Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-04

u'ullSNN. ISL I nlUfN lOl'INSleu III ElTlN.
and favored Scotch CliQuidly) before
July | We know You, Al.
A LII the world loves a mystery: there
"A is fascination in the solving Of
puzzles. in unCovcring veiled meanings.
in perilous hunts for criminals or buried
treasures. the charm, in great measure.
being in the challenge to match ones
wits and discernment against given
problem. Add to the search after the
unknown the dramatic human element
and you have decided advance in in
terest.
| In fiction and drama the mystery
story has ever been alluring. and the
! detective or secret service agent who
unraves the knotty complications OF
crime and intrigue has his admirers by
| the multitude.
| These are the reasons Three Faces
| East. the stirring mclodrama with
| the spy theme, now at the Garrick, is
| the enthrnIlng entertainment it is. In
! Anthony Paul Kpllys contribution to
numerous war dramas of the last two
years this element is pronounced The
/ author has done we'll. Here is a play
| calculated to whip. and spur the mind
| to action. Mr.. Kelly. who is ono of
| best known writer's of motion picture
scenarios. reveals much of the result Of
| his long training in the field of the film.
| There is dash, suspense and surprise.
the latter two being its chief features
Somewhat like the treatment in The
Thirteenth Chair and THE Blue
Pearl" he places nearly every one of
the principals in the cast under suspi-
cion Of being alternately the hero and
the villain. and you are left to guess
until the final cleanup whether the
leading lady is the heroine or the vii.
lainess. Max Marian, in Cheating
Chcaters, that enjoyable mplodramatic
farce presented here some time ago,
succeeded in fooling us with his two
| bands of thieves ptted. unknowinCIy
several points stronger when he arrays
! the German intelligence department
against the secret service of the Eng
| lish army. There were prodigious pos
! sibilitieS in this situation and it NAV
! be said Mr.. Kelly missed few of them.
/ He almost left out the love interest
which seems essential to most plays,
1t appears for the first time in the
last fifteen minutes of tho action.
Three Faces East" is not likely TO
die of inopportuneness now that the
war is over. Like plays dealing with
certain phases of the Civil War--Wil.
liam Gillette's Secret Service" ." for
instance-it can he revived in time
TO come. Its dramatic quality alone
| will warrant it, to say nothing of its
historical value as revealing the com
plicated espionage problems of the war.
w1NHE best actors on the comedy stage
L today are only bad limitations of
those. who entertained the public years
ago"
Thus spoke Eddie" Fog. one of the
funniest comedians on the vaudeville
stage, and. incidentally. one Of the
oldest. He is fifty nine years old. and
made his debut on the stage when he
was nine years old
And | was too Young" he said.
Nobody. unless he has an exceptional
voice or unusual talent, should venture
before the footlights until he is at
least seventeen or eighteen years old
It's too easy to become blase aud
worldly"
Mr.. Foy was forthwith asked why
present day actors weren't of the same
caliber as those of years ago.
"Why they're not?'' as ne finally got
the question. "Why. because the show
business or today rs too commercial lied
has been for thirty years. Because the
actors nowadays haven't the education
the old ones got | mean the theatrical
education. They haven't got the voice
, control. Look at men like Harrigan
, and Hart. Put these down: J. X.
!. Emmett, George s, Knight-wait q
minute-Lotta Crataree, Joe Murphy,
Billy Emerson-wait a minute-Nat
,, Goodwin and Sol Smith Russell. They
all died millionaires, every one of EN-
And they made it in acting Why? Be,
cause they were geniuses.
"We haven't any like them TODAY
, The present day actor is tradesman
! or he does his work like a mechanic
That's the difference. The old mer
were geniuses, the new ones mechanics
IF YOU show me a rich actor toda,
I'll tell you that he either stole it OF
else he got it in some other business. ;
at which point Eddie Foy gave vent Il
pocket edition of the laugh whicl
made him famous.
THE actors were more Ike brotherI
in the old days sigh escaped. ~