The Washington herald., 1918-06-25
Last Night at TheaterS

when he created the then purely
imaginative submarine In Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea-
His sole purpose was entertain
ment."
Such a purpose, We concede. is
a worthy. one. and we would like
to hear further from the authors
as to their claims for their inven-
tion''-whether they claim" 1t to
be a regular play, or a movie-play.
or a play-movfe, or a cunning bur
desque on the movies" in all the
glory of their mock heroics and
their naivete. In attempting q
classification ourselves. we are, as
Bonnie Allison would say. NON
plussed." - We. firmly believe that
the authors have achieved their
purpose Of entertainment. but we
don't whether Il was orthodox in
US to laugh at II q movie take
on. or heterodox in US to approve
of certain portions Of it as strik-
ingly ingenious meiodrnma.
At 11:3o o'clock last night, as the
final curtain fell. we were convinc-
ed that the FIRST thesis was the cor
rect one. Surely that 'cut-back
CdpllOu that doOEuCo SiuC VI
the proscenium areh-explaining a
celtain elemental phase OF movie
technfc-surely this could not be
serious play! And that remarkable
first act set Of scenery. resembling
SO faithfully the conventional movie
drawing room, with erie lighting
effects that strangely suggested the
L. a-k.,
,ly this could be nothing less than
sophisticated realism in burlesque.
And the plot Of the piece, q model
of continuity writing that is worthy
the attention of our most eminent
scenarioists-indisputably this hu-
ent, plastic meiodrama could not
have been inspired by nothing less
than the rarehed intellectual at
mosphere of Los Angeles! T. &C.
But at 11:t6 o'clock We began to
have our doubts, and they expanded
uncomfortably as We pounched upon
tude Of our convictions on this point.
We are half.convinced- that in "The
Unknown Purple" Is the raw material
for q good melodrama, now needing
the services Of a skillful stage man
ager-and other things. tits story
that il brayely and unabashedly told.
narrative that reaches its peak
load Of entertainment in its sheer
novelty. its Arabian Nights style OF
adventure. The hero Of the play
is the violet ray, lending invisibihty
to the human form. The, theme is
cleveriy handled. The current of in-
terest is always sharp and swift.
Have YOU ever seen Richard Ben
nett looking like KyTle Bellew, or at
least suggesting him? II not, you
should see him in his new role of
The Stranger, alias the Philanthropist.
alias the .Avenger. You would hardly
call him in his element, but he gives
an effective performance. Miss Helen
McKelfsr as q grasping, heartless,
depraved wife, was in all respects
adequate and satisfying. De Witt c.
Jennings. Gerda Holmes and Marietta
Craig were excellent in their roles.
The authors Of the piece are Roland
West and Carlyle Moore. and they
have told a story that undoubtedly
constitutes good melodrama and good
fun, not to mention the fact that
1t drives home the fact that wives
who betray their husbands generally
live to rue the betrayal-especially
when the betrayed have at their beck
and call such a wonderful instrument
of vengeance as the violet ray. Old
Man Nemesis himself could ask for
nothing better than that. -.