The Washington times., 1919-03-31
THE CAST


Hiototrs. x 49,. ''..'.. .AmeIe Ehrleon
/ Berthe. ......- ........ .Therese IoEepAs
AHESlS .-.'.....:'- ;yolls Barnard
The Sergeant Major ,,osoFse sydes han
Maggie Mrs. Bill Busbyl. .PeGEy PaYteT
And large EuPpOTtiPa cast.
James K. .-Haekstt did a comeback
such as has rarely been eauaIlsd on
the stage whom he opened a weeks
run in THE Better ole" at the Ma
tional last night. Other actors have
played Old Bill, that delightful char
scter made famous BY Captain
BaiFnsfatheT's war cartoons, and
played II we'll; but Haekett never
played the part at alI--hs was Old
Bill himself. ana an Old Bill WhS
kept his audience In constant tur,
nroil; Of emotious, nov. roaring over
HIS rich shumor, now close TO tears
from his rude Aathus; = - s...
There ts a supporting epWpRRy.; Of
course. a very large one aud very
good. but. In All fairness. itg members
cannot be said to ke mere than
props" for Old Bill. Hefth the single.
exception of Harry McNauEhton. as
Bert, who has the spotlight pTactl-
cally every WeHeat that Old Bill is
1.-The Better ole" can hardly be
called a play--ln fact, tie billed a.
"a fragment from PFsnce, In two -ex-
ploEioRs, seven splintsTS, and q short
gas attAck''-and its incidental music
doesn't entltle II to opeEatic pFeten-
sionS. It's just . wonderful vehicle
for a wonderfully rejuvenatsd actor
in the shape Of chunks of ,|atmos-
phere" brought oyer. direct from the
trenches in France.
As to the story. there's Just enough
of II to make the atmosphere. stick
and anybody knows that atmosphere
will stick to almost anything. Which.
however, 10 by no means a disgdVan-
taEe, as It's so unique q production
that one would be kept seRtJfely too
busy II :onH had to. keep mp with it
and plot at-the same time
The irSt explosion and three spIint-
ers are all just behind the front, one
scene being in 2 dance haH, another
in front Of cafe, and the other in
| billets. During these Old Bill gains
| possession Of a pRueg Outlining a
Ger nan plot to wipe Gus two French
battalions,s retaining possession of II
while he sells a fake paper to a spy
for 1000 francs. He aud his two pals,
/ Bert and All, decide to lrugtrate the
| plot by blowing up . bridge. And,
while this is all going on, Bert Is
making love. to everything in petti-
coats that comes into view.
The second explosion finds the thFee
musketseFg at the front Bill goes
out and blpYs UP the bridge aBd gets
back but the sergeant mR5oF, dnding
] incEimtHating papers on bin and the
1000 francs, decides he's SPY and
arrests him.
/ While Old Bill Is "on tha mat" be-
fore the colonel, French officer
: enters and explains that he's a hero
instead Of a traitor and decoEates
him. AS a further reward, the three
musketeeTs are granted leave to-
| gethsr and visit BiIPs home, where
| he finds that his wife has ACHIEVED
for him his greatest ambitIon-he Is
the. proprietor OF a country pub
/ The Better ole"
During these closing splipters- and
the final gas attack Bert Is stilI max
| Ing love to every girl he meets, but
in the last scene he goes to the we'll
once too often and passes cut a ring
instead Of one of the customary iden-
tthcation tags that he had been dis
| tributing in France
| Songs and dances are frequently in
terpoiated, all the melodies being OF
the ultra simple variety that appeal
| to the British Tommy.