The sun., 1919-10-20
RAY IS REAL SAFE
CRACKER IN RIVOLI
Thrills and Quaint Humor in
His Film Story of a Re-
formed Crook.
CLEVER RIALTO COMEDY
Lawrence Grossmith Does the
Acting and P. G. Wade
house Wrote 1t.

Charles Ray in Crooked Straight" In
the Rivoli this week. has apparently de-
cided to be a real safe cracker and live
up to his film reputation. let the green
backs fall where they may. This cellu-
loid story shows the influence Of Alias
Jimmy Valentine" Ray, playing Bea
Trinble, a reformed crook living in
country town, Is forced from the best
of motives to open the safe Of his sweet
hearts father, even though he risks dis
covery by the heroine in hec nightie.
While Trimble is footing the iron box
another burglar enters the house In
order to save the heroine from him
Trimble has to do an unusual movie
stunt-nothing less than leap up the
balusters, seize the second intruders
gun and grapple with him as he hangs
over the head of the rail, while the d.
rector prays that the stage carpenter
did his work solidly. The maraudcr fires
point blank at TrImble, the shot grazing
and stunning him, and the young man
does a fall down the length OF the
stairs that nearly stands him and his
audience on their respective heads. 1t Is
record tumble, and gives evidence that
Ray approaches John Barrymore's rec
ord as n stage Hopper.
His sweetheart shields Trimble be-
cause he has scared the other robber
on, and 1t turns out that TTtmble has
looted the safe with the high minded
motive of keeping the money out Of the
others clutches. The latter Is Chick
Larrabee, a confidence man who has
stolen $1,000 from Trimble in the city
and driven him to starvation. fate
from which the country lad was rescued
by one OF those dear good safe crackers
who are such darlings in the movies
they nearly make one cry.
Quaint Comic Touch.
After tutoring Trimble in burglary.
his benefactor, MORALLY wounded while
| cracking a crib. sends the youth back
to the country to look after his chill
| dren. and there, after the Jimmy Vdlen-
tine affair, everything Is Strengthened
out SO as to make way for the comic
two reeler. Julien Josephson, who has
written most of Rays screen vehicles
lately, has concentrated on swiftly run
ming thrills, with less of the barnyard
humor than usual. What comedy scenes
occur are played with his usual quaint
| touch by Ray. who shows also that he
has not forgotten how to burst into
drama on occasion. Msrgery Wilson Is
charming as the girl who loves him.
even II he is poor but dishonest.
In addition to interesting color pic
lures of THE Last of the Seminoles,"
| violin and vocal solos and the giving
| by the orchestra of LISTS Les Pre-
ludes." there Is a Sunshine comedy. "a
| Yellow Dog Catcher" showing dogs and
human being in various stages OF Wild
ness.
At MOSES Broadway the screen YER
sion of CASTOR Leroux's The Mystery
| of the Yellow Room" enters upon a
three weeks run. II Is one of those
| detective thrillers in which the French
delight when not with war on their
hands. Emil Chautard, the director.
| has very skllfully built UP the melo-
drama around the room. apparently
without means of exit. from which a
criminal escapes after shooting a girl
into a delirium. Untold compliments
are due the director for the way in
which he has a reporter solve the riddle,
except That, for the final touch, he
rhould have had the newspaper man pre-
senting his expense accounts for cover
! ing the story. Ethel Grey Terry does
effective work as the girl. and Edmund
Elton is wise enough for any journalist.
Clever ReRlto Comedy.
Enid Benefits feature picture What
Every Woman Learns" is overshadowed
at the Rialto by comedy Making Good
With Mother" in which Lawrence Gros-
| smith makes his screen bow. Grossmith
| is very funny as a young sutton, forced
| through an innocent mistake to hide
under a girls bed and avoid a compro-
missing situation and who calmly plays
| solitaire while in John Cumberland
native province. The mother Of his
sweetheart, who dislikes him. has giver
him vague directions about reaching
| his room at house party, SO of COURSE
he gets into a young womans boudoir
but manages to retain his respectability
if not his trousers p. G. Wodehouse
who wrote the story. evidently designed
the captions too. for they are almost toe
amusing for the movies.
Miss Benefits picture deals with &
girl who takes everything as joke, anC
therefore marries very humorous
young man, who promptly turns out Il
be a brute-a theme which may be re
garded as lesson to girls to put no
their trust In the village wags Colo
pictures and the customary musica
numbers I'LL up the larder.
At the Strand ID. w. Grifflth's mas
terly picture. Broken blossoms" come.
back to Broadway with its appealing
presentation of the love of the chival
rous young Chinese for the fiowerlik
London waif. whose cruel father con
siders her too good for an Oriental. blu
not too good for his whip. An acte,
prologue is presented with It. The res
of the programme is worth more than
passing tear.