Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-14
NATIONAL-George M. Conan In
"GambIinR."


Gambling"
An exquisitely tough and cleverly
dumb young person shared the curtain
calls with George M. Cohan, in Cam
bling" last evening at the National
Theater, as he ambled in and about
one of the bright spots of his career,
which as a whole has been largely
notable for its high Illuminating power.
Next to George himself, Mary Philips
as Maize, murder suspect and lady OF
leisure, with whom nothing counts ex-
cept the grand total" may be properly
described as the hit of the month. She
is to be credited with having won rec
ognition as the incarnation OF all that
Is Cohanesque in manner and express
sion.
Mr.. Conan himself, figure of the
stage since childhood, steps into his
role of amateur detective as easily as
If he were chatting with native on
Long Island, and as he chats through
the four acts of Gambling" he becomes
even more real than the production.
When these two clever entertainers
sit under the soft light of library
lamp in a luxuriant apartment, with
an otherwise darkened room, and match
wits in airy language over a lite-and-
death matter, they enact a stage episode
which creates hush Of admiration and
stamps the play as not only bright, but
dramatic in the extreme.
"One hundred and fifty minutes OF
Conan" would be an appropriate sum-
ming UP of the entertainment. Vari-
Gus other actors deliver a great many
Of the lines, but these all bear the hall
mark of the actor-producer- playwright.
An examination OF the script OF the
play in all probability would disclose a
maximum of wise cracks. Not just
ordinary witticisms, but the kind that
the author has always employed to en-
phasize the personalities on the stage.
In this case they are employed in work
ing out a murder mystery, which has
the merit not only of being elusive, but
also of covering up every step OF the
way with genuine suspense.
Mr.. Conan occupies one particular
niche in the theatrical gallery, which
seems to have been reserved particular
ly for him. That is In the production of
a type of diversion, which he has At
times described as the melodramatic
comedy. That description, however,
merely fits the framework Of the story.
In the hands of a less Skillful artist
1t might be an excuse for form instead
of cleverness. But with his pen there
is no lost motion. The succession OF
laughs Is strung on plot which never
misses a chance for either fun or thrills.
This plot may often be forgotten in
giving attention to group of char
acters taken from the provincial life
Of great city, while company well
trained in roles which furnish striking
contrasts breezes through an evening
of the unusual.
The instructive stagecraft OF the au-
thor tends always to the introduction
of some unexpected thrill on crowded
stage. In this instance, 1t Is a gam
bling raid Of great realism. The real
novelty of the production Is the tele-
visionistic representation of figure on
the Pacific Coast talking by phone to
group in New York as part OF the
climax Of the play. D. G. C.
POLPS-Jane Cowl in Jenny"
A new solution Of the old problem
of what to do about the younger gen.
Grafton is offered at Polls this week by
Jane Cowl and Guy Standing In
Jenny" a comedy of manners in four
ward Sheldon.
According to more than one good hus-
band the suggested solution is excellent
But more than one good wife Will leave
the theater offering devout thanks FOL
the unquestioned fact that there is only
one Jane Cowl in the world. II there
we're more Jane Cowls running around
loose the problem of the younger gen.
Grafton wouldn't hold candle to the
problem of the older generation--some
times known as how to keep father at
home.
John r. Weatherby tMr. Standing)
wins a lawsuit in Washington and re-
turns to his country house at Green
wich with a $4,000 fee, awfully glad
to get back home. The fee and his
return, however, mean certain definite
things to the various members Of his
family To Mrs. Weatherby katherine
EmmeD they mean Rolls Royce te
take the place of the Lincoln. To JACK
they mean a new speed boat. To Nora
Gerrish Joyce Carey, married
/ daughter, engaged in the process Of
deserving perfectly good and hard.
working husband, they mean a mink
coat. And TO Angela Weatherby (Heler
Brooks, the l6-year-old flapper daugh.
! ter, they don't mean much OF anything
! because Angela is too full of inferior
! gin to realize that the old man is back
Into this happy family, which we ART
| led to believe Is more or less typica
of the age, with father paying the bill!
! and knowing, in helpless and befoggeC
| sort of way, that something ought Il
| be done, comes Jenny Valentine (Mis
| Cowl), a famous actress and beautiful
| woman, who starts out to set thing
! right in her own way.
The picture of family life in Americ;
/ is not new, the same elements hav,
been mixed before as ingredients of ;
common enough situation. For a tim
\ the audience is threatened with tn
| traditional method of improving tn,
atmosphere by having father do som
stepping out, just to show that he /
not as old as he looks. This formula
| 1t Is understood, usually works, and tn
remainder Of the family is cowed int
submission by the regeneration o
father. But Jenny is different He
advent presents more reasonable turl
Of events. AS that turn is not takei
until a split second before the final cur
tain, it would be unfair to anticipate I
here. II may be said, however, that tn
male population will give 1t sympatheti
approval.
Such finished artists as Miss Cow
and Mr.. Standing are the greatest bull
warks against the loss of the legitimat
theater. They stand like a pair o
Horatios at the bridge against the on
rush Of the talkies Nav their ZOO