The New York herald., 1921-09-06

yer Fox by Cosmo Hamilton. freeiy
adapted from a play by Ferencz Herczeg.
Frankie Turner. 80. Miss vivienne Osborne
Edmund Quilter- r-....... lawrence Grossmith
Major Stanley william s faVerenam a.onasr
Capt. Belsrave.. .................-..la Ian keith
1t is rather surprising 70 find Cosno
Hamilton. the author Of Scandal" hav-
ing for a protagonist in "The Silver
Fox" his latest work. such an exponent
Of cast iron. white enameiled purity as
Major Christopher Stanley. But then
the character portrayed by William
Faversham at Maxine Elliotts Theatre
last night was a poet as well as SOL
dier. and poets are allowed eccentricity
even 20 upholding morality in Hamil-
ton comedy.
Like other women OF the modern stage,
the woman Of this play takes her des-
tiny in her own hands in order to gain
the man on whom she has set her heart,
who happens, OF course, not to be her
husband. The man to whom she has
been married Is Edmund Quilter, an
English novelist who writes best sellers
and Is welded to his art far more than
TO his wife. whom he treats with the
casual interest that other men bestow
on books. She Is compared by him to
the silver fox, which, as the programme
is careful to explain, Graves love. flat
terry and undivided attention." but who
gets less OF IL than the women Of whom
he writes.
So she falls In love with their mutual
friend. the soldier-poet, who has been
living with them for three years since
the war. and who looks upon her, so he
ny t.,.x to-. he
apotheosis Of all that Is divinely pure In
woman-which would indicate that his
poems were hardly of the kind that
Hamilton heroines like to read.
Furnishes Grounds for Divorce.
In order to furnish grounds for her
husband to get divorce and at the same
time awaken the spark OF love In the
poet she permits him to take note of the
fact that she is having luncheon with a
scapegrace young flying captain. who is
an ace when 1t comes to women. Thus
she hopes to make the Major realize that
she is a woman with frailties, meant to
be loved as all women with frailties are
in their circle, but her method simply
sends the poet off on a growing tangent,
and 1t takes three acts. with the divorce
finally arranged. to bring him back.
AS the star said in a curtain speech, It
is comedy of five egotists." and there
fore, while largely entertaining, meant
only for the sophisticated.
The arrangement whereby the novelist
actually encourages the friend to stay at
his home and lcok after his wife. while
recognizing the affinity between them.
calls to mind some Of the extraordinary
and naive triangular combinations with
which Kit Mdrlowc used to wind up a
play offhand. Mitigation for this Is to
be found In his acknowledgment that
his marriage to Helen has proven but a
platcnic affair. but he appears to take a
lasting enough interest in her gowns to
make the wearer herself worthy OF some
esteem. A wife Is a wife. even II a good
cigar is SNAKE.
A distinct trace Is discernible here of
the Hungarian original by Franz
Herczeg. from which the piece presented
by Lee Shubert was freely adapted, for
they seem to do these affairs better in
Europe. A novel and piquant turn to
the situation Is given when the hus-
band refuses to show resentment at his
wife's confession of pretended infidelity.
pitying her for her lack of companion
ship, berating his chum for not show
ing more devotion to her. and declaring
that 'she deserved better lover" than
the fiier. Such g. character, while
amusing enough. required to be made
enormously thick skinned, a man who
was born to be married and who
wouldn't mind so much who the wife
was provided he married a second right
after the first.
Acting OF Mr.. Fnversham.
The idea has been embedded in fire.
quently pungent and always dynamic
language so facile that II carries the
auditor along without friction in high
comedy vein even while he is trying to
straighten out the odd kinks of the
theme In his mind.
Mr.. Faversham, who has been swash-
buckling about of late, still seemed more
of the man with sword than the poet.
AS the temperamental man of leisure
and means who was shocked at the
equanimity with which the scandalous
disclosures were received in that house,
hold, he seemed robust rather than
lyric, but he always suggested polished
ease and kept an admirably straight
military back. At times he did little
more than look. but heavens how he
looked.
To Miss Violet Kemble Cooper fell the
part OF the wife, and while she enun-
ciated her lines admirably and handled
her situations with finely controlled
tempo there wasn't enough OF the animal
about her to suggest silver fox. and
she brought breath OF the icebergs on
which II dwells. Lawrence Grossmith
was right at home in the part of the
rather obtuse but generous husband. and
Ian Keith made slight bit as the avia
tor stand out like his we'll slicked hair.
f,da
cattily the part of designing flapper
who angled for the divorced novelist and
turned his tasteful home into a chamber
of horrors.
The team work was excellent In turn
ing this comedy with It's sardonic impli-
cations into an evening that comes near
to tickling as Bernard Shaw does oc-
casionally.