Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-17

= = - OF nrSt class Hiunl~
"yauItv Fair IT cal revue. save per-
1880" haps. song a ms.
ity Fair of $780," which Director George
E. Wintz has brought to the Natioial
Theater this week.
All musical revues are take u OF
leave it" propositions. Either you IKE
the particular specimen In hano OF you
don't. it's a matter of personal taste,
and what may convulse Mr.. \ with
merriment may come and go before the
ewes of Mr.. Y without arousing IN tnat
gentleman flicker OF interest,".
And SO. after calling attention to the
excellence of Vanity Fairs personnel
and the variety of its entertainment
features. the "say-so" as to whether u
is or is not good had better be lett 10
Cleo Mayfeld and Cecil Lean,
troupers of the old school, have iost
none of their skill Their comedy skits
and patter numbers are good, and being
so, we're well received last nignt.
better If he would omit phase which
has been greatly overworked. even
though it had little to recommend II IN
the first place. This young man. now
ever. proved a capable entertainer and
received his full share of the applause.
The speciality dances are left to Norma
Gallo and Marcella Smythe, two young
women who compare favorabiy WIN
the best in the business. one OF the
most effective bits in the play is the
"shadowgraph," an entertaining novelty
Harry Shannon, ir and his Jazz or
chestra enlivened the performance in
several spots where it might have drag
red without them. J. G.
,.AxvET.HT French Models" is
VA l. l. L the title around which
"French the Mutual lBurlesque
Models" Circuit has draped q
revue replete with the
more pulchritudinous and amusing
angles of life. This weeks attraction
at the Gayety is indeed gay collection
OF songs. dances and brightly colored
skits, which recruit the services OF well
known and much appreciated talent.
frankie Clark is the particular ia
vorite and most luminous of the per-
formers, although Viola Ellito is not FAR
behind. Then there is the La MARI,
team, that dances with precision; Ella
Sears. who does much to keep up the
good spirits Of the audience, and Issie
Ringold to do the usual high honors.
Apart from the principals the chorus
of 90 young women do their steps with
zest and augment their effectiveness
by highly satisfactory appearances.
Next week Jimmie Lakes own show.
The Big Revue" will be the main at
traction.
EOE One of the most interesting
and stimulating pictures Of
men the year is at the Fox this
Wunont week. Under title borrowed
women from Ernest Hemingway,
Men without Women" tthis Aim
energies as a powerful piece of drama,
handled with rare effectiveness by a
sensitive and extremely well chosen
cast.
out of material that scarcely seems
the sort of thing Hollywood director
would choose for screen story, the
creators, John Ford, James McGuinness
and Dudley Nichols. have fashioned a
picture that is stirring as well as orig
inal. The sinking Of the submarine S.
l3 is the gruesome theme which serves
as one of the few psychological MASTER
pieces of the screen. 1t reveals COM
bination of simplicity in sn1otionalism
and skillfulness in detail that proves
conclusively all is not lost out on the
Western coast
just what dozen or more men would
do If trapped 90 feet under water Is the
situation depicted with startling vivid
HESS. lIleEe S Tie unlCTbuHAbS FOll6Chs
who goes mad at crucial moment and
has to be shot. There Is the radio
operator, who remains his sarcastic self.
There is the pathetic courage of the
young ensign. who finds himself unex-
pectedly in command. And there are
the reactions of the other men, some
unafraid. some towards, most of them
occupying their minds with women or
liquor. all of them showing that man,
in the most crucial hour OF his life,
strips himself of his superfiuous trim
mings and emerges in his true self. 1t
is in these overwhelming inadequacieS
Of both the courageous and the coward
~ that Director Ford has pointed his
finger and made therefrom study that
is both intense and poignantly sincere.
Although the cast has no woman to
do It's honors, there Is, In back of 1t all,
the spirit of one who Is responsible for
the outcome and who prompts Torpedo
man Burke to go down with the ship
instead of the young commander, Price.
Kenneth MacKenna plays the role of
the doomed man with an ease and finish
that Is splendid, mainly because at no
time is he obviously labeled hero"
Throughout he is just what he should
be, calmly and inconspicuously cour-
ageous, knowing more than anybody
else what is apt to be the frightful out.
come. Out of the remainder of the
cast there is no pick-they are all ex-
celient-every one highly important to
film that is highly important.
The Hollywood Studio Girls" who
adorn the stage as the brain children
of Fanchon and Marco, are effective in
a setting of blue at the very end The
singing by Alexander Callam is marred
by cold or something, and apart from
an excellent dancing team, including
personable girls, John Dale and the Six
Wild Demons, the stage show lacks the
originality that is sometimes evident in
such presentations. However. the
Dvorak overture is fine and so is the
Movietone news, which completes the
program.
OF course, Men Without Women"
should not be missed by any one.
METROPOLITAN Of "s9 = g g
aSov,r NJ Al. Ixa.1o West Z"