Evening star., 1938-09-25

watery pleasure That is, it flows
right along. giving OF amiable sounds
and attractive colors, but it isn't stun
that goes to the head. Mark it down
as all right if you're thirsty-and the
town is. right now, for theater, after
the long summer drought
Jesse James has always had a place
In the hearts Of his countrymen and
the theory has been that it is not
so much because he was an American
Robin Hood as because it was easy
to understand and sympathize with
his outlawry.
Elizabeth Ginty's play leans heavily
on legend. This is Robin Hood going
graciously through the Ozarks in her
play, rescuing widow lady by giving
her the money to pay off her mortgage
and then waiting outside to rob the
collector, stealing the watch of a
man who would not tell him the time
of day civilly, tender before women,
pious before God and strong before
his enemies. The elements are familiar
and Miss Ginty has learned to route
them through entrances and exits
during her years in the front Office Of
David Belasco.
THE action relates to the final two
weeks Of Jesse's life. when he
was living in St. Joseph. Mo-, as
Thomas Howard. 1t begins with the
gathering of the band to plot train
robbery. switches to the lnterlude Of
his gallantry to widowhood and a
bank robbery and winds up with a
portrayal of the best known Job of
picture busting in American history.
James, has everybody with ears has
heard, was shot in the back while
busting a picture. The dirty little
coward that shot Mr.. Howard" was
a member of his own band. a swag-
gering. pink-cheeked boy who was
sure Jesse could not escape the new
est posse, who was terrified at the
thought Of capture and who wanted
the $4,000 reward on the bandit S
head.
Being unable to set horseflesh foam
Ing on the stage except by the pain
fully indirect method of busting her
actors boots with yellow powder and
making them walk on bow-legged) =,
Miss Ginty simply flutters along over
the task of creating excitement The
ungentlemanly truth is that she doesn' t
seem to be Writer enough to make
q character talk bullets as thrillingly
as shoot them.
l have never seen Dean Jaeger
graduate of Wabash College and
Chatauqua) in the movies, but he
gives an uncommonly fine performance
on Broadway 1t has depth and
resonance and, when the heat is on.
when the action calls for a sinister
flicker in his eyes and stiffening
IN his heart, you can see in him
ss you cannot hear in his words
the boy killer WAC rode with Quantrill
and came up smoking" until they
laid him in his grave.
A LFRED E. SMITH, the Fulton Fish
Market boy who rose to the Gov
ernor's office in Albany, laughed and
cried over the reincarnstion of
"Llghtnin'!'' Also I am told by ex-
perts that anybody who grew up in
the kind of theater of which this
play is the fairest flower must live
it today right down to the ground
the way you love old shoes.
Because of its long run and because
of Frank Bacon who died in it's service,
the piece has become very nearly
sacred around mere. hope it will
come as anti-climax to hear that I
didn't like it at all.
l hope that because it's an innocent
little contrivance written on top of
vaudeville trunks by man who was
desperately anxious to give people
what they wanted. A little to laugh
over, little to cry over, nothing to
hurt anybody and curtain that will
send them away smiling. He didn't
do that for me. but he wasn't writing
for me. Winchell Smith and Frank
Bacon we're writing for a war-sick
people who thought that ladies who
smoked were wicked, city folks were
slickers and "the papers" were a re-
spectacle dramatic device.
Fred Stone, IS now and nimble as
all get-out, was delight to see He's
no dear old darling, just an actor In
step with today.
tGopy-isht' 1888. by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Inc)