Evening star., 1923-03-20
POLIS-"The Green Goddess.

A story of action amid beautiful
surroundings and in the atmosphere
Of the orient is told in THE Green
Goddess" presented last evening AT
Polls by George Arliss and his COM
pany.
The star, in an address to the au-
dience at the close of the thlrd act,
called il melodrama, and no person
could question the correctness OF hls
judgment. 1t has all the elements ol
a play of that character. but for IT'S
hold upon the observer there IS ohis
one outstanding reason, ano efaa
-ArlisS There is a CONNECT OF easy
and west, a matching of finesSe ana
fanaticism against daring ana ues
peration, in which the ocCiuehtai
mind, true to form. stakes an on
single, forlorn chance ana wins
But there is one commanding hsu
whose forceful Intellect reaches
across the footiights. and that Is ar
liss-ArlisS this time as the orien'd
potentate. PicturesGuely feNealeu
the power of superstition over nc
nrinlitiyc people beyond the hln-
alavas." but their potent leacef' mas
ter of every situation until Slhsle
mispIay spells defeat. is Arilss-,Al
Tiss, as the Rajah of Rukh' pfouucl
of the east and educated dii'o nv
culture OF the west.
1--WE know we are barbarians, salu
Arliss to his unwilling guests oul
we have had about 1000 years " a.
custom ourselves to II. anu tiLel @ no
proceeds to discuss modern literature
and thought with knowledge tnal
outshines the feeble equipment ol tlie
little group in his custody tnal "al'-
ed TO return to "Civilizaton.
III the action OF ihe P'nH P6Hadin and
ajrplane are employed to save tt's
lives of a young couple conaenheu
10 death. An English renegade VINO
stands IN the way of rescue Is osei
powered and thrown from 'iruM Inv
below. d drop Of 100 feet. An rtlH
officer who is calling by wireless i"I
aid is shot dead as he handieS tne
KEYS Re;nforcemcnts arrive pS ail
in the nick of time as the nei oir. III
shouts The airplanes. the air
planes" Blood and thunder are eN7
emplitied in potent form, but hehlhu
and above and throughout the storA
is the familiar quality or the acllhs
OF George ArlisS. impertur Ddplt, Po-
lite. clever unyielding, while yet he
comedies, a pleasurable evening en-
tertainment in itself.
The hand of Winthrop Ames is re-
yealed in the beauty of the scenes
in the Himalayas. the effective lleht
ing effects. the excellent grouping OF
the native fanatics who appear TO be
not a mere mass of stage ad1unctS
but rather an animated. earnest ana
menacing group OF real 3rlehlals:
native dancer in the religious pro-
cessiou has his own unique quality.
The occasional use of the language
OF Rukh is IA weird feature.
Ivan f. Simpson as Watkins, valet
70 the rajah. who is described by his
master az my prime minister and II
NV cabinet" interpretS the English
servant with something that ap
rroachos perfection. Morris W.
Ankrum as the high priest is eX-
celIent. Frederick Lloyd as Maj.
Anthony Crespin, Elizabeth Risdon DO ma; as
I.ucilla. his wife, and Leonard Wiley
~ Dr. Traherne. carry the action OF
the drama with ADEQUATE effect; .as,
reaching perhaps one OF the great
moments of the play where the rajah
has his valet send a message by radio
10 test their knowledge and they
simulate utter indifference 10 the
words that are being flashed.
THE Green Goddess makes a for
off people, strangers to an American
audience, vital, living forces, but the
spirit of the production is exemplified
as the final curtain descends upon
Arliss, the kind of a character that
we have known for some years,
suavely standing alone. defeated,
lighting his cigarette. unDerturbed.