The Washington times., 1922-09-12
BelascO Houses
Nep Comedy of
Love and Cards
BY HAROLD PHILLIPS.

Dy IIFtItOLD AhAhAAA Ne
IF William Harris, jr., went out
of his beaten path for the
production rights Of this in
differently acted and crudely
themed thesis, then we nominate
him for part ownership in the
gamester's halo with which he
has crowned the hero OF his
piece. "Banco" is the seasons
first batch of chaff yielded from
European fields so diligently
harvested by American producers
the past summer.
When Mr.. Harris first read the
script of the play he probably
capitulated to its remote harmony
to the taste of that part OF the
non-home-brewing American pub
lie which spends it's evenings
playing poker and bridge. The
major theme Of spurned and re-
cemented love could be depended
upon to allure all non-conformers
to the above classification. But
something is amiss in the calcu-
lations. "Banco," within our pur-
view, will not interrupt the quest
of the universe for an ideal
comedy.
Through his penchdnt for bac'
carat, the Count de Lussac, nick
named "Banco." wins a great
reputation as a gambler. but loses.
for the nonce, the affections OF
his wife of two months. Cogni'
zant of the negative glory In
making his hero merely a good
gambler, one of the several
authors who have evolved the
piece has refined the harshness Of
such repute by giving the count
a noble record as daredevil
aviator. In the bedroom scene,
wherein the perseVerinS coun.
has intrenched himself to save his
former wife from the amours OF
her new husband chosen for LIS
virtuous contempt for cards. Char.
lotte berates the count for his
stoical determinations; his ada.
mantine way of always getting
what he wanted; for his cave
mannish qualities, and. to almost
quote her, for his ability to subju-
gate her frail body to his over
powering will. WhereupOn the
count sits down to a plcbeian card
game and loses all his hardware
to Charlotte, the while for six
hours he is totally oblivious to the
ncw-found charms Of the woman
he came to retrieve. Perhaps his
intent was to guard only the frail
robin which year ago had flown
out the window of his protecting
wall. AS conductor Of amOrous
strength the scene was very non.
conductive. Charlotte would have
been justified in having him ar.
rested for such Grass insensibility
to her womanly charms in a Hop
wood setting.
AS to the players. Alfred Lunt
is one of our idols, but we can't
subscribe to the practice of making
a younger edition of DietriChstein
OF ANVIL out OF MIN, ana CRAM
ming his mouth with obvious sar-
Casms and impulsivc beginnings
toward somewhere which fade
away before they travel far.
Miss Fisher seemed very con.
ventional. Her portrayal. some.
how, didn't seem to fit in with that
kind of determination which led
her to keer an eighty-four-hour
vigil at the door of the card room
where the count broke the worlds
card marathon.
In discussing the case, the thing
to remember, of course, is that
last nights performance was the
premiere. Making allowance for
this. there is still a great deal to
be expected.
Good portrayals were given by
Francis Byrne as the plastic
baron; Robert Strange as Georges
Dalou. and Charlotte Granville as
the baroness.