The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-04-12
Je st AS ltWz
The heayter'.
By III.

AT THE ORPHEUM Douglas Maclean
with his magnetic smile is doing something
called now that it appears on the screen.
When it appeared in the Saturday Even
ing Post Herschel Hall, the author called
1t 'Nanconna Yillies."
1t is a good comedy, with really amusing
situations and a clever little love theme
running thru it. 1t tells how u rich young
blood buys a chicken farm for toy,
goes broke and finds that only his chicken
farm can save him. How he makes good al
1t and at the same time wins a girl fur
nishes dramatic climax that has been
lacking in several of Maceans most recent
films.
The production is true to detail and flaw
less as far as the photography is concerned.
The nightmare scenes especially gOod
ana snow new bit OF the cameraman
AT THE ISIS BLACK Beauty" proves to
be all that its press agents have claimeu
Tor II. While the scenario writer's were
forced to add to the story the horse tells
and aaG, M In lot Of stuff that the horse
anyone who likes a horse will fall for this
picture hard Those who like dramatic
enthusiasts will have the thrill of a lifetime
in the wonderful race Black Beauty stages
at the climax of the picture.
Tho the human actors are exceptionally
good the animal who does the star part
is real animal star How a director
could get horse to express the different
emotions BLACK Beauty" does and at the
exactly right time and place is beyond the
average member Of the great public.
is something entirely out of the ordinary
and will live long in the memory of those
who see it, just the book did. The book
has become one of the classics of American
literature and the screen production will
soon be the same. Too FRAT praise cannot
be given Mr. and Mrs. Chester who wrote
the Scenraio for the excellent bit of adapta-
ton they have produced in this film.
AT THE CRYSTAL THE T. p. Trail"
the production of Zane Grey's famous novel
opened Yesterday telling sweet love story
filled with the .glamor of high adventure
and the rush of breathless action.
large cast of well known artists in
terpret the roles with life and verility
that makes them live and breathe before
the eyes Of the spectator.
This is a $ DRY OF pioneer days and has
about it the great human qualities of love
and supreme sacrifice
AT THE GRAND the Al G. Fields Min
strels demonstrated last night that the
days of true minstrelsy have gone. Fields
himself is dead but his show goes marching
on. but not in the same time and cadence
in the old days when Al appeared on
the stage and had charge Of the produc-
ton personally The minstrel show is
typ,caly American. no other nation has
such a performance and soon America
will have none unless some wise producer
goes back Il decade and does real job of
reriNtnE.
Oh, yes. the show given at the Grand last
night was a good one. 1t should have
been. The house was sold out. 1t opened
like a Broadway revue and continued the
pace all thru the first part with chorus
work and dancing making up the greater
part of the program. Revues were made
from the minstrel idea and now the min
strcls are being made into revues. The
Only way one could tell last night that the
show staged by n minstrel troupe. was
the fact that a dozen of tn participants
were not afraid to put on the burned cork.
The tamborines and the bones ware con-
spicuOus by their absence and the clog
d0nciEg exhibited must have been eX
hihitPl behind the scenes. Who ever
heard of a sailors hOrnpipe in minstrel
show
At THE NOVELTY the gang are given
aEo.he program almost good the
best. We have been getting so much good
vaudeville in the last few weeks that If
ail aver re bill should come along, we will
think it is rotten. Binns and Burt open
with some really clever stuff with trapeZe.
As tumbers they are in class by them
selves. Davis and Chadwick are He'd as
siuEcrs but need little more voice to get
the full rank. It is their y rsonalit.- that
puts the act over.
A= rsual the best act the bill! is at
til" foot. where it is spoiled for the rest
by those who act rs if they had IL train to
ca tch end must make all the noise possible
i'm getting out of the house. Aurora and
Compauy stage some mighty good grand
oOora stuff combined with a dancing pro
Or IN that should hold everyone in his seat
ON the priced third position the Warwick
L"tEh trio present II rube sketch followed
Nv representations. that would he better
if the most of rs had ever seen the people