The Washington times., 1920-10-04
THE CAST.

In some unexplained manner. most
Of last nights audience expected p
comedy, or at least q comedy-drsms,
In foot Loose" They came to litter
Aad to laugh. They began their tit
terink. with tho excessive poiiteness
OF Prince Malleottt as he badc adieu
to Mrs verney and her grieving sis
ter. They were ready with real
laugh for the arrival OF the Aarauise
de Mohrivart.
For 4 while tho harsh tones, odd
mAnnerisms. aged witticisms OF this
modern gorgon excited the disabilities,
but gradually as the story progress>'
| and the real intent Of the author
came to light, laughter was stined al
| together. As tragedy came ever
nearer the surface. finally to pass
| with only a hairs breadth space
from that shivering, nerveless. spine
| less woman. II was with breathless
suspense that the final curtain de-
| scended.
Comedy? There is no comedy in
| Foot Loose" But there Is the sharp
| clash OF wits possessed by modern
soph tsticated men and women. They
don't exactly call spades spades. but they
| come close to II, II only by the In
tonation OF their voices. The wis
dom is the wisdom descended through
countless generations. The situations
are OF the hair-trigger type. but only
because education Is demanded Tor
the understanding Decentralization
| and acknowledgment OF life az 1t is lived
in a modern world.
| Emily Stevens 10 the notorious Mar,
ouise de Mohrivart, blackmailinG
Alice Verney to lend her an oppor-
tunity to ply her art in Roman so
ciety. Daughter of a drunken Irish
father and an avaricious French
mother. married to dissolute
Frenchman OF decayed gentility. steph-
anie is an old woman centuries old
il judged by experience. But. 30
clever is her art. she easily hood
winks the good Lady Phillis into be-
than she is. .~
Men have gone into the depths for
Stephanic. They have squandered
their millions. They have sold theiI
souls. They have killed for her. One
IBenedetto Franchini, Corslcan
finally killed her husband and means
one day to kill the false siren who
had him beaten from her doors when
he sought for love and sympathy.
But OF tnat swarm OF young hcI
surrounding the beautiful coquettish
Medusa, Sir Horace Welby only has not
lost his head. He found the weakness
in the woman who apparently had
none, and in the end he conquered
her by his knowledge. thus driving
her from Rome and protecting the
woman he loved.
As a woman Of the world worldly
a true pagan. Miss Stevens isiperfect
Her attitude on life is most sophisti-
Gated. Her choice OF words, with
their intonation, Is bitingly brilliant
Her movements, her short bursts OF
leopard-like rage. her almost imme-
diate recovery. are marvellous. Now
| and then the veneer wears off in the
face of some situation, only to appear
again. ..
But in the end. when Sir Horace
exposes her to the possible reward
for her life Of criminality, she be-
comes merely a weak. worn. hope
less and defenseless old woman. HeI
departure from Mrs. Verney's apart.
ment is an artistic triumph. The cur
tains falls in abject silence.
Miss Stevens is ably supported by
Lawrence Grossmith, as Sir Horace
a cool. polished Englishman: Eliza
beth Risdon as Mrs. Nerney. seeming
! ly helpless in the tolls of the schem-
er, and Gordon Johnstone as Barrato
! Of the Roman secret police.
I Foot Loose" is a powerful drama
with new life breathed into an
ancient story. But comedy? Oh. II
life is comic. then "Foot Loose" is
| comic. ...' .s.. no -..