The Washington herald., 1914-09-28
HERALD'S PAGE FOR WOMEN READERSEMAI
ToDAY's pHore DRAMA

What do you think Of this little quota
tion. THOU shalt not covet thy neigh
boris house; neither shall thou desire
his wife, nor his servant, nor his hand
maid, nor his OK. nor his ass, nor any
thing that 10 his?" We venture to say
II Is a long time since these few hDe1
have come directly under your eye; and
yet you have always knoWa that they
existed. It's one Of the Old Testament
commandments. Perhaps you do not BE-
IIeve in the Bible. But does this com
mandment confoEm to your ideas OF right
and wrong? II you do believe In the
Good Book do you really think that
this applies IN this day and age?
THE Tenth Commandment" That Is
the name Of this three-reel play that has
been staged and acted by the famous Imp
company OF players under the efficient
direction Of Herbert Brenon- No. II Is
not a sermon. There is not a scene or
situation in the whole picture that NOR
alizes. And yet you can't watch the
picture without having the feeling in
your makeup that there Is something
wrong. dangerous, in casting covetous
eyes on another's property. particularly
another mans wife. There are mighty
few people who have not been enyious.
who have not desired that which be-
longed to another at some time or an
OIheTg NHu InGy Itcl lndL I1Gy
were doing any great wrong. How about
It?
But aside from the facts and philoso-
phIes Of which the play treats, there Is
q fine gripping, tense, absorbing story.
You, as.the spectator, are taken into the
family Of modern, rising young doctor
and treated to a situation, to q condition
which is, we think, quite prevalent in
many homes There Is q splendid cast
interpreting the various roles, headed
by Mr.. Shay as the doctor, Miss Merse-
reau as the nurse and Mr.. Welsh as the
interloper.
As an important and highly spectacu-
lar and thrilling feature Of the play, we
have the complete destruction, by fire. Of
a good-sized hotel. At the private show
ing of the picture to the trade-press re-
viewers and the censorship board, II
was the unanimous verdict that the fire
scene was one OF the most realistic and
exciting ever screened. 1t all happens
as an incident in the final climax, the
awakening Of the doctor, who has been
separated from his young wife, and the
reconciliation.
The story was written by william
Blaisdell, who is the author OF a num-
Der Of successful scenarios, but It Is
safe to say that nothing he has done
previously will approach. in Its dramatic
power, the present piece.
The action Of the play, briefly told, re-
lates to the conditions arising In the
home Of a young ambitious doctor which
caused his wife to leave him. The wife
was not bad. She was Just selfish and
demanded more attention from her hus-
band than he could conscientiously give.
incidentally, there was a nurse in the
employ Of the doctor, OF whom the wife
believed she had reason to Be Jealous.
True, this nurse loved the young doctor,
but aside from the interest she aroused
because of her intelligent and efficient
work, the doctor pcid little attention to
her.
When the final separation came between
the doctor and his wife, there was an
other man. Brown, who was mixed up
in it He had whispered things into the
ear OF the wife, things which would
tend TO make her unhappy and dissatis-
fed. Fox Brown coveted the wife for him.
self
However, the only thing Brown man
aged to do was compromise the name OF
the wife sufficiently TO turn the heart OF
the husband against her when the baby
came She had returned to her mother.
Time came when the young doctor re-
ceived a phone call to attend a little girl
who had been accidentally shot This
child was his own. though he never dis
covered It until he arrived at the hotel
and met his wife face to face And as
fate would have II, Brown was there, too.
| However. at the urging Of the nurse
he performed the operation. believing
the child was not his, but Browns. Dur
ing this operation fire breaks out in the
hotel. The doctor and the nurse must
| complete the operation. That Is where
We get the big suspense. When all Is
| done the nurse lies dying on the lawn
outside. a victim Of loyalty and the doc
| tor understands Alright. The wife hal
| learned her lesson. while Brown has paid
for his villainy with his life.