The Washington times., 1925-04-13
PRESIDENT
''White Cargo

Possibly it was the reflected
halo of its long run-still going
on--in New York Perhaps it
was due to curiosity born of nu-
merous slams-+hat- are boosts de-
claring the play indecent
Whatever the reason an Easter.
bibbed crowd turned out for
White Cargo last night, so large
that the "sold-out" sign was hung
up at the President Theater half
an hour before the curtain went
up, and which finally necessitated
calling out the police reserves of
Number One Precinct, fortunately
hard by.
It seems that those toward the
rear of the line, extending nearly
a block beyond the lobby, decided
to march on the box office in ex-
tended order. For a few minutes
there was much action, but no
one was hurt. Just a few Easter
bonnets crushed and a few satin
shoes urgently stepped on.
Those who got inside got their
moneys worth. The original COM
pany, Of course, still is on Broad
way, but the cast Harry Cort and
Barney Klawans have brought to
Washington is solidly good. In
the parlance of the tribe, the
members all know their stuff.
Especially Cornelius Roddy, as
Witzel, hard boiled pess;mist. and
misanthrope who usually turns
out to be right. Also there was
Marshall Vincent, as the doctor,
philosophical failure with a bril-
liant future behind him; washed
up on the coast of Africa on a
sea OF Scotch whiskey.
In case you aren't familiar
with the plot" it details a cou-
pie of years in the lives of
group of men on an African rub
Der farm, a place consisting chief
ly of heat and dry rot, ,homesick-
ness and native women. These
last two work together into a
sort of natural fusion.
Langford, incidentally well por-
trayed by Bernard Thornton,
''clean limbed young English
man." is sent to the african post,
and you watch him slowly de.
teriorate under the "I-told-you-so
jibes of Witzel (the aforementioned
Cornelius Roddyl, an old timer,
who has become "acclimated.
Witzel, from the beginning tells
Langford It Is only a question or
time before he viii nanny pa
Iayer',-which is African idiom
for living with a native woman.
Langford fools him by legally
marrying one instead. And then,
when she finds out her romance
a a life sentence, she tries to
poison him. Her plan is discoV-
cred, and Langford Is sent home
in time. And then the curtain
goes down with the probabilities
being that the woman in the
case will, in the future, make
tiffin" for Witzel.
Bert C. Wood. as the mission
ary, and Lawrence Heating, as
Ashley, a weakling whom Africa
licked, did some mighty f1ne
work. So also did Willard Da.
ahieI,. as the barefooted drunken
akipper of tramp river steamer,
and Mickey Wells; as the engl-
neer on the same boat. Then
there was Jim Fish, q native,
who didn't have much to do, but
who looked picturesque. That
role ia portrayed by a full blood
Al long haired Indian, CHIEF
white Eagle Naturally he looks
the part.
There is only one woman IN the
cast, Tondleye, the half cast, less
than half clad, siren, whose NOR
ais are no better than they snould
be. Helen Stransky is cast as
Tondleye, and she's so good, both
10 look at and listen to, you re
sort of glad there aren't any
others. Makes 1t less distractlng.
Altogether. rafting goo9
ahow-but decidedly not for chill
dren.<-VO.