San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-06
OLD M|EL0DRANA
STILL APPEALS
TO PUBLIC
With Some Variations
Ancient Plays Would
Draw Good Now.
By ALAN DALE
Famous Dramatic Critic OF Universal
Scryice)

as HThp Sacrct nf thp SUBWAY 'Tlc
Confessions ~ a Wife !" ar aHer Sin
Has Found Her out. it found mo
in1 aNohody's DARLING , ..Thc Great
Automob;le Wrstcrv'@and 60 ON. N
u.s offorod 70 what un call .Eid
Glove. audience and Tho occasion
seemed n mo rather ouaint-ip fact
unionc. And. also ms in rho good old
davs, This mcIodrama had its big fea.
ture in tbe shane of an explosion.
Tbcre mac aln..rs something of tho
SORT N make one feel hanpy'
Once I recall in tbe boverv an
flair entitled "Tbe Snan of ife
in which after enduring the usual
niffIe in the wav of story Won saw
a wonderful rescue from n burning
building Three of four mon linked
themselves together across n yawning
chasm-ond saved tbe ycry lovely
heroine from an odious death.
THRILLS Ann THRILLS
Tben ve had sh;nwrccks deftly
timed n occnr when our souIs had
wroried of hero heroine and villain.
Z,ncwilI once said that his cook al.
wavs Ioved IN see now storm in the
wron, nIaccor the st,co and wc
90 ,sos,I,, l., tho san,o hoot No con
ran,an,h"r III .romondors snccoss of q
mnIodrom, ort;tled "Rluc Leans" in
,,.L;.,, 10, n,n ,,orn.n u.as nI,ced
3 o Jnn - g., rrb;oh siowIy
siU 10 " u ~, ond ,hrootencJ
IoMiy app h;,a ;..a MIN ar a ND thus
W sI.eu nm, ill.,. H. rosouo and.
;s .u,' t., T., - Ia, ID ,
.or I - vas h;st;co+od could
" ",u rnroSs hill os tbo buzz.
s.aI'c! ~ - ''
saw tx so' ~ i 10 iI, ~ h mU t,rL. We
mn we ISL ~ n I,oi,, horo;ros
lo.rn ouL .anAS W. a1,oJ :, ,,rry
sanh IN mem. da t;iIoS a,;tf
cIusrinS 'pS m s" Ill n III
m.n,phinr' V .na ". nuarno DO !, cromr
t!mN' anu tIe ~ r. hin
~ .hc wa! y. aD aut; 49,
thaI was tne qu's'ion
ELWAhs a HEhoiNE.
Nearly always there was wronged
lady. with maternal anticipations-
the result Of mans perfidy. When
that damsel appeared at the little
thpnter. whispering to the villain that
-er-thcy must not delay their mar
riaGc-in heavens name there must b'
no procrastination-thc good old times
were actually there. -.
The only things ] missed were those
pet speeches of mclodrama Let m'
pass" and unhand me- OF
scream" dare say that these ap
pcarcd in the original manuscript bu,
, luckily they were deletcd: Sa.
luckily, but ! don't know why. W.
might as well be hanged for shcel
as lamb. In play IKE inc, seq
Woman I'd rather have hkcd neal
little incursion into the realms o
finland me, or III scream
This mclodramn mad all the an
surdities OF its KIND. IL was toundec
upon the Illogical. EXactiy why IN
heroine should actually give up tn'
man she had been ycarnlng Tor durlni
the years and years and years, Jus'
because she felt u her duty 10 stay
with the .saucy little wronged CELL
couldn't imagine. II she hadn I, o.
course, there would have been no play
could have stood even that:
But melodrama Of the garlsh ordci
is invariably founded on Improbabli'
tics, and even impossibilities. AZ
Filon, the French writer. once remark
cd: "A foot bridge over torrent
breaks under the steps of a villain
piece OF wall comes down and shat
tors him; a broken boiler bursts ant
blows him to atoms. These peopl
should be taught that criminals pun
ishment ought to be the natural out
come of his own misdeeds."
But, il only this were taught, tn
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES would not stant
tor IT, Sihey 40 NOT want 10 DC eau
ua. nu I;fo.' tbnr cI,nor 20,
"nrons " Tho min tioir faith m IN,
bn,l,saw Tho ernlosion. and Tho bolo
caust Tn mclodrama what thov want
from, THE earth ;s ire 0uokci nh,
,rnsal;t,, If r,oloJrora 10 aIso ono,
70 nmostion-if there no anv ouestior
~ moroi;tv in ANYTHING bmt soy.
AIthorab yico is nunisbed tho nun
ivbment e. rnar,y nIwavv accidental
rho yiIIsir dies a borribIe death I'M
i 4, msmniIy tbc result If come sceni,
J,strrbancc and NOT ~ "somctb;n,
Iinsnrirg ritb ho;I;pr oil in II, n,
docs not ,oform 10 Is mcreIy don,
,,ro. viii, scion+if;coIIy for Tho sal,
Of Tho big scene in The pcnultimat,
act This brand Of mpIodrama Il
gsudv and childish If has the sam,
cffcct but not the bcontv of fireworks
when Won sec n gorgeous firework
disnIav Won excIaim "Abtr md ooh !
from vour vcrv gizzard. Whom yo,
view those melodramatfc pvrotecbnics
vour intersections nre less perfcryid
and .often mcrcly the result Of tbcatri
chi exncricnce.