Evening journal., 1918-02-27

Monsieur stood up. Madame stood up.
Whereupon, the French lady and gen
tleiran, politely but firmly. inserted
monsieur into the front seat by the
side OF madame, while they happily
TOOK the two rear seats, and the audi
cnce hooted, then the heaven-sent
lights were turned on, and our pleasant
companions, very nice poilu and his
girl explained, IN most satisfactory
panlomime, that they wished TO ST
side by side so they might hold hands
ana that we, now sitting also side by
side might have the same privileged
The Wild thought flashed across mon
sleurs mind that, since he and madame
were the late comers, they would feel
u THEIR duty, and pleasure, TO take the
rear seats. but any attempt at another
shift would have brought on a riot
from the surrounding sufferers, so it
was allowed TO go at that, with every
body contented.
All, those movies.
The first treat to unreel before our
astonished eyes was a Comedle-Comiuu
Americana.
Two Of our best known and Justly
Infamous acrobatic screen. comedians
lndulged In mad knock-about, which
had no head or tail as TO plot or even
incident, which left the intellect stupl-
He'd and the rea, on insulted.
The four of us. when the lights went
mp and we could see TO talk. expressed
our unanimous condemnation OF that
picture; we protesting that IL was not
representatively American, and thew
protesting that they believed II. al
though we could see. from a certain
glisten In the poilu's eyes, that he
thought he had it on us"
An, but waitl The next picture was
a French one. where We knew imme-
diately the heroine's appalling virtue by
the fact that she was totally uninter-
esting, and that all the dranatics would
go to the wicked young woman In the
beautiful gowns. who. IN her death bed |
repentance, would be ever 70 much |
more sympathetic than anybody who |
had ever been good.
For five long reels that inane uierry-
9o-round Of temptation and fan and re-
pentance and temptation and fau and
repentance dragged its weary yvev
with nine sobbing points TO the reel;
but, before It was over our ewes hav-
ing become used 70 the gloom. we
turned iriumphsnty. and saw IN our
noilu's shifting gaze. that we had Il
on himw
We are happy to be able TO report TO
the anxiously waiting American public
that the movies In France are lust as
chastity as they average az home; al
though, like at home. they are not all
bad
But the music II was q treat 70 such
starved souls as ours.
lt was good music, and they weren't
stingy with 70: they see-sawed rieht
along, and shifted the well known
classical and popular bits instantane-
ously TO flt the varying phases OF the
picture, even playing "The Death Of
Asa" for the nnal scene Of the repen-
tant young woman, when, thank heav-
ems. she dies at last
The movies have their place. n you
never thought 10 before, You would n |
Won could look at The faces Of those /
noilus as they 1led out, humming |
There were lots of them. come TO enjoy
the music and the movies, and the
darkness and the hand-hodlngi
We found ourselves hummine, too.
fragments Of long-forgotten airs as we
swung along the boulevard and our
footsteps were lighter and our hearts
were lighter. and for a little time we
forgot that there was a war, as did the
poilus on leave.
More music. we must have more
muslci
What should It be; heavy opera. well
lerweght or featherveisht. which last
Is better known as musical comedy?
Guess. and youll guess rightly if you
can put yourself In the position Of
those who have sometimes liked mu-
sic with their meals. A kind French
gentleman, who runs a theatre ticket
agency, told rs about a revue which
had O Broadway chorus, and we shall
Ike him alwaysi
The show was all right. But listen
AT the close Of the FIRST act. they in
troduced a regular. genuine. imported
Jazz band, known here as a "sherbo"l
We sometimes used to sniff little at
that music back home; we used some
times TO think IL was low, and common,
and all that; but goodness graclousl Il
was like a sight Of the statue OF Liber-
ty, and the tall buildings along the
and the Broadway trenches,