Putnam patriot., 1922-11-17
New York. Nov i4. 1922.

The advertisements announce that Frances starr's new play. Shore Leave" by Hubert Osborne, is "a sea- goin comedy" Personally. after sec ing f this past week, we are eonyinc- ed that it is a pretty frail craft, and freely admit that as far as it's sea- goin potentialities are concerned we would not trust ourselves on board even were 1t only on Alexander's Lake .B a dead calm Miss Starr is really a very fair emotional actress, as some of her parts in the past have shown. but she leaves much to be desired when she struts around as the dainty. innocent, simple. sweet dress maker of a New England port village. l. does not become her style to appear as an eternal poliyanna. She is much more successful as the woman who pays and pays and pays. In fact. she should never attempt creditor roles.
 This particular play is fragieiiy in- genious The small-town spinster meeting one evening on the village green with sailor from the fleet that is then in port falls in love with him, but he leaves before she learns any thing more than that his name is Smith How to find him again is Connie Martin problem. In trying to solve 1t she appealed 70 the admiral. "It ought not to be hard Co locate him, she tearfully explains "He's tall, and beautiful, and he swears most wonderfully. That's it-just find 6 sailor that swears: that should make 1t easy to discover him
 The one fairly amusing spot in the evening comes during the second act when, in hope Of finding her own special Mr Smith, the love smitten Connie gives a party to which all the Smith in the feet are bidden. They come in drovea- which gives much chance for sea horse play E*enta- ally the particular Smith arrives. and from then on it is comparatively smooth sailing In fact. after that there IS never any doubt as t0 the outcome. it is absolutely certain that here Will b. another tWig on Che Smith family tree before the evening over. Never did craft more gently navigate the course of true love NoN We are quite certain that the sea of matri- mony is not so calm a. all this The channel is not so easily charfed. ani mists and f8es are alWays and forever blowing iH To bring periods of un- certainty and doubt But Mr 0=- borne ip his play never DO much as suggests that there may be a ripple Co rock the boat even eser 70 gently. Romance and m0oubeams have thelf place Ho doubt. but al the same fl has ta toe remembered that there are such things as feefz and eaass currents. and f Is rather faalhafiy to insist that one can sail along forever with out meeting up with them. And that l is what the author of this play implies. and that ls why the play itself Is SO Vapid and empty When characters taik at length of soul-matcs and eternal unending love. one wants to protest by shouting attention to the fact that at lcast one marriage iH eight. or thereahouts, ends jR thg divorce court We admit that authors who draw pictures in drabhest hue only. the ultra -realsts. are drawing in false perspective. But it is also true that to compose solely iu terms oi everlasting sunshine is equally deceit ful X good play or moving picture should mix them both The author of shore Leave" has failed to dc this. and the whole result is SO in. consequential. as far as the theatre i. concerned, that were f not that st outstanding figure as Miss Starr were east in the play. it would scarce ly merit the slightest attention. A sea goin play, or any play for thai patter. should have a salt tang Co it "Shore Leave" has about as muct tang as mud puddle
 And we have one more objection Mir Osborne seems to think that al most any girl will wilt to nothing un less she is mated to her first love. This 1t seems to Us. is at least debatable Personally We are inclined to believ, that there are always just as many good Smiths on the sea as ever wer, caught