Evening star., 1938-04-26

For the mother. it is no fun what
ever. For the audience, 1t is prac-
tically hilarious every step Of the way.
OF all the years comedies, and there
have been so many, since all dram
atists regarded the world as funny
last year, the drama OF family that
felt the same but talked differently
about this depression and morals is
one of the most laughable contrived
in recent months. 1t was unfair of
Mr.. Reed and the talented cast, per-
haps. to have brought up the point
about how war-generation parents
were supposed to have felt, but he did
bring it up and it is practically bound
to be the same kind of sensation here
that it was in New York.
The cast minces none Of Mr.. Reeds
words in making the point that the
present generation of adolescents can
make the parents of the same group
look pretty silly. There is still that
second act curtain line which so ef-
fectively, if not exquisitely, sums up
the whole affair, which it would be nice
to reproduce here il Miss Watson did
not do it so much better.
Any possible complaint with the
play, which Alfred de Liagre, jr.,
gave such handsome production. would
have to do with bit too much casual
ness on the part of the performers.
There were moments, even if not too
many, when they seemed to indicate
that one did not need to pay so much
heed to ones playing as was necessary
in New York something like a year
ago. Outside Of that, Miss Watson.
Miss Heming, Charles Bryant and
other members of the cast, bore down
suitably on the emotions and the lines
which deserve to go on well beyond the
current week.
TOMMY RIGGS has an idea every
woman should know about. Mr..
Riggs, father of the now famous Betty
LOU" who appears on the radio weekly,
is playing at the Earle this week The
idea which seems to recommend him
to the sex which is so egregiously
concerned with beauty is involved in
the fact that while Betty Lou has been
his alter ego, so to speak, for seven
years. she remains somewhere between
the age of and years old
Mr.. Riggs. who talks of Betty Lou
as if she were a real person instead
of just voice he discovered a long
time ago. has no intention of letting
her grow up. So far as he is con-
cerned, she will always be between
her, which he hopes they won't. he
will switch around to another char
acter if that is possible.
The main concern of the man who
has gone step beyond Edgar Bergen
in that he does not even use a dummy
in his act is that of keeping his little
girl sweet" He does not want her to
become a sophisticate in the faintest
meaning of the word. If she does,
she will let both Of them down. Even
if he does not disappear from the
world OF entertainment, she will.
The handsome young man who has
appeared on Rudy Vallee's radio pro-
gram for more than 40 weeks record
exceeding even that of Bergen and
Charley Mccarthy, should never give
you cause for worrying about confusing
Betty Louis childish treble with his
own baritone. He never has done so
and has not the slightest fear of it,
although he does make the concession
OF knocking on wood when he SAYS
that it seems unlikely. How does he
keep from it? 1t is very simple. Mr..
Riggs writes all of his dialogue-and
Betty Louis. But he does not put
them in different inks 1t is merely
matter of putting red pencil mark
around her speeches. blue around his
own. He never forgets. But that
knocking on wood indicates that he
might believe it possible
Next to Betty Lou, who is a very
real person in spite of her unreality,
the Riggs family is proudest of Rudy
Vallee.' If you think Rudy Vallee is
some one you have heard on the
radio, you are wrong. He is a cocker
spaniel, tan cocker spaniel over
whom the Riggs are practically dopev.
He is only 7 months old, terribly
spoiled. but nice adjunct to the
family in spite Of all his faults.