Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-27
AUDIENCE SITS ON EDGE
OF CHAIRS AT THE Bat
Mystery Play Grips Them and
Keeps Them in Suspense
Until Very End

| Adelphi. the hand with O
blood stain on it shot suddenly through
the hole in the French window of the
drawing room in the second act Of
The Bat last night. hysterical gasps
were drawn from all parts of the large
audience.
1t was sophisticated audience, too
the kind which had seen "The Thir-
teenth Chair" and countless other plays
of the mystery" and Crook" variety.
1t was looking for thrills and 1t in =
tended to ferret out the mystery.
And yet that audicnce-except for n
scant few-was completely taken in by
Mary Roberts Rinehart's cunning.
To fool verv sophisticated audience
at the present stage of mystery play
development, It would seem to be best
to have the most likely, most suspected
character the guilty party instead of
the least suspicious. Yet Mrs. Rine-
hart and Mr.. Hopwood added another
knot to the tangle by leading the So
phisticated on the trail Of the. least
plausible character, then suddenly
bringing that trail to an end and lead
ing suspicion elsewhere, and finally
pouncing on the same person and fast
ening on him the stigma Of guilt.
1t worked admirably. The sophisti-
variety of theatregoers were gasping
for air from the beginning. All in all,
1t was poor night for amateur detec-
tives, even regular first -nighters.'
But, candidly, the authors of THE
Bat" have accomplished along their
own lines play that Is close to per-
feCtion. 1t may not be elevat-
ing, or even true to life, and it GER
tainly doesn't preach q moral (unless
1t be that hidden rooms are bad
thing to have in country houses) but it
does hold the interest with never let
down from beginning to end.
"The Bat" piles mystery on mystery,
thrill on thrill, suspicion on suspicion,
then springs the binding surprise de-
nouement, and drops the curtain ION a
laugh, praise heaven) without any long
explanations of just why such and such
n doorknob moved or who was on the
terrace at 10 80 o'clock, or whether the
doctor knew more of the murder than he
pretended, and so forth. There may
have been loose ends dangling: but no
body cared about that. Everybody
stumbled out. applauding the wit and
skill of the authors and 'cussing' them
selves out because they hadn't guessed
who killed Dick Fleming.
prompted Wagenals and Kemper, the
producers, to ask the audience, in
circular, to keep the solution a secret.
1t would be criminal to tell that solu-
tion to any one who intended seeing
THE Bat" For if you do see 1t, don't
go with highbrow restrictions on your
ability to be entertained. Go to guess |
who committed the midnight murder,
who the ghostly. terrible "bat" was.
You'll forget that all the old gags, |
thunder and lightning. hidden rooms,
,omic servants, bulldozing detectives,
screams in the night, moving spotlghts
on the window curtains-oh. all Of
them-are being used. You'll only
know you're seeing n bully good mys-
terry show that sets new model for its
kind.
Helen Dauvray In the role of typi-
ral Rinehart old maid was more than
fair to -middling. She was superb, and,
It must be confessed, more than once
showed up weaknesses in the others by
ler unshaken ability to put her part
across. Jessie Ralph had the fiat" part
If the comic maid. 1t does not detract
rom her work to say that the audience
vas willing to laugh Mt the oldest joke
n loo Miller'S book