The Washington times., 1928-11-08

100000 and be cheerful about
it is a man in a million. Edgar
B. Davis, producer of the play
"The Ladder,p has sunk this
colossal amount of cold cash
trying to make the Broadway
public like his dramatic lesson
of incarnation. Now he will
take it on the road and try
to reverse the verdict.
I followed the fortunes of
"The Ladder" closely because
know the Al newspaper man
who wrote it. He is j. Frank
Davis, and when I was q strug-
Cling cub reporter on the Bos-
ton American Mr.. Davis was
chief of a battery of expert
rewrite men and later dramatic
critic. He is no relation to the
producer and their acquaintance
began in Texas, where the mill
lionaire "angel" of "The Lad
der" made his fortune in oil.
j. Frank Davis wrote the
three acts Of the play. Only
his last act remains. The other
two acts have been revised
again and again in an endeavor
to rewrite the original failure
into a hit. For eight months
seats were given aWay--first
come, first served. 1t has cost
$4,000 d week to operate the
production, but Mr.. Davis, the
oil man, has never complained.
On the road the policy Of
money back to those who feel
they do not receive value in
entertainment will be followed
as it was in New York. 1t
will be seen in Washington
early in the new year.
What's THE Ladder all
about? To quote Playwright
Davis: 1T seeks to bring back
to the consciousness Of the
world that there ii such a thing
as stability and security in
the scheme of existence; that
nothing walks with aimless
feet; that no life need be con-
sidered as rubbish for the void"
The death Of Arnold Roth
stein, the notorious gambler.
calls to mind that while he
would risk fortune on the turn
of card or the fall of the dice.
he would never venture penny
on q theatrical speculation. He
knew actors and producers by
the hundreds and invested funds
IN many plays, but it was al
ways advanced as q straight
secured loan and at high rate
of interest.
Anne Nichols sunk all Of her
fortune, a modest 5000, try
ing to get "Abie's Irish Rose"
detoured to the path of success.
When things looked most des-
perate, Miss Nichols went to
Rothstein. She told him of her
struggle to find funds to keep
the play going, of her COM
plete confidence in its ultimate
success, of its value as an in
vestment. Rothstein advanced
$4,000. Grateful, Miss Nichols
suggested he take a piece of
the play for his loan. "What
do you think / am, a gambler"
was his jocular reply. Had he
accepted the Nichols proposal
over $500, 900 would have been
his reward. Here was one re-
spected gamble where Rothstein
lost potential fortune.
"Abie," here at Polls on its
'steenth visit to Washington has
made Anne Nichols the only mill
lionaire woman producer of the
Am -rican stage.
The political hopes Of the
majority of Broadway producers
were dashed in the Governor
Smith debacle but some of the
comforting grains found in the
tabulated. results are the re-
electiop of Representative Sol
Bloom, of New York, and Billy
Connery, of Lynn, Mass. Solon
Bloom is the voice of Broadway
at the National Capitol and
Mr.. Connery once toured the
Keith circuit as an entertainer
and is always alive to the in
terests of the theater.
Also the political aftermath
of Tuesdays landslide developed
that President-elect Hoover is
regular attendant at the
Washington legitimate theater
and motion picture interests
rate him the firmest kind of a
friend. Through his direction of
the Department of Commerce,
Mr.. Hoover has been in active
touch with the troubles of the
American film producers in the
foreign field and the United
States commOrcial agents abroad
have been solidly behind the
Hollywood barons and Will
Hays in the battle for fair
treatment in Europe. A search
of the G. o. P. financial records
will disclose that the motion
picture interests were among
the substantial contributors to
the. Hoover war chest.
Among those who are silently
Waf hing tho prourosr oe -