Judge — July 19, 1924 — page 20: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE SHOW THAT MADE NEW YORK FAMOUS ow that Mr. Gilbert Seldes has N finally discovered the music show genius of Florenz Ziegfeld on the fifteenth anniversary of the discovery of the fact by everyone else in America, we may call it unanimous and proceed to the further business of the meeting. This business concerns the Rey. Dr.’s latest glorification of those portions of the American girl that are customarily re- served for the eye of her husband or her osteopath. In this latest glorification, the Rev. Dr. discloses himself to be up to his standard. He is still gifted, as no other of his colleagues, with the knack of making a pieface look like a charlotte russe and with the talent for making a good-looking girl look so much better looking than she actually is that the Colony restaurant puts in another table the moment the report on her reaches its ears. The estimable Flo’s proficiency in the beautification of female anatomy has long been a favorite subject for my criti- cal profundi I have already written some 50,000 or 60,000 words on it, or a sum total in invested earnings of 200 cases of champagne, 120 cases of gin, 82 cases of Scotch, 47 cases of Italian vermouth and three and one-half cases of Chartreuse. It is, indeed, to-day so widely known and generally accepted a fact that the M. Ziegfeld can convert a piece of intrinsically homely femininity by George Jean Nathan into something that will make at least 500 Yale boys flunk their examinations that. following the usual practice in sich instances, dissenters are already arising to prove that what is true isn’t. Never- theless, this year, as I have said, the old boy once avaia does himself yroud. His. “Follies” stage contains a wealth of wench loveliness. In other phases of this season's show, however, the M. Ziggy’s genius is not up to scratch. This is particularly true in the matter of comedy, always his weakest point. Surely we have a right to expect something better from him than jokes about noiseless soup spoons and pieces of business wherein a man finds, after he kissed a girl, that his watch and wallet are missing. Even Will Rogers does not run on high this year. Some of his material is good, but he overdoes politics to such a degree that he wears pretty thin before the evening is over. As Ziegfeld’s first lieutenant, the M. Gene Buck, always accuré knows, however, all such de- ficiencies are quickly to be rectified, in his own words, by bringing on the gals. And doubtless by this time the gals have been brought on sufficiently often to fill up the opening night’s great wide open spaces. Some of the scenic pictures are in the best “Follies” tradition, both Ludwig Kainer and John Wenger exhibiting their And Ben newest wares to advantage. for the first act finale are supremely eye-fetching. There are many familiar faces, in addition to Will Rogers—if call Rogers’ face fami There is Ann Pennington, still shaking a coy knee with her pristine Irving Fisher, who can with all the Einstei working theory of relativity; charming little Mat Daw, who is doubtless being lined up by the Rev. Dr. to. follow Mary Eaton's shoes: Ali Haggin’s costume one may vigor; sentimental song sing a Intense seriousness of out a some day in the always humor- ous Tom Lewis and the always unhumor- ous Lupizo Lane: Segal. in excellent and slender; and Brandon ‘Tynan Vivienne grown attractively (IL sor how can never think of anything to say about Brandon There is doubtedly something that can be said about Brandon ‘Tynan, but what it is I don't know. Let somebody else try h’s hand at it. There are two corps of Tiller the show. Both are as perfectly as the various troupes we have voice ‘Tynan. un- girls in trained seen in the past. One of ‘heir numbers, a rope skipping dance, is the best thing of its kind that Tiller has sent over from EF: land. All: in all, despite its lack of originality and poor showing in the de- partment of humor, an exhibition that tickles the retina. fairer. And the “Follies.” The girls were never girls are ever the As the tennis enthusiast secs the adherents of other sports. comicbooks.com