The Washington herald., 1914-10-06
. Birds of Prey Has All the
"Punch of Within the lap
Edward Mack S Melodrama Is
Not Only a Thriller, but
Has Intensely Human Note
and Delicious Sense of
Humor.
By JULIA CHANDLER MANz.

By JULIA CHANDLER MANY.
Willard Mack has arrived. As an actor
and an author his name has been
familiar for some time on the Coast. but
only last week he was described by a
New York dramatic reviewer as "an i'm
pending playwright" That was last
week. The term would be an absurdity
today
Last night. at the Columbia Theater,
A. H. Woods made the first production
Of Mr.. Mack's Birds Of Prey" four
act melodrama made from his earlier
vaudeville sketch in which the play
wright was himself seen, and nothing re-
mains save to congratulate Mr.. Woods
| that he had the managerial astuteness
to tie Mr.. Mack up with a five-year con-
tract for his entire output within that
period.
Birds OF Prey" is a marvel. We have
all seen rafting good melodrama. We
have had crook plays" galore-good.
| bad. and Indifferent. There's within
the Law" as an example Of veriIe melo-
drama that held thousands Of folk
throughout the land tuned up TO high c
wherever II was seen. within the
| Law" was a melodramatic masterpiece.
Birds OF Prey equals II in virility,
and surpasse IL on many other counts,
for aside from the fact that II iE an
Intensely gripping melodFama II IL satur-
I
the tensity Is relieved by that vein. of
rich comedy which Within the Law"
lacked.
Taunts Of the press stir the police to
take drastic measures to discover the
| thief who has stolen a magnificent dia-
mond necklace, and return the stones
to their owner, Deputy Commissioner
Garvey and his associates are morally
certain Of the guilty party, but they
have no proof, and cannot locate the
whereabouts OF the man they most
want. They put Myrtle Sylvester, his
sweetheart, through the third degree"
to no purpose. Garvey then sends for
Chick Hewes, who once did time" for
forgery, and his wife Molly. Neither
the one nor the other is suspected %
the theft, but It Is commonly known
that Chick befriends those of the
demimonde who come to him in their
trouble, and Garvey and his crew be-
lieve that he could tell the where
abouts Of Benny, the suspected thief:
IL only he. or his good and pretty little
wife, could be made to 'squeaL"
The ex-convict and his wife are
drilled, but all that is brought out is
that both are as straight as string,
and whatever they know or do not
know about Benny is not disclosed,
although the chief tries to make their
silence cost Chick his excellent posi-
tion. With this effort the first act ends
with a climatic surprise which gives
the audience a deal of satisfaction.
All this in Garvey's once.
Act two takes US to the apartment Of
Chick and MOllie, where We find Charley
Cary, Mollie's brother, awakening from
a drugged sleep, and where Mrs Halo
ran injects the vein OF comedy which
runs with delicious frequency from the
second act TO the final curtain. Here,
too We meet Mrs. Halloran's daughter.
Daisy. and watch the wonderful dia-
monds through two succeeding acts as
they pass from irresponsible to innocent
hands, and eventually find their way to
Garvey himself, In whose ONCE finally
Chick and Molly prove their innocence
OF the theft by the sheer force OF their
truthful word.
1t is a gripping story, splendidly told.
interspersed with clever twists and dia-
logues springing a climatic surprise at
the end OF each of the first three acts,
and ending the fourth with a sentimental
nicely which does credit to the authors
faith in human nature
There isn't any doubt that Birds of
Prey Is a sure-fire winner on its own
merits, but in praising Mr.. Mack for
the clever development Of his story and
the virile touch OF his pen, II must not
be overlooked that a tremendous share
Of his nights triumph OF the piece was
due to one Of the most excellently chos-
en- casts I have ever seen.
Miss Jane Grey vizualizes Molly |
whose love for the man she married
was such that she stuck to him even
after she found out that he was an
ex-convict. and whose pure and tender |
influence in his life kept him straight |
ever after. Miss Grey is at all times a |
charming actress, but in her wide
former roles. she strikes a new depth |
of emotional ability, and proves her
self equal to the swift-changing lights |
and shadows OF a part than which |
there could be none more exacting.
John Barrymore plays opposite Miss |
Grey, and imbues Chick HeweA the |
husband. with a quick and unfailing |
sympathy. Mr.. Barrymore's creation |
is a remarkably fine accomplishment. |
full of that subtlety of expression |
without which IL could not ring true, |
and that inesse which makes it the
art of true genius.
Supporting the principals are Ed |
ward Gillespie. as Deputy Garvey: Paul
Everton, as whip" Fogarty; Lionel
Adams. as Jack Diggs: Miss Edith !
Browning, as Myrtle Sylvester; Forrest |
winant, as the dope fiend: Miss Annie |
Mack Berlein, as Mrs. HaIloran. the |
lTlSn .lduulduy1 MISS hdJneTlne hdTrlS' |
as Daisy; Miss Maidel Turner. as a re-
tired shoplifter, and Edward J. Mack |
and Noel Arnold in minor parts. With |
out an exception the portraits intrusted
to their respective painting show great |
creative ability, particularly in the
case of Mr.. winant's picture Of the
dope fiend, Miss -Browning's imperson- |
alton of Bennys tragic sweetheart, |
and Miss Berlein's hearty and whole |
some Mrs. Halloran.