Evening star., 1938-02-11

Would end up several leagues Dehlnd L
the inspired comedy of the Disney
fairy tale which opened today at
Keiths. OF all the characters in
Snow White Dopey somehow seems
the most magnificent, the symbol of
man who comes through triumphant
in a world that shows him an even
100 per cent of disdain. If Dopey can
laugh at the things which happen to
him and come back always for more,
and he can do both, then the human
rare ought to be able to dispense with
tear ducts from now on.
The kinship of Disney to Charley
Chaplin as revealed in the character
of DopeY is visible in every antic of
the seventh dwarf who could not talk
'hecause he never tried The real
reason Dopey never talks. one sus-
poets, is that. like Chaplin, he does
not need the eloquence of words. He
reveals himself. or Disney reveals him,
as the most extraordinary pantomim-
ist that ever came to the screen. Words
are tools needed by lesser characters,
ttiV htlid WIN NdlA tliC SSNNlilli u" al
'Dopey' because he for which thank
risnev) is not as they are.
There is reason to suspect that
there is more of the Disney philosophy
In Dopey than in all the other char
acters of Snow White put together;
that it is through Dopey that the
creator of this screen miracle lets you
see that he regards life as a divine
comedy in which every one ought to
he happy to be a player. The little
blue bird who hits high note in his
solo by leaping 2 feet from his perch
is an off shoot of the same poetic
strain In the Disney imagination. And
because ne is, We nominate him as the
screen player giving the best support
ing performance for the year 1888.
It is to be hoped that no matter
what he does with the other charac-
ters in Snow White" in so far as
subsequent use is concerned, Disney
will hnd further roles for Dopey and
the baby blue bird. Then they can
go on winning prizes every year and
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences won't have nearly so
many things to fight over.
GAUL was not the only thing Caesar
divided into parts. He, or more
precisely it. the play, divided the FAM
ily of John Beall into two parts; one
part, Mr.. Beall on the Pacific Coast;
the other. Helen Craig MRS. BealD
playing Calpurnia in the Mercury
Theater production Of the drama
which comes to the National Theater
next week. Space. however. does not
mean the same thing as when Caesar
Was dividing Gaul into parties tres
Tor did you know that?) for the Bealls
talk nightly over long distance. Some
times the calls come in the middle of
performance, requiring Mrs Beall
tn step out OF the character of CAL
rurnja into the character of Mrs.
Beal!, which might be the neatest
trick of the week if the actress had
not had 80 much practice
Incidentally, speaking of Julius
Caesar" the coming of the play to
Washington reveals just how synony-
nous are the Mercury Theater and
Young Orson Welles. In spite of the
vast impression to the contrary, Mr.
Welles is not coming here to play the
role of Brutus Il is a road COM
csny-over which critics are elated-
that will present an exact reproduc-
tion Of the New York modern dress.
hare-stage version of the drama.
Tom Powers, Theater Guild veteran,
plays Brutus in the production which
Will be offered at the National, which,
OF course, was directed by Nh. Welles.
\ X X X
THE other half OF the Evelyn Laye
family, Husband Frank Lawton,
will come to the National on February
"a IN play, Il Am Ny Youth" based
on the life of Shelley. . Mr.. Law
ton will play the part of the poet, who,
beloved of so many, was not beloved
hv Aldous Huxley. II was Mr..
Huxley who once made character
refer to Shelley as pale white slug"
All SoS 1IOln JIle La DOTalOrE
Little Theater says the group is in sad
need of man about 26 who can play
the part Of bitter, spoiled young
playwright in This Is Drama" !
F, Cowles Strickland of the Civic
Theater might use the occasion to
dispose of the boy wonder who has
him wondering about George and
Margaret" which gives about nine
tenths promise of being one of the hits
OF the season. Movies are getting
to sound more and more like some
thing they talk about at the National
Bureau Of Standards. The next
Earle picture. after Swing Your
LADY" is film done in 'multiplane
technicolor" That means, as We
get it 'or maybe don'O, that the third
dimension, depth, is in there some
where, The picture, incidentally,