The sun., 1919-07-18
Admirable Company Selected
to Present All Phases Of
MelOdrama.
.The Crimson Alibs' 1t the Bresdhurse
Thnatra

Who killed Cock Robin, which Is the
question that seems to interest the
American playwright just now more than
any other. came UP for consideration
again last night Tho place was the
Broadhurst Theatre. Its manager pre-
scented a play by him from a story writ
ten by octavus Roy Cohen, a magazine
writer. Mr.. Broadhurst's enterprise
was not unpretentious. 1t took pro-
Iosue. four acts and nine scenes to dc
Justice to the inquiry as to the Identity
Of the slayer Of the particular COCK
robin Of the evening. Then there was
long list Of actors employed in the In
vestigation.
The 1919 model Of detective play
as 30 far revealed Is to have one charac-
ter after another step UP to the police
inspector and declare himself or her-
self the guilty party. Just in the de-
gree that tho self-accused Is able TO
champion his claim to guilt. does the
slpposititious structure Of the ofncer
crumble. 1t has happened once this year
that three persons. altogether lnnoceh.
of any evil doing, stood IN row anu
a sse verated that they aloDe-separateiy
Of course--were guilty OF the crime
under Investigation. But last nights
play did not accumulate It's guilty
brethren in this way. The lightning oio
fash on one character In the play ana
then on another. But appearance OF
guilt In such cases was the result ..
condition which prevented full COMES,
sion that would at once have estaolisheo
innocence.
only one girl openly protested that
she did the killing. And she was al
together innocent.
The guilty party will. moreover. never
be revealed in this report The man.
agement has especially requested Una,
the secret be kept lest the pleasure oil
| future audiences be impaired. Nothihs
was said, however. as to the mysterious
prologue. which, solemn as II was
aroused in the spectators the mos
| unrestrained hilarity. In the darkness
| a bloody hand was seen clutching sli
yer dagger Then in the faint ligh' o.
| the other side of the apartment th'
| dagger was plunged into a pestiferoui
but influential millionaire. VINO ownet
| the hand?
The amateur detective who UNDERTOOK
the case knew that an old man robbed
by the millionaire had not committed TN
crime, although he had gone to the nous
| with that intent and arrived TOO late
The drunken son thought II might be he
bu. was no more positive than the detec
| tive Was Il the butler. who turned ou
\ to be a former convict convicted OF forg
cry by this same detective? Again tn
Scotch verdict OF not proven. Was !
another ex-convtct Just escaped iron
prison and sent there by the millionaire
false charger To discover this man
completely, the play suddenly burgeone'
forth into a scenic meiodrama with
hotel shooting up three stories into tn
roof of the theatre. Thus was tn
search continued for the owner of tina
red hand which had made the audienc
laugh at half past eight
Mr.. Broadhurst has written som
scenes that are absorbing and other
that seem to travel too remote fror
the murder to claim any interest tina
may result from It The structure q
the piece is old fashioned and not al
| ways expertly so thus long recita
that occupied nearly half the first &C
came from ono OF the victims OF tn
murdered man who was never seen O
heard Of AGAIN. Mr.. Broadhurst wen
far back into melodrama when I've sup
piled the old housekeepe- with Il cate
| phrase, IT know nothing Of the matter.
which might have come down from II
earliest of the Victorian playwrights
But the play Is until the end OF tn
second act interesting in nearly ever
scene.
Mr.. Broadhurst has selected an ad