The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-09-08
Plays
Open on
Broadway
Looking Over Start of the
Season on New York
Stage,
BY DIXIE HINES

ATEW YORK, Sept. 8.-This week
4 Y is the week of the great deluge
of new plays. They have been drib-
bling in for the fortnight past, but
commencing this week there will be
a real showing.
New York has about eighty first
class theaters devoted to musical
and dramatic offerings, and when
the new season was ushered in less
than twenty-five of these houses
were occupied.
And before the end of the COM
ing week there will be no dark
house, unless, because of current
failure.
OF the plays produced last week
one was contributed by Willard
Mack. This is said to be his seven
tieth-or is it seven thousandth?-
play. 1t is rather difficult to keep
track Of Mr.. Mack and Mr.. Owen
Davis. They excuse themselves
from a party for a few moments
and when they return they are
ready to read a new play.
Mr.. Mack's latest offering will
hardly win him more than box
office success. 1t is called Gang
War;" and is a SO version of the
old melodramas we used to see for
So and seventy-flve cents.
While there is nothing in Gang
War" to interest the professors of
English, it must be admitted that for
the three acts it is highly exciting.
It's scene is Chicago, and it is an
other bootleggers' war. One gang
inveigleS the head of another gang
from the church he is attending and
shoots him down. In retaliation the
offended gang starts out to clean I'D
the other gang, while the other gang
has the same noble ambition toward
its rival. The situation is tersely
expressed by a police lieutenant.
Just pick up the dead bodies" he
tells a new policeman. Don't try
to make any arrests unless some out
side party gets hurt.
Our policy is to encourage these
murders between gangs, as that is
the easiest, cheapest and quickest
way to eXterminate them" And that
is what it is. Machine guns are used
freely, but it was an original thought
to take a leaf out of the late World
War and have one gang use an air
plane and drop a bomb on the
headquarters of the other. There
are few incidental episodes to
justify the presence of three or four
attractive girls, but in the main it
is rum running, riot and murder. 1t
is highly unconvincing and exciting.
Something clever, intelligent and
interesting is THE Big Pond" by
George Middleton and A. E..
Thomas, produced last week. An
American girl abroad with her
family, falls in love with a romantic
French courtier. Her father objects
and brings the unwelcome alien to
his rubber factory in Ohio, to show
the daughter how ridiculous courtly
manners are when tranSplanted.
But the Frenchman makes good
in a big way, but the girl, when
she sees in him regular go-getter,
is not so keen about him as when
under the influence of foreign ro-
nance. The end is skilfully brought
about, and there is fun in album
dance throughout. 1t has that sell
dom found and priceless possession
suspense.
New York gave it a hearty well
come, and the prediction is freely
made that it belongs to the group
of successful plays, and will be here
long enough for all New York and
it's friends from East, North, South
and West to share the pleasure.
Doris Rankin, Lucille Nikolas and
Kenneth Mackenna are the prin-
cipals,, and Edward Knopf and
William Farnsworth are the pro-
ducers.