The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-11-06
Tim Murphy in ''Pals
 First" at Jefferson
PALS FIRST" By Lee Wilson Dodd,

1 Characters.
 Danny ................... Glen Whlte 1 Dominic .......'......., I'm Murphy 1 Uncle Alex, servant at Winne- crest ........... Carl Anderson The Squirrel, & tramp. ............. | ...,............ Edwin Anderson
 Aunt Caroline, a servant at Winne- 1 crest ................ Amelia Myers l Judge Logan ......... Henry Myers
 Jean, Judge Logan's niece. ......... ................. Reevva Greenwood Dr. Chiffon. Nicholas Roche Miss Alicia ..... Berenice Belknap Gordon, of the Nashville Central off, flee ................. Lewis Jones Stivers, a federal detective. ....... ....................G George Williams
 We are so accustomed to seeing Tim
 Murphy play kindly old gentlemen
 whose conduct is, above suspicion, that
 it is something of a surprise to en-
 counter him as a gray -haired crook
 in Pals First" a vagabond and com
 panion of thieves. But later on in the
 play the attributes which are most
 often associated with this lovable com
 edian assert themselves and he is much
 the same Tim we have met before.
 The basic idea of Pals First"
 comedy by Lee Wilson Dodd, which
 was presented at the Jefferson theatre
 last night for an engagement of three
 nights and 8 matinee, is excellent. The
 story is interesting and has clements
 of novelty. Most of the characters are
 well drawn and there is enough sus- pense to keep one guessing until the
 final disclosures arc made. The ac-
 ton, however, drags at times, which is made more noticeable by unnecessar- fly long waits between the acts, as there is only one change of scene. With the performance speeded up and one or two members of the company more carefully rehearsed in their parts Pals First" would easily be one of the best plays Mir Murphy has ever presented in Birmingham.
 While it would be unfair to those who contemplate seeing the play to unfold the plot, it may be said that what appears to be at first moro or less conventional crook drama is clev- erly transformed into something else. For the greater part of the perform ance there is no inkling of how the play is going to end and the impress sion of double, notorious thief en- tering the home of a gentleman of means who is believed to be dead, and as the dead man, even going so far as to make love to the dead mans sweetheart Is successfully created and sustained. Some real crooks figure in the plat, together with 1 a typical villain and the inevitabl de- tectives.
 Mir. Murphy is, of course most in- vagabond, whose white 1 hairs and gravity of department make l it easy for him to assume the habits l and garb of clergyman. His art | never fails him in any of the numer- ous roles he essays and as Dominic" he endears himself anew by the win 1 hing traits and the humor which are ! 3 part of the man, quite as much as 1 the actor. Had he failed to be re- | formed at the close of the play and i made to forget the unhappy past ] which reduced him to a tramp and q | 1runkard, there would have been a i distinct sense of disappointment.
 Glen White, as Danny, whose real | name is not disclosed until the end of | the play, is capable actor and ac- luitted himself well in a part which | stands out prominently. He acted with i and personal magnetism. | Henry Keen made an acceptable Judge | Logan. Nicholas Roche as the schem- | Ing pr. Chiffon was fully up to the | requirements of that character. Miss | Greenwood as the s'girl' left nothing 1 to be desired and the remaining mem | oers of the company gave good sup | port.