The Washington herald., 1922-08-28
By EARLE DORSEY

Barring a title that is singularly
pointless, the Selwyns appear to have
an interesting specimen Of crook melo-
drama with bedroom farce overtones
in THE Exciters." a new play by
Martin Brown. which dropped anchor
at the Belasco last night in the
course Of a trial cruise toward Broad
way. While advancing little that is
theatrically new. it offers a third
act of measurable thrill and a cli-
max that includes a new idea in
burglary.
Here is a play which calls upon
one to sympathize with a young
woman who has married a burglar
on what is apparently her death
bed and who subsequently RECEIVERS
falls in love, forces him to betray
his pals and save her lite, only to
find that the fellow is a detective
and a gentleman detective, at that!
1t is, indeed a touching business,
but the gentleman-detectiv hav-
ing married her makes up his mind
to stop at nothing and buglarizes
her boudoir in a burst of caveman
rough stuff that brings the play
to a climax.
There is, of course, a wealth of
incidental development, revealing
how Rufus" Rand. an ingenue of
the atmospheric type. thirsting for
thrills. near:y kills herself by
fast driving and is brought home
to find a burglar in the house
Some inheritance demanding Ter
death-bed marriage, the burglar
offers to marry for his freedom
and thus the deed is done.
The girl on recovering, has fall
len in love, though her husband
declines to be a party to such folly.
Rather than lose a good burglar
husband, the heroine takes up burg
larry too. This leads her to the
Office of The Worldwide Banner
and Emblem Co.. a concern that re-
tails crime ideas to unimaginative
criminals - rare touch that -
and here is staged the big thrill of
the third act thrill brought
about by the effort of the heroine's
former maid to wreak vengence on
her for stealing the maids burglar
pal.
The burglar himself, in a tight
corner. admits that Cupid has led
him astray and there is no help for
it - he must betray his pals and
fight for his wife. Which he does.
with some little gun play, much ex-
citement and the timely arrival of
the police. But 1t takes a whole
fourth act to reconile the thrill
seeking wife to the idea that after
all, her husband Is a detective.
All told. the playwright manages
to achieve his main effects, though
he frequently achieves them with a
meat-axe, so to speak. He seems
at extraordinary pains to place the
proper social halo about the heao
of his heroine. which he accom-
plishes with much f. Phillips Op-
penheim dialogue that frequently
grows almost forensic in its periods.
Having established a satisfactory
degree of social contrast between
the society debutante and her bur-
glarous husband, Mr.. Brown pro-
ceeds more plythely on his way and
the rest of the opus unreels itself
more freely. 1t appears almost GER
tain. however. that the fourth-act
climax, in which the heroine is
bearded in her boudoir. will need
considerable revaiuing. The ending
is expeditions and unsatisfactory in
its present form and 1t 10 obviously
as make-shift as its title, which Is
clearly in the Hatton's best manner.
Edgar Selwyn Is credited with the
staging and in the main, II Is o
fair enough job. Allan Dinehart
has the role of the burglar-hus-
band-detective and his manner Is
gracile. charming and positive. Miss
Talullah Bankhead, in the role of
the ingenue. is a more finished per-
former than the Taluliah of
Everyday" but there IL still room
here for historionic growth. Enid
Markey handles a subordinate part
with charming repression and ap-
probation. while Echlin Gayer fur
nished another outstanding char
acterization. Wright Kranier's work
in the role of the comedy crook In
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