New-York tribune., 1922-12-11
Oddments and RemainderS
By Percy Hammond

SINCE Mr.. Barrymore is a mySteri-
Gus and uneommunieasive fellow we
shall probably never know what ex-
haustins hours Of thought he spent In
order to give bis Hamlet to Broadway,
n net TO the world Other players
have confessed the study BY which
their learning Of Hamlet was induced
the agonies Of their research through
the hives Of wisdom. the rigOrs Of their
long reflections. They have informed
Us how they resolved the chaos Of the
character into the luminous simpliei-
ties Of their own impersonations. or
how they determined whether Hamlet
was faint and seant Of breath or
merely fat and (for the moment) short
winded. OF the processes BY which
they explained his attitude toward
ophelia and his exact emotions during
his murder Of Polonius.
Sir Herbert Tree delibersted for
eighteen months, for instance. before
he found out that that assassination
was q deed Of wild hysteria, not. a. Mr..
Barrymore seems TO make II. a grace
ful, deliberate and vengefui, though
erroneous. homicide. You do not re-
sliEs until you have read the memoirs
Of a Hamlet that he spends months
In pondering whether or not he
shall leap into ophelia's grave and
trAmple upon her helpless corpse dur
ing the argument with Laertes. The
ghost, too, takes up his time and
that Of his producer IN asking them
IL he should appear as a material
specter or as a mere adumbration. For
quite q while we were unable to justify
Hanlet's punning rejoinder to Polo
MUS when Polonius tells him that, in
college tbsstrieals. he did once enact
the role Of julius Cesar. 'T was killed
= the Capitol; Brutus killed me-" says
he. 'Tt was a brute part" Hamlet an
swers, "of him 10 kill 80 capital a calf
there" This bad joke" writes one Of
the actor photographers. "was in
tended By Hamlet further TO convince
his hearers that he was insane"
A re-reading Of Sir Herbert Trees
story Of his Hamlet" prompt book
makes US wish this morning that the
cryptic Mr. Barrymore would publish
some memoranda Of his arduous pupil
age. Not that Mr.. Barrymore's Hamlet
needs from him syllable Of explana-
tion. since II Is 50 beautiful a picture.
20 clear an analysis, 90 untheatriesl an
impersonation and so musical a render
ing Of philosophie shakespearian song.
But Il would be enjoyable to read Of
Mr.. Barrymore's preparations for the
Great Accouchement OF the nights Of
his deep thinking. Of the ineessant
labors Of his fecund mind as II strove
10 beget the explieable from the mex
plicable. Is his pregnant look Of awe
as the ghost first eonfronts him the
lightning fash Of an artists superb
intuition. as we suspect II TO be; or is
II the product Of months Of delving and
introspeetion by a serious actor sur
rounded by his books7
How long did Mr.. Barrymore rumi-
nate upon bis scenes with Roseneranz
and Guildenstern, those inefable Choir
usmcn, asking himself whether he should
kiss them or kill themi Quarts and
quarts Of midnight oil may have been
consumed by Mr.. Barrymore in his de-
bates with his artistic conscience, his
public and Shakespeare as to what
words the emphasis of art and eloeution
should be placed upon, so that the sig
nifcance Of a speech might be enlarged
or modified. And we shall never be
aware Of them, because he is silent, in
different and remote, keeping secret
the details Of his eerebrations.
Here, for example, Is the sort Of
thing we should be interested to hear
from Mr.. Barrymore. It is one Of Sir
Herbert Trees Thoughts and After
thoughts" (Funk & wagnalls). and IL
is the record Of minor impact Of an
ingenious, grandiose and thoughtfu