New-York tribune., 1920-03-01

s llle witn ner grandpap Ketchel, whose
favoTite messenger Of affection, both
Tor Judy and her brother Denny, is his
stout old cane. Sharing Judy's life
and graudpap's tastes in caresses is
jim Shuckles. leading spirit in the
"Citizens Of the World" an organiza-
ton of malcontents bent upon over
throwing government by force. Their
hrst attempt comes when Jim throws
a bomb at Governor Kingsland Of tho
state, whom the author has seen At to
bring into Judy's life in another way
as we'll: For Governor Kingsland, at
an earlier date, had betrayed his trust
to Judy's dead father by Ike. ping his
money and sending his wife and daugh-
pens to be the daughter Of Grandpap
kethel, appears in the picture as the
Lady of Roses, title in keeping with
the whole maudlin spirit of the Aim.
Hard upon the attempt of the "Cit-
izens of the World" to kill the Gov
ernor, his son, Peter Kingsland, seeks
to have his father spirited away to an
insane asylum in order to obtain money
to satisfyp his political ambitions. The
third generation Of the Kingsland fam
lly, in the person of Lieutenant Teddy
his dad, succeeds in foiing, with the
help of Judy, all the interlockng plots,
and everything comes out as it does in
melodrama Jim is saved for Olive
ketchel, because he might "make
good daddy; Grandpap Ketchel is mir
aculously cured of his hard-boiled dis
position by regaining his long-lost
daughter; Governor Kingsand gener-
ously surrendcrs the money on which
he has had the interest for so long,
and Teddy Kingsland keeps the money
in the fa.nily after all by fading out in
a clinch with Judy.
We missed Il good deal Of the plot,
no doubt, for we only saw the picture
once. A more economical author would
have made seven or eight novels and
half dozen short stories out of the
plot on this single film, but the author
OF Judy of Rogues' Harbor" was bent
on having plot spree. The story is
as tangled and trivial as five-cent ball
OF worsted after the cat is through
with it.
Again the excellence of the musical
numbers outweighs the mediocrity of
the feature film, for the music is posi-
tlvely good while the feature picture is
only negatively terrible. Rossini has two
numbers on the musical program, the
first, the overture from "LItaliana in
Algeria" meeting with special favor
from the Sunday crowd, as it will meet
with special favor on any day Of the
week that persons with an ear for
melody are in the audience The other
Rossini number, the "Stabat Mater"
afforded an opportunity for solo by
Joseph Alessi, trumpeter, in which
there were dignity and power.
The final number on the program is
as an organ solo by John Priest, and
earlier on the program comes the
perennial "Annic Laurie" sung by
Betty Andrews. The rest Of the bill
at the Rialto consists Of the Rialto
magazine and childish slapstick
comedy.
We feel almost like apologizing for
our little essay into the field of musical
criticism, but so long as feature pic
lures fail to be the features of bills
just so long must a reviewer who has
yearnings to be Pollyanna turn tc
the music in search of anything tc
praise And if the testimony won by
eavesdropping is of any value, there
were a large number of the genus of
the man on the street who were moved
to similar feelings.
1.-THE Sporting Duchess" at the Broad
way Theater this week, is another of
the Drury Lane melodramas to which
this country has grown accustomed
! from frequent repetition. 1t has the
familiar ingredients without which it
seems no play from the London theater
is complcte-a despicable, scheming
villain, in this case, q pseudo ma jor, his
accomplice Of the opposite sex, the pois-
oning of jockeys and other racetrack
trickery. and the inevitable horse race
on which the fortunes and happiness Of
many depend.
Alice Joyce makes charming duchess
and as Muriel, the wife of Douglas,
Duke Of Desborough, she has every op-
portunity to show her versatility or
the screen. She is altogether too sweet
and innocent figure to be made the
victim of The intricate trap which Maj or
Mostyn weaves around her. Even though
he is screen villain, the major, ably
played by G. V. Scyfferttz, is entirely
too Impossible creature to exist either
in life or in melodrama. Nearly every
villain has some slightly redeeming
feature. He is not all bad. But Major
Mostyn overloohs nothing to gain that
which he sets out to reach.
If for nothing else, the Vitagraph
picture is worth seeing simply to find
out how abominably a man can be made
to act. His companion, Mrs. Delmaine,
played by Edith Campbell Walker, is
not far behind him in sinistcrness The
horse race scene, upon the outcome of
which depends Muricl's return to the
husband, we'll played by Percy Mar
mont, who divorced her, is excitingly
tagged.
II one cares for obvious melodrama,
molodrama only slight degree higher
than the old "blood and thunder" vari-
ETY. like Escaped from Sing Sing" and
others cf days gone by, one should not
miss "The Sporting Duchess"
The Powdcr-Putf Follies," the "all-
/ girl" revue, continues, and the rest of
the program includes the al Guarany"
overture played by the orchestra, the
toplcal review, and Christie comedy
called License Applied For"