Judge — August 28, 1926 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

JUDGE ING ‘he SHOWS'= ow that this department is once again in intelligent hands, let us get serious once more and devote ourselves to a piece of tripe called “The Ghost Train.” The show will have opened at the Selwyn by this time, so I take the liberty of reporting on it from its London. manifestation the Prince of Wales's Theater, so called because it never houses musical shows and, therefore, never attracts the esti- mable Prince as a customer. “The Ghost Train” is the work of Arnold Ridley. Who Mr. Ridley is, I don’t know, but if he is any rela- tion to all the Ridley coal signs one sees in England he needn't. worry about play royalties. What Ridley has confected is what is commonly known by the boobleta tery play a mys- A mystery play is one the solution of whose mystery is al- way’ printed in all the newspapers the day after it opens and which then confidently expects everyone there- after to be all worked up over specu- lating whether it was Giles Rosen- baum who killed the old miser or the old miser who killed Giles Rosen- baum. In “The Ghost Train,” al- though, true enough, there are the usual number of murders, the great puzzle that confronts the audience which has read the answer in the papers concerns not the identity of some evil gent, but, more particu- larly, the nature of a choo-choo that every once in so often occultly passes a given point when no train has been scheduled and when, to boot, no one can find out where it comes from or goes to. Obviousl, a pretty mystery, and a veritable leaf out of daily life and the world about us. The central character in Sir | bert and Sullivan re “Abie's Trish Ro s signs of a ru until 1985. * (Republic) —This play | . but E doubt that it can | egfeld’s Recue” (Globe)—A beautifully ced show, but nowhere near Ziegfeld’s Figh stendard, “Scandals” (Apollo)—A_ good revue with good-looking girls, but with some outdated headliners. “Kitty's Kissca” (Playhouse)—A poor musi cal show enlivened Dorothy Dille and Nick Long's danci folanthe” (Plymouth)—An excellent Gil al, to be pla the top of your theater schedule. “The Girl Friend” (Vanderbilt) —A_ dull music show with no one in it to relieve matters. “Garrick Gaieties” (Garrick)—Only fair and then only in spots. Sunny” (New Amsterdam)—Still the best ilyn, Miller and ne shows, Sack Donahue earning the “The Great Temptations” (Winter Garden f the best of the Shubert offeri . even if you have ev t Night in Paris (44th St.)—Moved down | » the Century Roof and embellished with auc new numbers. »)—Still going at the id, despite the Pulitzer Prize. ‘One Man's Woman” (48th | St.)—Hot weather or no hot weathe n't think up anything good to say about this one. ‘Cradle Snatchers" (Music Box)—Although the advertisements announce it as the funniest show in New York it is the funniest show in New York. "No More Women" (Ambassador)—Half of it iy by Samuel Shipman. “Laff That Off” (Wallack’s)—Anyone who can sitisfaetorily explain to. me why th play has run so long will be rewarded with son piss to the Desbrosses street ferry. “Pyramids” (Cohan)—Produced — while in E d drinking Bass’ mineral w. tmericana’ I hear good rts of this revue, but still have rh which keeps me from getting around ft Mrs. Beam's" (Guild)—Moderately ng comedy of life English bourdin , with Jean Cade ent in the leading role. “Honest Liars” (Harris)—See “Py ids."" “The Great God Brown" (Klaw)—An antidote to nine-tenths of the plays in town. “What Every Woman Knows Helen Hayes acquits herself ni the réles that M Adams pl 4 support is nothing to throw roses over the footlights at. “Sez” (Daly's) —This stink-bomb is. still perfuuming the little theater up in 62d street. “The House of Ussher” (Mayfair)—A dull | evening, doubtless being kept alive by the activities of Professor Leblang. “The Vagabond King” (Casino)—The song: in this musical version of “If I Were King” are sung, w is more than one can say of certain other shows along Broadway. “Passions of 1926" (Shubert)— “The Merry World” rebuptized “Nie-Nax of 1926" (Cort)—The gent who conducted this department while Tw the cure at Haig-und-Haig has review Arthur Wing Ridl silly-ass *s drama is a Englishman who — hops around the stage bumping into the other actors, stepping on their feet, making asinine cracks and conduct- ing himself generally like a subli- mated moron, and who turns out in the end to be none other—surprise of surprises!—than a very perspicacious Scotland Yard detective. It is due to this genius’ ratiocination that the spook train is found to be a very real one designed to carry arms to Bolshevists hiding in England and ready to burn down Buckingham Palace any minute and to lift the ban which currently prevents any- one from getting a drink between the hours of three and five-thirty in the afternoon, The acting that Mr. George Ber nard Ridley’s masterpiece received on the night I saw it would go great in Shamokin, Pa. Richard Bird, the young English actor who got notices from the New York newspaper boys last year that Salvini would have been proud to paste in his scrapbook, had the réle of the sleuth. His perform- ance was a combination of St. Vitus and hoochie-coochie dancing, with overtones of hydrophobia. The sup- porting troupe, following his lead and aided and abetted by some re- markable stage direction, needed only a ball to make an otherwise realistic game of soccer perfect. Il A NOTHER English gem announced for early American production is “Distinguished Villa,” by a Mlle. Kate O’Brien. Upon my return to New York, I heard that the local gazettes, the day after the play opened, printed long cable dispatches (Continued on page 27) comicbooks.com