Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-10-29
AT THE ILLINOIS.

AT THE ILLINOIS.
The picture fans of Rock Island
seem ito be awakening to the fact
that the Illinois theatre is making
good the promise to give the best in
motion pictures. Every evening the
crowds grow larger. The music is
very good and adds greatly to the
value of the pictures. 1t will be the
policy to continue pictures every af-
ternoon and evening except when the
large shows are booked in. The guar
antee of the Baker-Dodge Theatre
company is placed on every film that
is shown at the Illinois.
1t is predicted that the Seven Key.
to BaIdpate' will unlock the doors OF
the Illinois next Sunday to one of the
briskest, brightest and-since this is
a George NJ. Cohan play-bulliest
!iangup stage entertainment that have
come this way in long time. Seven
KEYS to Baldpate" is SO good that 1t
kept audiences in New York interest,"
ed all of last season. Earl Derr Big
CARS, novelist, who wrote Seven Keys
to Baldpate'' in its original form, was
a wise young man when he tempered
and said Let George do it," For,
with all due respect to Mr.. Biggars'
gift for delineating character and in
venting situations, George has done
it, and it is told ne has done it SUI
premely well. To introduce a novelist
who is to write a book in "a hours,
act the scenes in the book out and
close with the audience rejoicing at
his success, is said to be done with
such a sure sense of situation and eff
feet as to entertain and delight the
audience while it is mystified and puz-
zled. To make the characters OF the
story and their adventures real enough
to be thrilling and never too explosive
ly real to be thoroughly amusing; with
bewildering succession of surprises
and incidents that gallop by with ever
increasing speed, requires real genius.
Everyone knows that George NJ. Cohan
has appealed to a large class of the
public with unfailing success. AS
writer of flip dialogue full of tang and
bang he has no equal. But here is a
stage product that is said TO get away
from what he has ever done
before and that abounds with touches
of stage genius of which Belasco
might be proud. This play, it is de-
clared, marks as big a step in his ar
tistic emancipation as Broadway
jones" did year before last The
story of Seven Keys to Baldpate'-
follows the good old rule of melodrama
to center the interest of the audience
upon some subject. in this case pack
age of 100000 bills, upon which the
fate of all the characters depends.
Then the audience follows the move
ment of the package through series !
of incidents, much of which are anus |
ing. as the package wanders from the |
crooks pocket to the safe, thence to I;
the pocket of the hero. back to another !
crook, from him once more to the
hero, thence TO the heroine, thence to /
4 villainness, thence to a CHIEF of DO /
lice, Passing by way of hermit into ]
I CRATE fire. which has blazed in cheer !
ful expectancy throughout the even
Ing. There is much gunplay, incrimin- /
alton. denomination. capture and es
cape, by the way. And the characters
are delight They will BE- acted by
Cyril Scott. John O'Hara. Ernest Gey-
er, Spencer Charters, Frank Auwor:h,
Frank Monroe. Hooker Wright. Lee
Sterrett Walter d. Greene. Laura
Bennett Ethel intrepid. Christine
Mayo. Ria Harlan, Hazel Traverse
Fannie Mackey.