Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-04
R'S DROLLERY
EICHTFUL AS EVER
ID Of Nothing but the
nth" Largely Depend
ent on His Art
OLD DGILBERTIAN IDEA

OLD GILBERTIAN IDEA
11No BUT THE. TRUTH.Farce in
.fss from sassiss x sIs' .hs%s STf0%STy sleTy
sr3ss. ssr.,, Weber. Adeiphi Trsstrs Ms Collier
fslssssii; si,; ,;;...........;, ;,Bspiss ES,.s EGi%ss
Scomprisina the arm Of
+ttEa y. NJ. Ralston a. Co.
2ne} Van Dusen' en''''''''.Nea , a; spasss s,sy
Oorsn ........ ...... .Arnolu Lucy
81 n. Hfion Rsisson her mo,hsr. ss''' wares
= Clark neishbor of the Rsi.tSns; ISas Snss,,
lssl jackson. of the Varieties.
4e4Vs Jackson, of the Varieties, -
z>Ftha, maid Of the Ralstons. Mabel Goldins
- Uptown office of f. NJ Raiston.
,,tTsp minutes intermlsslon.)
..-Lne Ralstons' summer home. The
y Z. !slx minutes intermission.)
- Iil-snme as Act II. At. 315 p. m.
n the droll depletion Of comic en-
l1rrassment. William Collier has long
I'm inimitable. The ripe authority of
~ farcical methods in that specialized
I'D OF fun making has carried to sue
4oee many a frail footlight vehicle. In
<&4o more than two decades that have
poesed since "Hoss and Hoss," the best
I1uht comedies. the farces most intrin-
/. oloally meritorious, seem to have eluded
4 thls actors polished art with curious
constancy.
~ Its pity Collier couldn't have had
nat play" has become stock phrase in
3 tptngsland. Certainly he could have
aroused a gale of fun in "Brewster's
Linions," THE Man From Blankley's,"
sy1lch, however. had the good fortune
~ be delightfully."- acted, albeit in a diff
4prent vein, by Charles Hawtrey. would
olBo have provided Mr.. Collier with
capital opportunities.
A. II Is. his whole stage career has
1een tribute to his own quaint person
atty and his individual. thoughtfully
1oveloped technique. What playgoer.
even the most inveterate, can name off
! hand more than two or three of the
scomedian's productions. Du Scuchet s
~The Man From Mexico" funny but
Z crude. and Richard Harding Davis S
1.-The Dictator" felcitously devised but
.twholly unimportant. dwell perhaps long
ut In the memory. The rest is Collier.
HIS distinctive faculty for engendering
a n1musement has gladdened the American
= theatre for generation Lucky the
plnywright on whose road to public
favcr the twinkling merriment of our
ablest light comedian has beamed.
James Montgomery, whose Nothing
hut the Truth" comes to Philadelphia
after a seasons run on Broadway, is
one Of these dramatists so blest. Clum-
silly constructed. brilliant neither in dia-
( logue nor in Characterization, padded In
development and exploiting a venerable
comic thesis, this empty little piece is
!. .oonverted through Mr.. Golfers drollery
a.. i.., t.,t,n a
sense of the value of the stage pause
and his painstaking. mastery of farcica
dotail into a laughable and care-dspell-
ing entertainment.
li 3. Last night s large audience at the
.Adelphi chuckled, snickered. giggled and
reared through virtually every scene In
which the star was involved. Thes,
tributes of appreciation were we'll war
rAnted. for aside from Weldon Gros
smith, there is not an actor in the Eng
v nsh-speaking theatre who can be fun
y nler within legitimate farcical bounds
& than Mr.. Collier. He even made th'
r0{1rworn thematic material seem lik'
lty.
crux OF this idea Is developed II
Bt estate on w. $. Cilbert's deleC
antasy, THE Palace OF Truth.
er or not Mr.. Montgomery wa,
kr with that engaging work. GER
~ that his trihe echoes rnany o.
mic notes Of its long anteceden
Fl Ufo6scessor. The author of The Mi
" kA4o" extracted his fun by placing al
HI characters in an enchanted building
& IN which only verities could be voiced
"a Mr.. Montgomery's simpler machiner.
creates a situation in which in order &
win beta wager. which, moreover
Z N1Il assure an auspicous sentinenta
4 oQnQuest--his hero stipulates to spea
49, ~. .WaA .VNNI 81.
\ twenty-four hours. Naturally such
role, however weak the general structur
Of tine play may be. furnishes Mr.. Collie
z, with opulent opportunities to display hi
amusing art. The scenes involving caus
n ~ but yeracious critical comricnts ar
eapecially suggestive of the Gilbertial
n rar1liel Indeed. the episode in whcl
III. Golfers hilsriously unhypocritica
verdict on bad singing by pretentiou
Z, 3oung society girl is expressed, appear
almost directly initiative of one of tn
y hrighest passages in the old Palace o
9 Tfnth."
X. It may be interpolated that some o
" III stars breeziest sallies savor of hi
own making. when do you think O
1otfing married?" thunders the "heav
q fAkher." Constantly" retorts the senti
N 1oatal aspirant. There Is the true Col
+S Hnf stamp. II Mr.. Montgomery wrot
7 M An excellent supporting ccm pany sur
1ounus the chief funmaker. Raple
IIolmss. more wonderfully corpulent thai
q G9en In the days Of The Rourh-Up," |
AZ = uuficiently violent and vociferous 70
4 TO Golfers traditional quiet methods
Ned A. Sparks contributes whimsica
4 and origina, portrait-by methods some
what recalling those of the lamente
IS Dan Daly-of an impecunious stoc
& gambler. too mean to give three cheer
4 IN deaf man." and Arnold Lucy. who's
" superb psri ormances in "Ranny's Firs
& plny" ought not to be forgotten. per
X trnys q new type of stage clergyma
with telling effect.
The femi..i..e parts are generally |
81 capable hands, although the heroine 3
|< Xmnod by Betty Wales. seems hardl
&&noEnetic enough TO have inspired Nj
inter- 70 perform his hazardous feat.
II. T. c.