout. |
was a constant thorn in the sides of
those who were trying to unravel the
mystery. In spite of this she served to
amuse the audience when its nerves
« were a bit upset.
The audience itself behaved splendid
ly. so splendidly, in fact, that there was
seme doubt about whether it really be
lieved a murder had been committed or
thought it was all just a part of the
play The reason for this may lie in
the sophistication of present-day audi
ences or it may be on account of
* whispers that could be heard before the
performance. Anyway, audiences should
not act like that.
There were many. too. who suspected
the actual criminal before he was un
earthed and who thought that Chatrand
who also suspected him. could have
shown him up without so much legerde
main. How-ever, it seems unfair to
suspect even a magician of so cheap a
bid for publicity when the safety of
the girl he loved and that pf many
others were at stake.
i
GAYETY —“1928 Speed Girls.”
The Easter week attraction at the
Gayety Theater this week is the United
Burlesque Association's "1928 Speed
Girls, with Nellie Nice and Ray Read
The show is fast-moving, with tuneful
aongs. good comedy and dancing
Ray Read, Irish comedian, carries the
brunt of the comedy hr a capable man
ner He has an individual style of
make-up and his ideas of how comedy
should be presented are original He
has a good foil in Harry Sevon. tramp
comedian Billy McCarthy takes the
male singing honors, rendering his songs
with a pleasing tenor voice, while Teddy
Witzgal! takes care of the straight roles.
The feminine contingent is headed by
Nellie Nice, dashing blonde, who sings
and wears costumes that put the cus
tomers on the edge of their seats. Edna
s Thayer, ingenue, and Annabelle La Mor
ris. peppy brunette, delight with songs
and dances. Miss La Morris almost
■topped the show at one time with her
interpretation of the "Shlmmie.”
The outstanding acts are "Janitor
Higgle," Bronx Comedy Four and the
courtroom scene The chorus a comely .
. bunch of misses, dances and sings its
way in a pleasing manner.
METROPOLITAN— “Speedy.”
Harold Lloyd appears in his latest
picture, "Speedy,'’ at the Metropolitan
this week He is supported by Ann
Christy in the leading feminine role and
by Bert Woodruff as “Pop” Dillon. Sup
plemental features are two Bruce pic
tures of outdoor scenery.
At the opening performance Sat
urday night not only for Washington
but for the whole country, in which 250
cities were to have seen for the first
time Lloyd's latest fun-producing pic
ture, the Metropolitan Theater was
pa/ aed with crowds roaring with unre
strained laughter
“Speedy*' is one of the cleanest and
clever eat comedies seen in Washington
for a tong, tong time. Here thrills and
laughter aplenty, youth and romance,
heroism, and none other than the great
Bate- Ruth himv-jf all contribute their |
share to a full hour and a half of mag
nificent entertainment. At first Pate
mait' S Lloyd the butt of her jokes but
before the picture ends lie has outwitted
th* president of the rapid transit com
pany, with his hired band of gangsters,
•riot has become the nejghborliood hero
Lloyd has a job as a soda water \
jerker arid also a sweetheart (Ann
Christy/ whose grandfather owns and ■
operates the only horse-drawn street car
In New York Hi* interest in base ball
and neglect of duty cause him to lose i
hit Job and then he gets another as. a
tax! driver In this capacity, with Babe
R«ib at a passenger' to the Yankee
fKadlunj. tie has the greatest thrill of
hi* life but hi* elation so far surpasses
hi* caution as a driver that the husky
Bambino has the scare of hi* life,
Then Lloyd learns that the street car |
company interest* have planned a free
for-all fight in which Pop” Dillon i* to
disappear ± ti (* the car 1* to be confia- i
fob
rr^“T
i far
| , Armstrong's
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ItetlEOfrCa
I rated Lloyd persuades the old man to
I stay at home and let him drive the car.
i The tradesmen in this district have
1 been using the car at night as a club-
I house, so they rally to Lloyd’s support,
much to the surprise of the gangsters.
Pandemonium reigns, but with the effi
cient aid of a stray dog that he has be-
I friended, of a tailor and a Chinese laun
dryman, who use their respective shears
and scorching hot iron in a ludicrous
but highly effective manner, Lloyd and
I the tradesmen defeat the roughnecks.
Even then the car is stolen and earned
to a distant part of the city, but after
another series of adventures lu' reeovers
It, and then follows a race back across
the length of Manhattan that rivals, in
excitement at least, the "Ben-Hur"
chariot race.
In contrast to Lloyd’s hectic experi
ences arc two Bruce films, one showing
the placid scenic beauty of the seaside
and another dedicated to the rapidly
dwindling wild animal and bird life of
the country. The Metropolitan Orches
tra, under the direction of Alex Podnos.
adds to the enjoyment of the feature
picture with its accompaniment and the
Metropolitan News shows pictures of
the races at Bowie, Md , and other news
| events.
COLUMBIA—"The Crowd."
“The Crowd." King Vidor’s latest
| opus, this week's feature at Lowe’s Co
; iumbiar Theater, exposes a cross-sect ibn
view of the marital life of two wholly
commonplace people. The subjort. it
may seem to some, is hardly worthy of
the excellent realistic treatment it has
been given.
As to realism King Vidor has gon»
farther in some directions than any di
rector has hitherto dared. No sooner
has the first few feet of the film flashed
upon the screen than we are given an
exhibition oi the birth of our hero.
The boy grows older and upon at
taining his majority arrives in Now
York the conventional bogtrotter from
the big sticks. He desires to start at
the bottom and work his way up and
is granted the first half of his wish.
It is at this point that he comes into
contact with "the crowd” and to prove
how really crowded New York is, Di
rector Vidor resorts to trick photog
raphy thrown upon the screen rapidly
with the design, apparently, to make
the spectators dizzy with the magni
tude of the rosmopolis.
The youth makes a trip to Coney
Island with a girl whose name is Mary,
but might better be Dora. He falls for
her. marries her and they go to
Niagara Falls. Then begins the dull
ness that is their married life. They
have their joys and sorrows and the
general impression is that the latter
outnumber the former. Mr. Vidor is
chivalrous enough to show the wife's
conduct in time of trouble far superior
to that of her husband, but some of
the more cynical members of the au
dience may look upon her self-sacrifice
as stupid and sentimental rather than
admirable
Children come, death takes one of
them, and the lot of the family goes
downward rather than upward. Out
of a job and in the dregs of dispair
the weak husband considers suicide but
hasn't enough courage to go through
with it. But the dark cloud, like all
the dark clouds of the movies, has a
silver lining, and in the end a certain
measure of worldly success and a great
er measure of happiness comes.
Trivial though the plot may be. there
can be no doubt that the picture is
gripping. And there is no doubt that
T <#&' <:
To a Million Men Who Haven’t Made >
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many a person will find many of the
Incidents analogous with experiences
of his own. The picture is well cast
as to principals, with Eleanor Board
man ns the wife and James Murray as
the yokel-husband.
The remainder of the bill, including
a comedy, news reel and the orchestral
! presentation is up to the usual Colum
j bia standard,
PALACE. —"Tillie’s Punctured
Romance.”
A now interpretation of "Tillie’s
Punctured Romance" is served to com
edy lovers this week at Lowe’s Palace
Theater, with a notable cast of fun-
I makers romping away with the princi
i pal roles.
While this reviewer did not have the
privilege of seeing the original "Tillie.”
who pricked the bubble of her heart
throb some 10 or 15 years ago. with
Marie Dressier and Charlie Chaplin
heading the cast, she understands that
the revision is complete, llttk’ of the
original story having survived. The
i present version, however, if full of
laughs, the chief criticism being that In
: (he confusion of the war and all that
! "Somewhere in France.” they lost track
of the romance before it received its
i puncture.
Louise Fazenda is the big laugh In
; the show, portraying the romantic Tillie,
; who forsakes her godfather’s fireside
5 for the lure of the circus ring and. in
; cidontally. the handsome face of a trap
rse artist with whose picture she has
become smitten. That face, however.
| fades from the picture when the ro
mance is throbbing at top speed ap
i parently with Tillie’s rescue from a
impose by the handsome hero. His
j adventures in Fiance with the circus
! company on its way to cheer the boys
I "over there." seem to be the cause ol
the fade-out.
(• But there are plenty of chuckles in
i what follows, when Tillie. the circus
j owner, who proves to do her long-lost
! father (Chester Conklini, and the ring
i master <W. C. Fields), get all mixed
up with the "friendly enemy" and un
- friendly friends due to a trifling matter
of dress. They had donned German
uniforms as a camouflage when enter
i ing a town supposedly occupied by
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Helnie. As chance would have It, Helnie
had Just resigned in favor of some of
those'rough Americans, and the camou
flage proved a bit unpopular, driving
the trio to seek cover behind the Ger
man lines.
Complications arise when they find
themselves in the company of Gen.
Smaltz—Tlllie’s godfather—who holds
a special grudge against the circus man
because he is Tillie’s father—a posi
tion the godfather would like to have
claimed as his own. for he had loved
her mother long and In vain.
Given this situation, the comedy
rocks along until several lions, escap
ing from the circus, enter the German
trenches, causing immediate evacua
tion and giving a new slant on who
won the war. And so ends the tale,
with Tlllle’s heart throbbing terror ns
she dodges lions and German generals,
while Cupid has gathered up his ar
rows and departed, doubtless to find
an easier target.
Edwnt’do and Elsie Cansinos. in an
original version of the tango, share
honors with Paul Kleman, baritone,
and Amata Grassi. solo dancer, In the
stage set. “Rio Romance," with the
Gaucho Girls and Wesley Eddy’s svn
copaters completing the ensemble.
Joe Penncr, recently from Green
wich Village Follies, gets a laugh with
his interpretation of a popular air
about the pussy willows whispering to
the catnips.
An amusing Innovation is a little eat
romance, with appropriate musical in
terpretation by the Palace organist. Mr.
Huffman The entire cast in the pic
ture is feline—and it is not a cartoon,
either.
M G. M news events round out the
excellent bill
RIALTO—"The Lovelorn."
The feature film at the Rialto this
week. "The Lovelorn,” specially written
for the screen bv Beatrice Fairfax, au
thority on "heart, troubles.” seems much
in keeping with the season.
This story, which is said to be taken
from a true incident unfolded in a letter
to Miss Fairfax, evolves around two sis
ters that are courted by the same ego-
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PLAIN • INLAID • EMBOSSED •
tlstic youpg man, who gives them both
a heavy ’’line" and then "drops” them
suddenly for a wealthy woman. The
sisters in turn come to their senses and
marry the sensible young men whom
Miss Fairfax would choose for them as
mates.
Molly O'Day and Sally O’Neill, who
are real sisters outside the studio, play
the sister roles. Dorothy Cummings
(lortrays well Miss Fairfax. Clever sub
titles add much toward making the pic
ture interesting throughout.
Rox Rommcll, conductor, and the
Rialto Orchestra present an unusual
feature in connection with the feature
picture in an overture entitled "A Let
ter to Miss Fairfax in Melodies."
An amusing comedy, "Let George Do
It"; a Tiffany color study, "Mnroheta,"
and the weekly news reel, featuring
scenes at Bowie race track last week,
round out a very entertaining program.
FOX—“Dressed to Kill."
The throngs of Easter visitors who
attended the early opening at the Fox
Theater Sunday w>ere regaled with a
special concert provided for the occa
sion, "The Atonement," by members of
Mount Vernon Place M. E. Church
choir.
Then followed the regular program.
Edmund Lowe in ‘‘Dressed to Kill” rep
resents the plutocracy of crime. The
rendezvous of his associates resembles a
very select gentlemen’s club. It is se
lect. too, for only the Initiated are privi
leged to enter. Here th? greatest crime
of all is to become a “stool pigeon," and
retribution quickly follows. "kiss
—run rrllrvr von of nuir vnlu
dhlr<t or Arrnritlrx if Ihrr nrc
X io »
Safe Deposit Box
Hi (hr
FEDERAL-AMERICAN I
NATIONAL BANK
Where O Siren I’ro**e* I ith g
the world good-by.’’ A serio comio bit
occurs when Detective Sergt. Ollroy.
somewhat puzzled, watches the correct
bearing and sorrowful demeanor of the
well dressed, silk-hatted pallbearers
who, he feels certain, but cannot prove
It, killed the deceased. The “professor,"
who looks the part, but whose L. L. D.
is Doctor of Larceny Third Degree
Graduate, creates laughs with the in
congruity of his appearance and his
East Side slang. The girl (Mary Aston
seems to be taking serious risks to gain
her point, the restoration of certain
bonds which will free her lover, who
was framed bv the gang A certain no
bility of character, inspired by love,
transcends Barry’s evil past and, re
gretting that he had not known a girl
like Jean earlier, which might have
changed the course of his life, he makes
reparation In the only manner possible
and meets his fate bravely, the last
glance of his dying eyes resting on the
poster, “You can’t win—every crook is
constantly in the shadow of the law.”
The stage presented several attractive
features. “The Sands of Araby.” con
ducted by Leon BrusilofT, under the
supervision of Meyer Davis, sung by
Sibley Conyos, Phillip Steele and com
pany, is excellent; the burning love
songs of the desert chieftains beneath
the silvery moon and twinkling stars
with fleecy clouds drifting by, the
Arabian horses, the date palms, the
tents and the unique costumes making
a wonderful picture, completed by the
dance of beautiful houris.
The Easter bunnies are there, too,
and a great big Easter egg, out of which
(Continued on Twenty-first Page.)
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