New-York tribune., 1921-11-28
On the Screen
By Elarriette Undcrhill

The theme of "The Lotus Eater"
seems to be taken from fable which
runs thus: Once upon time there
was man who took his irfant son and
fled into the wilderness because his
wife had deceived him., He became
what is known as hermit and he
reared his son as hermit jr.l When
Junior was fourteen years old he took
him one day to nearby town for pro-
visions. On the road they met an old
apple woman. what strange being is
that?" quoth the hermit jr. "That,
my son." replied the father, as a
goose" "Oh, father, beseech thee; l
do not need coat or hat, but buy me
goose"
At the Capitol is Albert Payson
Terhune's story OF "The Lotus Eater"
built along the same lines. with John
Barrymore playing both the elder and
the younger hermit. In the first part
of the picture Mr.. Barrymore is seen
as jacques Lenoi, "a man blest with a
fortune but curst with i'll health" He
returns to his home Unexpectedly, to
find his young wic in the arms of
another, whereupon he seizes his year
old son and returns to his yacht. After
that he is like man without coun-
try, never setting foot on land, and
when he dies he makes young jacques
promise not to leave the yacht until
he is twenty-five years old. The boy
fifth birthday he visits his guardian in
New York and sees Madgc Vance. All
is forgotten, save the goose" and he
| never leaves her side until she agrees
to marry him.
No one else would dare to play the
part of jacques as John Barrymore
plays it, and it would not be wise for
any one else to attempt it. He begins
by leaving tempestuous scene with
shouting and waving of arms when he
discovers the infdelity of his wife.
jacques jr. inherits his fathers tenn
permanent, and in portraying this young
man Mr.. Barrymore does everything
that an actor is told he should not do
on the screen. The story ranges from
melodrama to farce, but Mr.. Barrymo ore
manages to give the whole thing a
touch of travesty that is bewildering at
times. 1t is simply John Barrymore
showing you what a good actor he is,
with the we'll known Barrymore charm
always to the front. If you love John
Barrymore it isn't because he cares for
you or for your opinion. for he doesn't
give darn about either. That is ap-
parent in all of his work. He never
seems to be trying to please any one
save himself. SO he is charming be-
cause he is different, for he is about as
much like the usual leading man as a
Nude Descending the Stairs" is like a
lady without any clothes walking down
stairs. His makeup is always a mar
vel, and he can undoubtedly do more
with one set of features than anv man
| ever have seen. At forty-tive he is a
oroken-down old man; as the son at
twenty he is gloriously beautiful
youth with profile that you do, not
OFTEN find off cameo; he knows moth
ing OF the world, and at thirty he is a
lotus eater who is finished with the
world. The second half of the picture
IS broad farce. after jacques is lost in a
dirigiblc and swims to a South Sea
island
When Mavis. the queen of the col
ony, bakes him some cakes and tells
nm they are her first he takes bite
and then surreptitiously empties his
mouth and tries his teeth to see if they
are still intact. When she is gone he
reeds the cake to some baby ducks and
presently Wesley Barry rushes in and
says: You've killed my ducks; they
of the cakes to the boy, saying. But
promise me you won't go swimming.''
When one of the members gets glo-
riously drunk he says: He has found
out that his mother-inlaw was saved in
the. wreck, also" And in the end the
author has finished the job of finding
the square of the triangle
The man sitting next to me said ::
Isn't it a funny picture?" and the
girl said, "Yes, but don't you love Jack
Barrymore 2"
Marshall Neilan, another man with a
whimsical touch, directed the picture,
and you may be sure that none of the
humor was lost Colleen Moore is
Mavis, the girl who baked the cakes.
The faithless wife is Anna |. Nilsson.
Wesley Barry has a small part, which
he plays we'll; j. Barney Sherry is one
corner Of the triangle. The story
proves that New York is no place for a