Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-22
Sundry Observations
By w. H. Landvoigt

Bottle" which hardly seems the
Tort of play with which that de-
lightful actress of classic mold
should be identified. Furthermore,
however ridiculouSly amusing the
possibilities of the theme may be,
the playwright manifestly slipped
in his effort to grasp his oppor-
tunities. Strictly Dishonorable, 4"
which seems to have been classed
by someone with the 10 best plays
of the season, came to town her
aided by a gaudily colored poster,
a full yard square, containing the
encomiums of the play by the
critics and dramatic writer's. Louis
Azrael Of Baltimore, as guest re-
viewer" for the New York Tele-
gram, summed up his opinion in
the following terse comment: ITO
put it graphically, Strictly Dis
honorable is like good, dirty
RabelaiSian tale told at the tag
end of a respectable party" At
least, so said the poster. Called a
gay comedy" the wisdom en-
bodied in this column sized it up
as a fascinating connection Of
laughter and license, of innocence
and ShameleSsnesS, of biting wit
and chummy humor, conSum-
mately and kaleidoScopically in
terWoyen by Preston Sturges, it's
young playwright. It seemed like
a satirical joke at the expense of
the modern girl who is disposed
to be daring, but decent, and the
opera tenor, who may be any and
all things. That it is highly enter
tanning cannot be doubted from its
reception by large and eminently
respectable audiences that crowd
ed the National during the week.
That it must have been fright
fully shocking to those of aspen
leaf sensibilities is equally beyond
mere suspicion. 1t is modern
theater," where every one in the
audience is expected to be a good
fellow and laugh, but to reserve all
other emotions for strictly private
manifestation and contemplation.
4 &
IF sentiment sometimes creepS
near the surface with the reader,
1t may not be amiSS to say a word
of commentator in behalf of the
CHEEKY characterization of Seth
Parker, he of the Sunday night
"githerin's" that keep thousands,
perhaps millions, out of their hon
est beds until a very late he r,
simply in order to be pres t.
Here, if you please, is one of ne
finest bits OF drama creation that
has ever come over the radio. So
excellent, indeed, is it that already
there is said to be notion, scarce
ly concrete in form as yet, that
Seth Parker and his Sunday night
companions might admirably be
incorporated in a lengthier drama
for the stage, one of those heart
reaching, worthwhile folk pieces
like THE Old Homestead" or
Way Down East" Worse plots
than this are being brewed in
these troublouS days by wickeder
men.
AT this point pray permit an
incident to be recalled to
illustrate the heartleSS cruelty of
nature when it gets tangled with
good intentions. At the close of
the final performance of Bird in
Hand" at the Belasco, a bit more
than a week ago, Manager L.
Stoddard Taylor, always keen with
an eye to scoring a point, in re-
Spouse to a vigorous curtain call,
had the English company line up
before the footlights, while, ac-
cording to English custom, God
Save the King" was played by the
orchestra, and to make things
more binding, as it were, our own
Star Spangled Banner" 1t was
generous and gentlemanly
courtesy to the players who had
provided a most enjoyable week
with their artistic efforts. But
scarcely before the last note of
God Save the King" was reached