New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-02-09
A Truce Befaueen
Romance and Realism
BY Virginia Tracy

The acquaintance who were wander
ing around the neighborhood with us
looking for congenal movie kept
arguing bitterly as to whether romance
or realism would eventually succeed on
the screen. The wife acquaintance de-
clared that the time had passed for
hairbreadth escapes or million-dollar
pageants, which seemed to be what she
meant by romance, but the husband ac-
quaintance insisted that that time
could never pass, since what people
went to movies for was to forget their
troubles-not to watch farmers feeding
pigs, nor shopgirls trimming Christmas
trees in Harlem fats, this appearing tc
be what he meant by realism. The
battle as to which must soon drive the
other from the screen was interrupted
by the lights of movie sign advertis-
ing a reissue Fannie Ward and Sessue
Hayakawa in "The Cheat"
We gathered in the combatants to
see "The Cheat" because here was, at
least, success. And success of q singu
arly determining kind, we ourselves
having seen it for three years in one
return engagement after another, till
now, in the midst of competing over
night popularities, came the reissue--a
movie Methusaleh still up to date as
the new map of Europe!
Now. to our mind the projections of
1.-The Cheat" are PROJECTIONS which we
should not altogether care to see grow
upon pictures. Doubtless in unin
spired hands the picture form does lend
itself to weak, dreary, tagging, stray
Cling shapelessness, and certainly "The
Cheat" achieves at bound the econ
omy and unity of the play form; but
some of US no more want plays when
we go to see pictures than pictures
when we go to plays. We can't help
seeming danger in this complete
competency Of stagecraft, so compact,
so firm, so balanced, moving so evenly
and yet suspensively toward a climax
which has not a loose thread. every
incident constructive and yet naturally
stressed, each scene developed just to
its full expressiveness, neither more
nor less, and each colloquially phrased
title carrying the story as far as where
the action can pick it up again and no
further, toward a punch which might
very we'll land square in the Jaw of the
Grand Guignol. All plot and punch
and sex warfare and suspense and
nature la Sardou, theatrical as the
display lightning makes of itself on a
summer night, but its foundations laid
by the most naturalistic treatment
while our credence is being caught and
colored by every known tirework onlv
after the Sex interest is well started
The Cheat" is the very model of that
well made play" which the stage has
so recently sloughed off
The heroine is she about whom CEN
tres that naturalistic treatment which
in the beginning snares our credence
for "The Cheat" She is simply ?
mean, lively, pretty, greedy, natural lit.
tie animal; equally familiar to our rec.
ognltion as our neighbours clawing kit.
ten and as the fellow creature whom
we have all got to reckon with. Fol-
whether or not we like to admit that
there is room for such person in vel
made society drama, there she is: con.
ceived with no more extenuation OF
blame, set before US with as little ar
rangement and as entirely on her owr
feet as IL life itself had set her there
incredible that neither the actress mol
the author nor the producers bav,
failed each other, that nobody ba,
played her for sympathy, but SO it isl
however gaudy the incidents of he
story, the Cheat herself shows us he.
shallow little nature in its shabbies
moments-na gging her husband. leav
ing her servants without the wage