New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-11-06
3 THEATRES SHOW
LESS THAN DUST
Mary PiCkford Is Seen in
Film Drama of India
and England

Mary Pickford. in her new photo
play, LESS than the Dust" was the
feature at three metropolitan theatres
yesterday. The picture was shown at
the Strand. the Broadway and the
Academy.
In all the music from Amy Woodford
Finden's LESS than the Dust was
played while the picture was being
shown, and at the Strand Wallace Mac
Donald sang the Hope poem in cos
tune.
Hector Trumbulls scenario was
adapted from Laurence Hopes lines, or
rather inspired by them. as there is
nothing in the poem suggestive Of the
plot of the play.
les than the dust beneath tbs chariot wheels
less than the trust thou hast IN me. my lord
Even less than these
Since l. my lord. nothing unto thee
See here Thy sword. ! make It keen ard hrisht
Loves last rewsrd-death comes 10 me tonight
Farewell. Zahindian!
Perhaps Mary Pickford thought she
was less than the dust. As Radha, the
abandoned child Of an English officer
in India. she said she did. but there
was nothing in her manner to indicate
it. Miss Pickford played the part as
though she enjoyed playing it and as
though she quite appreciated the fact
that plenty OF other people would en-
Joy seeing her plat it.
Acted Not Like Child
Her performance somehow was like
that Of Thoreau's squirrels, which al
ways implied a spectator. When she
crammed her mouth full of fruit she
did it not like a child who never has
been taught how to eat. but as young
person who knows she is doing some
thing ridiculous. Her pilfering eX-
petitions were carried on in the same
spirit, and her breaches of etiquette
were played with rather too much
sophistication and apparent satisfaction
derived from the fact that she was do
ing something naughty.
There are other stars of much less
magnitude than Miss Pickford who
would play the part much more simply
than she has done.
Townsend, was excellent. He was the
British army officer every minute. The
opening scenes were laid in India and
some wonderful pictures were shown
of the temple. the sacred pool and the
bazaars.
Radha is the daughter of Captain
Brooke, who becomes drug user, and
later is known as the derelict. He
sbandons the child when her mother
dies and she is brought up in the home
of Raman. a sword maker. Here she is
much spoiled and her foster father al
lows her TO do just as she pleases. fur
n.shing her with all the money he can
afford. What she cannot beg from
Ramlan she has no hesitancy IN pro
curing by other means. In Radha's
lexicon il is a sin to eat from the "sa-
cred cow" but il is not sin TO steal
from ones neighbor.
On one of her jaunts Radha meets
Captain Townsend. who offers to buy
her an English book She chooses
Less Than the Dust and then sets
herself the task of learning the poem.
Falls Into Sacred Pool
While Radha is escaping from an in
furiated Mahometan from whom she
has stolen some silk she falls into the
sacred pool. Now, to enter the pool
with ones shoes on is crime punish
able by death in India, and Radha Is
pursued by a mob, which demands her
life. She is finally rescued by Captain
Townsend. who accompanies her 10 her
home. and learns that her foster father
is at the head Of a faction which Is
contemplating an uprising because 1t
objects to vaccination and other SAM
tary arrangements of the English
During this uprising Radha saves
Captain Townsend's life, and Ramlan'
as the instigator of the riot, is SEN
terced to five years in prison, 1t Is
then that he discloses to Radha the
fact that she is the daughter of an
English army officer, and, armed with
her papers of identification, she travels
TO England unattended. OF course
when she arrives she discovers that