Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-13
War Drama Trays the Edges {;
observation-disclosures New
BY pHILANDER JOHNSON.

/ is no inducement whatever to spare
| the feelings OF an audience III the
matter OF homicide In fact. in or
der to compete with sensational print
the dramatist must provide homicide
IN abundance Owen Davis. whose
plays have a practical worth as we'll
as frequent artistic effect. realizes
this thoroughly as he compels the
spectator OF the Donovan affair to
| wonder from time to time who did
the dastardly deed.
The Donovan Affair" is one OF
those dramas which carry on the
program request that YOU will not
60 home and tell the folks about it,
There is peculiar mechanism i'll
the mystery play which enables the
author to conceal with elaborate dc
vices what is really very simple
matter when it is all made clear. 1t
is good entertainment and appeals
universally, although Donald Davis,
son of the author and serving as
business manager, reports that excel
lent as the principal actors are none
OF them have succeeded i'll being
matinee favoritcs.
The matinee depends on women
Tor its patronage and the mystery
play does not persuade them strong
~. The traits of boy and girl linger
and the grown-up girls still love
dolls. dressings up and little tea
parties in their theater. while the big
boys hold their fancy Tor guns and
desperate they had in those old days
OF the dime novel. The men go at
night and the women. rather than
seem unappreciativc of their pleas
ure i'll many instances, go along
merely for the sake OF not being left
out OF the sport,
The price of What Price Glory
though moderate SO far as the ticket
is concerned. mounts into the mil
lions when computed as profit for
the authors and producers. 1t sets
a new pace in the films after having
played all around the lot, first Ill
high-priced drama and next alter
mating with burlesque.
Those who saw III il not vital
story Of conditions new to the
world. as different from oldtime
warfare as an aeroplane is different
from horse and wagon. but only
an unrestrained violence OF language,
were panied to note that the So
called silent drama" can be quite
as profane as the spoken word. Such
expert methods can be employed i'll
mimicing the facial processes of
speech that it needs no expert in lip
reading TO perceive exactly what is
being said
If the synchronizing experiment in |
films attains anything like the mag
nificent development that the films |
themselves have made since they |
fiickered and hoped, as they did in |
the demonstration of the young in
ventor in the play "The Wild Men |
OF Borneo,' they will bring about |
theatric conditions undreamed of a |
little while ago. The new synchro-
nizing process is much closer to per |
lection than the Biograph and other
machines of the early type when
IIOllOH pictures were eXfllDueU as
mechanical marvel rather than as an
entertainment and a hve-cent piece
was top price at the box office
X * *
One great thing has been accom-
plished by the 'phonoflns" in en-
aiding the pictured dancer to move
in perfect time to the music. They
also prevent marching army from
appearing utterly out OF step to the
music OF the band. 1t seems to be
entirely impossible for music to fol-
low motion Oh the screen in perfect
imitation with the tempo set While
this is accomplished by the "phono-
film" that strange factor in theatric
expression. the human voice. still
proves elusive and the new mechan-
les of the camera has a long journey
ahead before it will lead the magma
ton to accept the voice as a part
OF the personality of the artist. One
prediction has failed i'll connection
with photograph, films and radio.
Not one of them has effaced the
human interest i'll the physical iden-
tity OF the performer, whether a
grand opera singer or a jazz vir-
tuoSo.