New-York tribune., 1918-02-17
"Man the starboard battery!"


clear. In twinkling the jackies were
at their stations on the gundeck of
the American cruiser that presmpted
the forefront OF the Park Theatre
stage.
Against an angry sky sped the rack
and scud Of the driving storm, but the
enshrouding gloom was Of no avail tc
the skulking U-boat. The keen-eyeL
range finders in the fighting tops des-
cried the periscopo amid the smother
Of foam. Then the starboard battery
spoke. The incessant rattle of a
rapid-frer was punctuated by the deep
booming Of an eight-inch gun. In less
than five minutes direct hit was
scored. With a spout Of flame the in
sidious serpent Of the deep blew up
and relapsed into the well-known lock-
er Of Davy Jones.
In the next scene the same incident
is depicted from the opposite direction.
A property ship stands in the offing,
dropping shells uncomfortably close to
the bald-headed row, but the object of
its attentions is obviously the subma-
rine down in one. Here also are two
girls, bobbing in the water, one OF
them, a heroic Britisher, magnanimous-
ly assisting the German spy whom she
has pursued in a race to the U-boat.
The mechanical devices necessary to
these scenes required a good deal of
ingenuity and careful search for real
istic detail. The sky and sea are
shown by means Of motion pictures
that were taken in midocean from the
lower deck of the steamship Lapland
The superstructure Of the ship is
faithful delineation of a cruiser. The
heavy gun is an exact replica in wood
and steel Of the naval weapon, and the
rapid-firer is the real thing. The chief
gunner's mate and petty officers arc
regular navy men, and the commands
are in accordance with the regulations.
Although the eight-inch gun is actu~
ally prop, there is no reason why a
lay audience should take the troubl.
nit granted by the Bureau of Combusti-
bles, the charge placed III the muzzle
affords both flash and detonation suf-
ficient, to say nothing of smoke that
has the very tang Of battle in the nos
trils. AS a precaution against the
possibility Of the gun getting groggy
and making a fuke, q man stands ready
to swing a heavy sledge on a sounding
board. The rapid-iirer, albeit not of
the latest pattern, would be right
bower in a South American revolution
"Seven Days Leave" for number
of reasons, appeals to number OF
classes. The other evening a hundred
and sixty automobiles brought fashion
able patrons. Army and navy officers.
soldiers and sailors attend in large
numbers and come again. And tho
second balcony has been selling out
regularly, a thing unheard Of since
motion pictures cut into the theatrical
business. Other companies are giving
the show in England, Canada and Aus
u oiias dtus III AdCtS hlA lIOHuoli, WHERE
the play opened at Sir Henry Irving's
Lyceum Theatre a little over a year
ago, the receipts lately have ranged
around $4,000 and $4,000 week.
1t looks as if melodrama had a
chance to come into its own again
through the temptation offered pro-
ducers to emulate the success of
"Seven Days Leave" Walter Howard,
the author, besides relying on the ele-
mental appeal of melodrama, shrewdly
recognized the possibilities of response
to patriotic chord. He took the war
as theme and made the play instinct
with pro-Ally propaganda.
One Of the foremost authorities on
the subject Of melodrama is Robert
Campbell, the general manager Of the
"Seven Days Leave" companies now
playing in North America. He is the
son of the late BARLEY Campbell, who
might fttingly be called the father of
American melodrama. In an interview
the other day he gave a retrospect Of
VIZ SuOJeCC iIOul IIlo tlIuc Oh D1On
Boucicault, the English dramatist
whose play, "The Octoroon," was given
here shortly after the first theatrical
representation OF ''Unclc Toms Cabin"
Another landmark in early melodranias
was Augustin Daly's production of his
own play, Under the Gaslight," about
1867. A new sensational effect in this
play was the showing of locomotive.
This was the first scene of its kind
ever presented on the New York stare.
Boucicault's "The Streets of New
York" was another melodrama Of thi;
period.
Another me1odrama of Boucicault's
had an unprecedented success. This
was "The Shaughraun," which was pro
duced in New York in 1878 at Wal
lacks Theatre, then at Broadway and
Thirteenth Street. II ran for more
than two hundred nights, and is said
to have played to more money than
any other play that had been acted
mere for the same number of per-
formances at similar scale of prices.
Mr.. Boucicault acted in "The Shau-
ghraun" himself. Other successes OF
this day were "Thc Lights of London"
by George Il. Sims, and "The Silver