The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-01-03
'Lest As ItWz
Attic The ayter''
ByKi andHark.
At the Novelty.

At the Novelty.
There's some mighty good stuff in the
bill that started the week, with yester-
days matinee. Also, and by the same
token there is some that is not so good.
The chief ingredient, lacking IS real
joke. Some acts had grin in them and
the guy in the fourth act even tried to get
away with that one about the five wives
which has only been tried here seventeen
times this winter. Perhaps the actors on
this bill argue that any new stuff would
be too technical"
Charles Ledegar, opens with good line
of patter and some really new stuff on
the tight rope. He is followed by what
appeared to be the stiffest and most life
less pair of condolences that had ever
appeared here. 1t was not until their
final bow that everyone i the crowd
found he had been sold. Won't tell you
of the act. The Allen Cheyenne Cowboy
Minstrels had a well staged act and some
good singing Billy Clark, billed as a
"disturber of the blues" had little else be-
Wish the stage manager or some one
would tip Lulu Coates to the fact that she
and her act would get by lots better if she
would let her little pals do all the stuff
and present her attempts at singing and
dancing behind the wings: The boys are
Them them, but they must find some way of
losing Lulu.
AT THE GRAND-"Thundercl
proved a surprise. Had gone there not
expecting to see much else than an ordi-
nary race morse picture, out 10unu LndL
it had in addition to one of the best
horse race thrills, river scene that ex-
cells that one in Way Down East,
mother role that was every bit as good as
that one in over the HiII' and just as
much human interest stuff as saw in
Hail the Woman" How they could have
put so much stuff all into one picture is
beyond the average movie critic,
1t is a melodramatic story and some
it moves straight ahead with action every
moment and one does not notice that lit
tie discrepancy long. Mary Carr has the
mother role and that probably explains
why it was done so Well The rest of the
actors are clever in their lines and are
not called to do stuff beyond them. Even
ural, one would almost expect to hear the
littlest one crying about having to take
his bath.
sThe boss won't let me take much more
space, but before 1 stop, let me say this
one thing. l never have heard any movie
audience cheer or applaud the screen so
much as that gang did yesterday after
noon and the Grand was packed too. Even
the wife yelled during the race and nearly
pinched my arm off that actor was
struggling in the niagara Falls rapids.
AT THE CRYSTAL a Zane Grey story
shown as Where Men Are Men with Will
liam Duncan carrying the leading part is
well worth seeing. Here's a story of the
California Big Bear Lake country that is
the average.
Inc comedy "A Fresh Start accom-
panying Where Men Are Men" is without
question one of the funniest comedies
shown in many weeks. There's almost a
laugh a second in it.
AT THE ISIS Lloyd Hughes is fea-
tured in Mother O. Mine" which really
isn't strictly mother picture at all, but
deals with a crook game.
The plot is ordinary but the action is
swift and at times the situations are
tense and exciting. Hughes does some
good acting but in other instances the
portrayals appear OVerdrawn in an at
tempt to instill a melOdramic tone to the
picture.
OF all the narrow escapes which have
been shown on the screen the one in this
picture Is perhaps the narrowest that has
ever been devised. The play is sadly
lacking in comedy to offset the abundance
of pathos.
AT THE ORPHEUBI the admirers of Bill
Hart enjoy n treat in Three Word
Brand" a picture typically Bill Hart in
action, but somewhat extraordinary in
plot. Hart plays a triple role in this play
and it is handled so admirably that the
illusion is not in the least apparent The
audience laughed and cheered at the spec
tacle of Bill Hart sitting beside himself
and even patting himself on the arm.
The story is full of action that is car
ried onward swiftly, but there are too
many subtitles to make the play run as
smoothly as it might. However, there are
some comedy touches that are screams
and the pathetic scenes are held to a mini
mum-in fact, left mostly to the magma
ton, as they should be.