South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-10-06


opened recently at the Thirty-ninth
Street theater. is a fantastic drama
OF double amnesia by Laura Hink-
ley and Mabel Ferris. II is found
ed on a magazine story by Miss
Huxley which was entitled "Crav-
en-" and which was published in
1912.
While not a strong play I'm any
sense OF the word. Another Mans
Shoes" will entertain many and will
offend no one. II IS simply an anec-
dote OF human experience which is
entirely beyond the probabilities.
The play opens with the hero in
bed. just tapering of a period of
FIVE weeks Of Inconsistencies as the
result Of injuries received in a rail-
road wreck When he comes to
himself he finds that he bears a
strange name. is welcomed in
home Of wealth as the master. and
in addition is supposed 10 be the
husband OF a mighty pretty wife.
He thinks his name is Richard
Trent. and that he is a resident of
a little town in Nebraska. He finds
himself accepted as Richard Crav-
en-, OF Greenwich, Conn, owner of
a great New York department store.
There is a vast amount of dia
logue 10 prove that Trent OF Ne
braska by his own estimate, is too
decent a fellow TO step into another
mans shoes and steal his wife, his
home and his fortune. And an
equal amount Of dialogue TO prove
that Craven. by the estimate Of his
friends and relatives. Is too decent a
chap 10 keep up a masquerade than
can cause nothing but distress to
those who love him
/ After snarling the play into such
mess that no auditor could pos
sibly conjecture any logical .solu-
ton, the authors straighten 1t all
out very simply That is, the solu-
| ton is simple for any one who is
merely seeking a way out of a tangle,
but It cannot have been advanced
with any hope of convincing any
1 one with a balanced mind.
Trent is Trent, and Craven is
/ Craven, and they are one and insep-
arabic. forever and ever, amen! Just
like that.
/ You see, when Trent was Trent,
poor cub reporter in Nebraska,
bunch of town toughs whom ne had
exposed set out to murder him. They
stoned him and flung him into a
box car. supposing him to be dead.
He wasn't dead, of course, but when
4 he regained consciousness he be
1 lieved himself 10 be Dick Craven.
Under that name he amassed a for
tune and a wife. Along came a sec
ond disaster, in the form of a rail
road wreck, and on recovering from
his injuries Craven had stepped
back into the personality of Trent.
! Lionel Atwill does some fine act
/ ing in the dual role of Trent and
/ Craven Elsie Mackay is beautiful
and appealing as Mrs. Craven. Au-
brey Beattie, in the role of Craven's
\ father-in-l and Lucia Moore, as
\ his mother-in-law, will please all
those who still find food for merri-
ment in the time-worn "in-law'
Jokes that made Joe Miller famous.
They won't please any one else.
One very ill-judged bit of char
acter work is the part of Hughes,
manager Of Mr.. Craven's tremendous
business interests. This part is
played creditably by Paul Porter,
| but il is a marvel that any actor
should have accepted the authors
conception of a business manager
This fellow Hughes couldn't manage
peanut stand.
! Others in the cast are Ethel VIII
son, Carol Lloyd George Backus,
Richard Taber. Erville Anderson,
Cyril Raymond and Gilda Leary.
! A letter from Malcolm G. Wilson,
who has succeeded Louis Nethersole
as Doris Keane's manager in Lon
don, brings word that at the Lyric
theater she is appearing now in
"Roxane" a play produced here by
David Belasco under the title of
I "Nobody's Widow" with Blanche
Bates in the principal role.
Fresh from a year OF successful
activity in London, Frank Smithson,
the stage director, is back in his ma
/ tive land.
! In the year OF his absence Mr..
Smithson has produced no less than
\ 16 musical pieces. most of them Of
the revue variety, and in associa-
ton with Alfred de Courville.
Among the most successful that de-
manded his attention were Happy
lGo-Lucky," "Hotcn-Potch,' The
Soldier Boy" "Iddle-De-De." and
Here and There"
Mr. SmithsOn reports that condi-
tons in London are much more fav-
orable than they were on his pre-
vious visit There is now plenty OF
food, and the theaters are all filled.
While abroad Mr.. Smithson- took
| occasion TO go twice TO Paris 10
visit his son. Capt. Edward Smithson
who is with the American expedi-
tionary forces. He found that the
Americans were extremely popular
with all F'renchmen, and that the
latter looked TO our boys TO bring the
warto an end; also that they, are
| Frenchmen were not in the least du-