The San Francisco call., 1905-03-22
FARNUM IS SOMETHING OF
COLLEGE COWBOY,
Acting Breathes More
of Campus Than
of Camp.
Pleases His Hearers,
Nevertheless, as
Virginian.

If there is any one that has not read
The Virginian." he may as well IKE
! in the play before the book. It is well
worth taking in to those that have and
to those that have not, but those that
/ have not will perhaps get more joy of
! Mr.. Wister's book-drama at the Co
A.; lumbia this week
| One has a really fatal faculty of
; making ones own pictures of book
/ people. 1 never found a Princess
/ Goldenlocks picture with hair long
/ enough and gold enough to suit me
: when she was my faVorite heroine. /
( never found q Juliet on the stage half
so lovely as L had dreamed her. Mr..
/ Wister says they opened THE Virgin
! ian" and Dustin Farnum stepped out
I from its leaves his ideal incarnated-
/ but not for my ken. Still, Mr.. Wister
should know. If any one should, Mr..
! Wister should know his Wyoming, and
! if he says Dustin Farnum, who plays
] the Nirginian's" part. is his ideal of
! his cowboy hero. it must be so.
/ fancy most of us out in this wilder
] West have made unto ourselves an
/ other 'Virginian, suppler, leaner,
sterner, less the captivating boy Mr..
Farnum makes him, more the tenser-
/ hbred man that for the sake of the
rough justice of the country dooms his
/ friend TO be hung.
! Something of the bigness, loneliness,
nobility of the character is wanting
something lacking, too, of the fascinat-
ing aDlomb of the Virginian, but in all
its lighter graces, and as a lover, Mr..
Farnum excels. Not that, it is a con-
ception in the least degree namby-
pamby; il has a virility all its own;
but it is a virility perhaps rather of
the campus than of the camp. in spite
of leather leggins, sombrero and ban
danna TO the contrary. But such a
handsomeness! as the girl next me
said, and l agreed. And such a smile,
And such a voice Mr.. Farnum is
probably twice better to look at than
the original Virginian. and if you have
coincided with Mr.. Wister in ideal you
will like him immensely
The rest of the cowboys are a good
cowboy gang, some of the smaller parts
beng capitally acted. The best, of
course, is Trampas, done in supple,
electric fashion by Frank Campeau. 1t
is one Of the cleverest character por-
traits of this season, full of pulse and
power. Guy Bates Post, again as
Steve. could not be bettered. 1t is
portrait that gets to the bone under
the leggins. and near to the tears
where the cattle-stealer goes to his
death. Nebrasky, Spanish Ed and
Honey Wiggin are all cleverly played,
and Uncle Hughie. Judge Henry and
Dow one is glad to meet
The woman in the case. Miss Mollie
Wood well. Helen Holmes is not the
Mollie of the book. One moment only
of genuine sympathy Miss Holmes
showed, but that such a true and pow
erful one that one waits hopefully for
more from her. 1t is when Mollie
pleads with the Virginian for Tram
pas life, and Miss Holmes here de-
veloped a considerable and genuine
emotional thrill. For the rest she was
somewhat thin and amateurish.
The play itself is a clear. compact
and genuinely dramatic presentation of
the story, retaining the action of the
chief incidents and by deft narration
very effectively working in much of
those impossible to dramatic. A very
good audience manifested large plea
sure iii the production, and its sue
cess is certainly assured
BLANCHE PARTINGTON.