Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-09
THE BARRIER" WELL
ACTED BY BURBANkERS
Play Itself Has No Great Dra-
matte Worth but Seems
to Please
BY SHIRLEY OLYMPUS

nLACE a diamond in which there is
a flaw in the hands of an ex-
Il pert lapidary, and thought he
work with consummate skill, he never
will be able to bring it to a state of
polish and perfection. If the flaw hap
pens to be great the casual observer
will detect it at first glance. Always
microscope will find the imperfection.
AS with gems, so it is with plays.
"The Barrier" Eugene Presbrey's
dramatization of Rex Beach's novel,
produced for the first time in Los An
geles yesterday afternoon at the Bur-
bank theater, is an Illustration of what
has been said above. The fault of the
drama is its unrealness, the introduc-
tion of too much extraneous matter, if
the term may be used. Without dis
cussing the meaning of action" it
may be said that 1.-The Barrier" lacks
that element. 1t is talky In a word
the play, which is a poor melodrama
at best, has not the dramatic values to
make it of lasting worth. No amount
of clever acting and excellent char
acter drawing can hide the defects and
bring the play to state of perfection,
even so that the casual theatergoer
may be deceived, or rather pleased.
SCENES LAID IN ALASKA
The scenes of the play are laid in
Alaska, at an out-o of-civilization trad
ing post. The gunfire began twenty
years before the opening of the play
and terminated in the dark, the table
and lamp having been overturned. Two
men, John Gale and Dan Stark, the
most dominating figures in the play,
are engaged in a stage struggle to the
death. When lights are turned up,
one of the men is seen dying from q
knife thrust through the heart and
other a
The villain gets his deserts; the other
who is a lesser sort of hero is raised
to a plane of near-respectability and
almost-heroism. Between the time the
villain appears at the trading post
and gets a drink of whisky a multiple
ity of events. some of them having no
connection with the story, come to
pass. Gold by the ton is discovered
in the immediate vicinity. United
States army captain falls in love with
a supposed half-breed girl who is not
half breed at all. and wins her after
being hectored cajoled and threatened
in a most artificial manner, although
he has an honorable affection for the
girl There are a lot of other events
Of which it is needless to speak.
REAL BARRIER sELFIsHNESs
At times one is in doubt as to just
what the barrier really is. Once it
seems that the obstacle between the
soldier-man and his dark-eyed raven
locked inamorata is their difference in
social standing. Again it seems. just
for an instant, the fact that the girl
is rich and her sweetheart a poor army
officer. Again it seems to be the fact
that she is supposed to be a half-breed
lndian-Which she is not. Again it
seems to be the fact that her supposed
father is not married to her supposed
mOther-that he is a squaw-man. To
the writer the real barrier to the hap
piness of soldier and maid is his self
ishness. He pities himself and forces
one to think he is making a great
sacrifice in asking the girl to marry
him. Just as though any respectable
girl who loves and is loved is not
worthy of being any mans wifel
The various characters in "The Bar
rier' are wonderful products of make
up and environment. 1t really is too
bad that the playsmith did not fur
nish his characters with the same eX
cellence of dialogue and action that
the actors have given them in the me-
chanics of portrayal. Take. for in
stance, David HartfOrds John Gale,
who has been hunted by an enemy for
twenty years and who has given a
great and good paternal love to the
daughter of his enemy If the char
tttlHI were one we COulG respect, MT.
Hartford's characterization would be
one of the best bits Of his career.
One cannot respect a man who con-
sOles himself with becoming a sQuaW-
man. after his sweetheart. the wife of
another man, has been shot to death
by her husband because of the Illicit
affection. So it is with Harry Mes
layers Poleon Doret. a French Can
adian hopelessly in love With the sup
posed half-breed girl. MI Mestayer
sustained his character in manner,
makeup and dialect from first to last,
and secured the only real sympathy
of the play, but
HERO Is TARNIsHED ONE
The lack of true southern chivalry, |
the selfshness, the savshness to
caste, the lack of that boundless faith
Of love, makes Captain Burreu, u S. !
A.. portrayed by A. Byron Beasley, a |
tarnished hero, although Mr.. Beasley |
brings to bear all his histrionic ability |
to rub off the tarnsh. Because of the |
authors inadequacy one does not know
whether to ieer at or pity the soldier |
man. Mr.. Beasley does more than get
all there is i'm the character ont Of
it. He puts something into the char
acterization the author did not and
possibly could nOt-chara cter-art
Possibly the two characters truest to
life are No-Creek Lee, inimitably por-
trayed by John w Burton. and Dan
Stark whose villainv is simulated by