Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-18

"Theodora" is sardou's famous dr
italian company.
"The Ruling Passion marks Ge
hedged comedian after the sober serious
stTHE generally capable Hobart Henley
directed Miss Hampton in "StaI
v96ed BY Anthony Paul Kelly, that In.
HeetinG screen writer, who produced a
vombshell In stage circles by writing
Three Faces East" and then never
I could repeat.
''Star Dust" tells OF lilly Becker. a
country girl. whose taste for music and
deeire to sing are laughed to scorn by
her matter of. fact
Z Nope Hampton relations. Quite ma.
- Singer turally, she decides
n FILM to prove to them
sf how wrong they
are, and BY her successful operate
career, accomplishes her aim. N
course, there is the requisite love in.
terest.
In this connection. the presence OF
James Rennie, husband Of Dorothy
C;ish, and wellknown on the stage for
his performances in Spanish Love"
and .'Pot Luck, Is particularly in.
teresting. Noel Tcarlc. the man that
played the role Of the hypocriticnl
brother in "Ovcr the HILL and finally
( got his just deserts by being dragged
. through the street by the ''blacksheep'
Of the family, is also in the cast, as Is
Viva Ogden, who you probably rcmem-
Der as the old ''tabby gossip in Way
Down East and Charles Wellesley.
an old Vitagraph favorite. who was
seen on the legitimate stage here this
war with Etba1 To ''Dp.
classec.'
Miss Hampton will appear in person
4, every afternoon and evening. and will
also manage to make a flying trip out
to the Nixon Theatre on Fifty second
street Thursday night.
LIVERY now and then the stage and
~ screen gods take little holidays and
Lovers Of the spoken drama remember
John and Ethel Barrymore in "A Slice
Of Life" John only recently went on a
6lm picnic in ''The Lotus Eater and
now George Arliss is going TO show the
screen fans that he isn't at all 80 fierce
or so dEnified as The. Devil and
"Disraeli'' might make him out.
The comedy that flashed in the Par.
ker drama rules his Ruling Passion.
which. despite its name, has nothing to
DO with sex. psychology or mental com
plexes. 1t Is taken from a magazine
story called idle Hands" and presents
man" who has to retire by the orders
Of bis physician. and who Is SO restless
without work that an odd chance makes
him form q partnership with youth
just starting in business. They acquire
q garage. find they have been swindlcd
and proceed to make it success, any
how. In the process Arliss dons over
alls and doles out gasoline In his own
garage.
Arliss has flashed the comedy side
often enough OH the stage. He appeared
here only few years ago in The
Mollusc" and his portrayal Of the Eng
York Idea" was basically that Of the
Laugh. provoking English ASS type.
The screen has wonderful acquisi
voutly to be hoped that he gives to the
siltered sheet long repertoise. of
worth. while things. The same should 40
for Otis Skinner, whose type OF play
end part on the spoken stage is gener.
ally ideally suited TO picturizations.
These actors have played so many pic.
turesque, flushing. unusual roles that
they, far above the average. should
pefpetuate those characterizations in
celluloid.
DARTS that Sarah Bcrnhardt has
i once played are almost as hume rous
- the sands of the desert, and one OF
them will be played by Rita Jolivet, the
noted continental actress, who Is re-
membered chiefly by Americans as the
one who heard Charles Frohman's last
words when the Iusitania was sunk.
The play is "Theodora. Victorien
Uardou's famous drama. detailing the
love story Of the wife of the Emperor
Justiniap, ruler OF
Sardou Play the Roman Empire
THEODORE in the sixth CEN
an Screen fury. The heroine
Is the daughters OF
q lion tanner in the circus at Byzantium,
who meets and falls in love with the
heir to the throne Of the Caesars. After
she becomes Empress. her affections arc
diverted to q young Greek. Andrcas,
and it is of this love affair that the
drama and picture tell.
An Italian company made '1Theo-
dora" and $1,000 persons were en-
ployed to fill the enormous sets. 1t il
4 direct descendant of those famous
italian spectaces. Quo Vadis,' u
"Caesar" and "Cabiria." Another
version of the second named Is. by the
way, being shown in other cities. Amer
ican producers appear to be interested
as a spectacular version Of Nero was
recently completed in Rome by com
pany from the United States.
1t is only another great phase of th'
screens opportunity. Roman, Greel
and Egyptian history contains fasci'
mating annals for screen reproduction
{ A story Of Pharaoh is coming soon
Cleopatra and her love affair are famil
tar to the screen, the famous Las
Days of Pompeii" has been shown il
Aims; these are the more familiar, bu
chere are countless more. stories o
great rulers - Alexander, signing TO
more worlds to conquer; Hannibal
ealing the Alps that school book
I,aipted so realistically; the defense o
\ Thermopylae, the fall of Rome befor
y the Goth hordes--they are end less an
Aar the anticipation and the imagina
After flashing on its screen the love
I of the entrancing Queen OF Sheba, tn
stanton will now have this other grea
6sure from ancient history. lnciden
tally, 1t Is another page in the educa
ienal history OF filmd9m.
~ ATE this week the announcement
ass IL came in that Saturday Night
would end it's stay at the kariton Of
saturday night--that Is, tonight, an
that "My Boy" u Jackie Coogan. fea
u t.ts woi,ld come in for a limited en-