New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-16
Lou ellegen and His
Opinion of Our Sense
of HumOr.
SUCCESSFUL CHANCE
IN CASTING A PLAY
Emanuel Reicher and the Posi-
BILE Reason Why He Stammers
in Two Languages.
BY HAYWOOD BROUN.

OF my American critics" he stated in
a recent interview. has brought me to
book on account Of what he has char
scterized as my lack Of humor,' my
inability TO play comedy"
There is some justice in this com
plant Of Mr.. Tellegen's. The critics
concerning whom he speaks could not
have seen him die in "The Ware Case
But Mr.. Tellegen's reach is beyond
his grasp when he says: ITO the
Frenchman, the Spaniard. the Italian,
even to the terrible German. there is
nothing funny in the spectacle OF
somebody pulling away a chair at the
moment when another is about TO SIT
down on it. Now, this is not only
supposed to be uproariously funny. but
| from the American point Of view il is
/ funny funny! because it never fails
to get laugh. To public imbued with
! this perverted sense Of humor, the
more delicate nuances and subtletes of
I the genuine article have little or no
meaning"
First of all. we are not willing TO
accept Mr.. Tellegens statement that
/ il is only the American who thinks II
Is funny TO pull a chair out from under
man. This. we think, is universal
humor. Although the subtleties and
nuances of Charlie Chaplin have to
deal with custard pies and soup tureens
] he may be taken as chair comedian.
| Now, the fact Of the matter is that
/ Chaplin is just as popular in London
as he is in New York and that he
enjoys almost as great a success in
| Paris, where he is known as Chariot.
/ We don't know whether he has been
shown in Spain, in Italy. or Germany
but we would like to have the Chaplin
rights to those lands.
We were in theatre in Peking once,
and in spite of the best efforts of an
interpreter the show bored US. sud
4 denly one comedian produced slap
/ stick and attacked the other Celestlai
funny man in the approved manner.
The Interpreter could interpret no
| longer. He was laughing too hard we
did not need him. Here at last was
something we could appreciate. For
the first time we felt kinship with
/ the folk about US. The East was NOT
so easterly after all.
There is monument 10 the EN-
battled farmers who fired the shot
hoard around the world, but nothing
marks the grave of the man who hrSt
hrnuoht the slapstick to its goal ana
sounded a chord of humor which Is
eternal. ,..-,. :.
Yes. we believe the slapstick is
eternal II NAV not be the highest type
of humor, but it is in no sense per
verted. IL is fundamental. Children,
Who are not such hypocrites as some OF
the rest Of us, always laugh when any
body falls down. Later we learn other
forms of humor. but we believe It to be
not only possible but entirely consist
emf 10 laugh at Frank Conroy as thes
lover in Schnitzler's Literature ana
8. Fred Stone as Mile. Falloftsk IN
"Chin-Chin."
After all, is it not true that all COM
edv is grounded in watching the as
comfture of somebody? Possibly II IS
a higher type of humor if the discom-
fture is mental rather than physical
Vet the unfit is not ethical. We laugh
at Rud in "The Boomerang" because
he is disappointed in love, which, we
bsve been led TO believe, is ever so
much more painful than being hit with
Charlie Brown in under Fire"
amuses us because he has been
stranded in the middle of Belgium
Abe and Mawruss are chiefly diyerting
when they quarrel Bill Walker OF
"Vaior Barbara" has his funniest mo-
ments when he is in the grip OF re-
morse.
Then. again. an audience may be
amused by a character not because OF
anything which is happening to him,
hut because of something which may
happen to him on account OF his evil
+ dent weaknesses. Jean Paurel OF The
Great Lover" is such character, ana
so is Prince Luigi of Sadie Love"
4 Here's to the slapstick! Long may
/ il wsvel
In casting hor company for major
Barbara" Grace George made one oar
| ing experiment which has proved
great success. II was happy and an
unusual thought to have selected Con
way Tearle for Bill Walker. The eX,
ceedingly dapper leading man would
seem to have been the last person IN
the world who would Mt the part OF
Shaw's cockney loafer. II seemed to be
a part suited only for a character actor
! Fortunately, the experiment was made
and il succeeds admirably, very largely
because Mr.. Tearle has seen Mt to play
Bill almost straight, and without the
tiresome burden of mannerisms OF ac-
tion and dialect which character actors
delight in reading into part.
Emanuel Reicher does not deserve
one criticism which has been levelled
against his performance Of old Ansorgee
In 1.-THE Viewers" Seemingly some OF
the critics were of the impression that
his constant stammering was due TO ms
lack of familiarity with the EngliSh
language, but as matter of fact when
Mr.. Reicher played .Ae part IN German
he also stammered: II is part Oh hls
concention of the character. IL is use
ful TO indicate that Ansorge is a slow
and more or less incoherent thinker
for this makes his outburst into action
M the end of the fourth act all the
more dramatic. Just the same, we wish
Mr.. Reicher would not stammer so
Z much.