The San Francisco call., 1906-08-12
Hall Caine Risks His Life in
Searching for Realism.
r ONDON, July 2S.-Hall Caine
| would do anything for the sake
IL - "-a.1;.,,,, osc;,1,v vhe,

r ONDON, July 28.-Hall Caine
would do anything for the sake
- of realism especially when
the realism concerned is that of one
of his own plays or novels-even risk
his valuable life In fact, it seems
that Mr. Caine did endanger his exist
ence a while ago, although at that
time nothing about this needless act
of his was allowed to reach the pub
lie. Possibly, it was then too lar IN
advance OF the production of his new
play and the thrilling tale might have
lost some OF its effect, but now the
production of The Bondsman at
Drury Lane is drawing nigh and so
we are told the story of how the au-
thor houted death, without any reser-
vation or sparing of painful details.
1t was in Italy that the thing hap
pened, whence Hall Caine went last
spring in search of local color for
"The Bondsman." That drama, by
the way, is located partly in Italy and
partly in Sardinia (although the novel
places the scene elsewhere) and 1t
seems that among its other attrac-
tions are TO be a real Sicilian cart
and real" Sandman donkey, also a
veracious Italian farm scene with
genuine cows and actual haystacks-
all guaranteed by Hall Caine. His
last piece, The Prodigal Son, 1t may
be remembered, contained sure
enough flock of sheep-at least IT did
as produced at Drury Lane. Whether
there were sheep in the American pro-
duction one is not certain, and If there
were not perhaps that is one reason
why the piece failed to duplicate IN
America the tremendous success
which its author has figures to prove
it scored in London.
In The Bondsman" there is to be
a sulphur mine, too, and so we come
to the actual details of how the in
trepid Hall Caine and Arthur Collins,
who runs Drury Lane Theater, placed
their lives in deadly peril, all for the
sake of realism For to see the real
thing in this line the fearless pair
visited one of the Italian sulfataras,
situated some thirty miles from
Naples. and there it appears their
hazard was truly great.
The inferno was at its very worst,
says the graphic account which has
reached me on the authority of Hall
Game himself, yet both author and
manager trod fearlessly on this boil
ing surface, though it is no exaggera-
ton to say very often at the peril of
their lives For the sulfataras in
question stands on the crater OF a
volcanic mountain which had over
whelrned mountains, villages and
killed hundreds of inhabitants in the
fifteenth century" CThe exclamation
is Mr. Caine's)
So it is easy to see that no risk is
too great for this author to run when
it is a question of local color and
it must be admitted, too, that Hall
Caine eclipses himself from year to
year, for prior to producing The
Prodigal Son. if one remembers
rightly, he contented himself with an
on the spot study of Monte Carlo
However, The Bondsman" promises
to be truly great production, and
for the star part the management
has engaged Mrs. Pat" Campbell,
who had been meditating an Amer
lean tour This promises to be near
ly as big a draw as was the engage
ment of George Alexander last year
for the leading part in The Prodigal
Son. at the Lane, and another promis-
ing engagement is that of young
Henry Ainley, who was seen in Amer
ica with Maude Adams and who is
now appearing at the Court in BeT-
nard Shaws You Never Can Tell"
Just as the London season closes