Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-02-15
"CALL THE DOCTOR"
FOOLISH BUT FUNNY
FIuctuating and Futile, Well
Cast Piece, Shows Belasco
Mastery Of Direction

Garrick-Nery apparently Jean Archi-
bald, playwright of Call the Doctor"
called the play doctor. In this case"
he happened to be a specialist-none
other than David Belasco, no less. and
from the way n somewhat thinly plotted
and naively constructed piece went"
with big audience even NE could do no
more for It.
Mr.. Belasco's capacity for taking pains
in staging a play and his ability TO put
motion into somewhat static situations
and the breath of life into dialogue not
In Itself novel or brilliant, to the ulti-
mate efTect that sophisticated playgoers
Will think they are having a fine time
considering-are responsible for theat-
riCal attraction that is contagiously
funny. II is an entertainment that
really entertains. But one would wish
to be a comedy in three acts"
II is in three acts, but 1t f,uctuates
between farce and comedy, with the
priority and preponderance OF emphasis
on farce. AZ comedy II is a bit foolish :
as farce it Is bit futile. II doesn't fol-
low the rules of either game. It Is an
entertainment--in three acts
Tho doctor who Is called-not the pre-
liminary play doctor---is a new sort OF
professional woman. She has a self
awarded degree as q doctor OF domestic
difficulties, Sometimes she is merely a
prescribing physician, sometimes she has
to act with surgical kindness and hurt
her patients. But she succeeds in keep
ing homes happy, particularly after the
romance Of honeymooning has ceased to
be glamourous. Her adrott methods and
resourceful knowledge of male psychol-
ogy bring q philandering husband with
a country mouse Of a wife to his senses,
restore long-wedded wife to content
ment with the monotony OF her spouse's
ways, send a temperamental ramp-
alone-tu Europe, reconcile an artist
(F.) to her continental minded lover and
incidentally win a husband for herself.
All a good-and entertaining-evening 8
work
Miss Archibald had the material and
the serminal idea for a genuine comedy
whole, TO adapt her characters TO her
invented situations rather than to have
the situations conditioned by the char
acters At that the characters, although
types have many touches of individ-
uality The author Is somewhat sketchy
and loose-ended in her devising and de-
velopment OF plot material, but skill Is
shown in pointing climates and curtains.
Some passages are not organic to the
plot, such as the Isolated episode Of the
telephoning maid. with It's repetition, but
serve their purpose of drawing laughs.
The dialogue IL of the sprightly variety.
smart In tone and constantly epigram.
matic-coruscatng Is the word some-
times used TO describe this
The production gains by its finely Sc
lective casting Janet Beecher, the doc
tor" centralizeS attention by the ease,
good humor and fnesse OF her acting.
II there must be a "dea cx machina" In
a farce, by all means let II be such a
combination Of Venus and Minerva Bs
Miss BecCher. AS the cardiac specialist
she wins hearts as we'll as cures them.
Charlotte Walker Is the drably clad sub
urban mouse, who becomes quite as
gayly garbed, skittsh and even SHIN
nying town mouse and by new methods.
such as doing the opposite OF what the
brute" expects, reclaims him from the
grip of the temperamental singer The
singer Is played with n bit Of proper
hardness by Jane Houston, and Fania
Marinoff shows good deal OF shoulder rS
and abandon as the other temperamental
person. the artist Mrs. Tom Wise is
70 the life a gadding vine OF a suburban
wife, whose orange blossoms had faded
a quarter of a century or SO before. but
who still loves her monotonous husband.
Philip Merivale al the lawyer who wins
the doctor" and william Morris as the
husband restored TO realization Of his
wtfe's essential charms are excellent as
the foils they are intended 10 be-
Divorce court lawyers may not care
much for this doctor" and her prescrip-
tons, but persons in quest Of light en-
tcrtainmeat will