Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-16

politics of the dirty sort, which only
men understand, and not all Of them
care to delve in and which is puzzle
and always has been to the feminine
mind. And, as women make up three
fourths of the theater goers, the fatali-
ty of this is apparent.
! Again, its hero is reporter, who,
while oStenSibly working for one side,
is betraying it to the other-a con-
temptible trick, no matter how it be
CLOSED over, and a most unheroic one
Besides, he breaks his pledged word
to his fiancee-all Of which does not
make for feminine admiration.
And the love interests are too OBJ
scure; opportunity to develop them is
frequently lost, and thus another ele-
ment of appeal is vitiated. Women
demand the love story and the happy
ending; the more of it the better.
On the other hand, there is much
that is strong about the play-tremen-
dously strong. Largely it is brutally
elemental. The hero would not be half
so true to life If he were more heroic
there's a dilemma which Mr.. Walters
must wrestle with. The knowledge of
| politics displayed Is very extensive and
the cleverness with which this feature
of the drama Is wrought out is fine.
Equally does this apply to the news
paper motif; Mr.. Walters has come
nearer than any other playwright to
creating a real shop atmosphere and
real reporters and editors. OF course,
Mr.. Bosworth and his fellow helpers
do their part, but Mr.. Walters laid a
groundwork that permitted this. In
| that one respect he almost achieved
the unattainable. The most perfect
newspaper shop ever put on stage,
with the most perfect replicas of news
paper men ever seen behind the foot
lights, is the triumphal result.
Equally fine are his political types
they are never overdrawn, and are yet
lifelike and actual In these two
classes of character delineation Mr.
Walters has achieved wonders.
But there still is this one feature to
be considered. Has not the author, in
making his men so actually visual, his
scenes so natural and his action sc
normal, lost that keynote of theatrical
ism which makes a play instead Of q
transcript of real life? Isn't his ac-
tion too realistic to be romantic-an6
must 1t not be more dramatic to be q
drama? These questions, a further
hearing of the play will better decide
it is hard for one who has stepped
| from his desk into an environment sc
similar to his everyday life that he
wonders why he donned his dress
clothes, to pass calmly and candidly al
| first sight upon so complex a problem
But whether or not he has written
'the great" play, Mr.. Walters-with
the aid of the faithful Bosworth-has
turned out drama that is mighty
fine piece of work. 1t ought to inter
est every man who takes a part in
politics; 1t should please many women
who read the papers and wonder what
the game is all about; it will fill every
true newspaper man with exhilaratior
and enthusiasm, and it will draw like
all Sam HILL
| 1t has power, brutal force, honesty
purpose, truth and meat for strong
men. Can Mr.. Walters tone down these
| latter and inject into the warp and
woof they make the golden threads OF
heroism, romance and glamour? Then
he will have real play that people
will cry TO see.
AS to the manner of it's portrayal, nc
praise can be too high for the loyal
and faithful Belasco Thespians The
| cast is almost ideal. Dick Vivian as
the newspaper reporter is perfect
Lewis Stone as the eporter-reformeI
has another great personal triumph to
his credit. Harry Glazier as Whitelaw
the capitalist; Lee Beggs as the mayor;
Hobart BosWorth as the managing
editor; Tow Lowell as the police re-
porter-especially fine-and William
Yerance as Stanley, ward heeler, arc
above criticism. John DAILY Murphy in
an Irish ward rounder type, is DOC"
Houghton TO the life Taylor Warren
as the city editor overplays and shouts
too much. Florence Smythe as Mary
Calvert is perfect except for her dia-
lect, which goes awry at times, Marion
Berg is clever as Miss Whitelaw and
Va Berry has a fine "bit" as the
laughing girl The smaller parts are
in good hands. The mob In the city
hall is well handled. The whole pro-
duction is great, even measured by the
Belasco's standard-than which Is no
higher.