The Washington times., 1923-01-30

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THE CAST.
Sherlock Holmes. William Gillette
BENJAMIN Forrnan go. Harold West
: l Billy: r., -. :. Dorian Emerson
Count Won stalburg. Ralph Kirkwood
Professor Moriarty.. Leslie stowe
James Larrabee. -. e. j. Ratcliffes
Sydney Prince. -. William Podmore
All Bassick. " = Harry ar "a: &c Socks
sLiehtfoot yMeTa9aie:. eyrsi 1nsrs% a
81 rn,;s =. =, Hare Ia5sss
Mrs. smeediesiy;. 5. 81 .:Raiphaeila; ottiano
Alice Fauikner. !. More Swinbnrnet
Ms s IarrsSss :. 1 .Ads slnsiaS
3Terese J. !. !. 4. :. Faphaella Ottiano
I Mrs. SmeedIey. :. - Mary RawIstoh
- :. l1<sai.s5:s; e
This Being the prosperous age
for mystery, drama, 1T is but
natural. that William Gillette in
search of 81 play should extract
from the. lavender; and moth balls
Sherlock Holiness that en-
crossing exposition. .sof the ex-
plolts of A. Conan Doyle's master
detective. Let us say, here and
now, that none OF the more recent
thrillers can. surpass 1T in solid
interest overa span of four acts,
and feWssof the, modern school can
equal 1T for "a. well-sustained
theme. ts- :,
Sherlock Holmes processes Of
deduction are. far more subtle
than those of our latter day PEN
and-ink sleuthS, and it is a de-.
light to note that William Gill
cite in dramatizing the character
has preserved the lightning like
flashes of a brilliant mind direct
ed toward analysing the little
. things which mean frequently SO
much in the solution Of capital
crimes. Nm the book we liked
the way Holmes could tell by a
mere glance that DIR. Watson had
moved the dresser in his chamber
from oneeside Of the room to the
: other, that he had just engaged q
new servant who was careless,
that his wife was away, that he
had again taken up the practice
of medicine, and that he was con-
templating a long journey. 1T
all seemed so wonderful until
Holmes expounded on the powers
Of critical observation.
The play is an elaboration OF
!. one of the. best of the Holmes ex-
+ periefices. An Adventure in Bo-
hernia. A member of the nobility
has had an unfortunate love ex-
perience in (which tender, and In
eliminating missives figure promi-
nently. The documents fall into
the hands OF the schen1ing Lara
bees, to crop up at an. inoppor-
tune time, when the Duke is con-
templating another alliance. Enter
Holmes to match hts wits with
the famous Prof. Moriarty, Napo-
leon Of crime, who is directing the
campaign Of the blackmailers.
OF course. Holmes, gaining pos
session of the precious documents,
confounds and imprisons the
master genius of the underworld,
and /, annexes for himself as ma
terial reward a. most attractive
- wife. There are Tiofhidden panels,
J no mystery as to the arch con-
! spirators, no pistol shots or other
seeming essentials Of the new de-
tective plays, and yet it would be
difficult to stage more in
triguing story or a situation preg-
;nant of deeper thrill than that Of
j the lighted cigar in2the. Stygian
darkness of the criminals gas
chamber. -.
E. William Gillette's characterize
/ ton of Holmes :is .flawIess. He is
. always the cool, calculating mental
genius depicted by Doyle; ever a
step ahead Of his clever foes in
agile reasoning. A capable COM
@paTly assists materially in the fin.
ished presentation Of the play.
Nora Swinburne, as the sweetheart
of the detective, played with skill
full repression, and Edward Field
ing, as DR.! Watson; E. J. Rat
cliffe, Leslie Stowe, Ada Sinclair,
and William Podmore made the
most Of their. opportunities. Elk
pert lighting, and a handsome pro-
duction add much to the effec-
tiVeness. -
Everybody who, admires the
famous character of A. Conan
Doyle will probably. see this pro-
dQction: "A. r. K.