Judge — October 20, 1928 — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

JUDGE By GEORGE JEAN NATHAN ue habitual appr “Good God! how can you stand theatre every night?” While there 1 reviewer, however quick on the ch to a play reviewer is ving to the ver was a 1 trigger, who could think up the right answer, there have neverthe less been times when going to the tl hasn't seemed so very much worse fg shoe store, the glue factory, or a pants house every morning. But this last week in September hasn't been one of the times. re ev than going to the ry night If the New York theatre has ever disgorged sourer tripe than it has recent! taken place either before I was out in the side alley shooting craps with the late William Winter. I don’t wish to imply any acerbity in the matter, but if the local playhouses con tinue to besmear their stages with suc! one, the disgorging must have ny day or on nights when garbage I, for am going to call in the police, not to do anything about the garbage but to arrest me and lock me up for being so big a damphool as to waste my evenings over it. Two of the leading exhibits that I have at- tended are such unspeakable slop that I bother you with them only to indicate to what depths the stage has fallen, irst, then, “Jarnegan.” Tully's novel, from which the play has been taken by a couple of utterly incompetent hacks, teresting job: a smashingly forthright character em- broidered with e& tion, true enough, but also with bits of telling realism and much good writing. The play that the hacks have concocted hasn't a trace of the novel's merit. Approximately all that is left of it is the exaggeration, thrice exaggerated, and a lot of damns and hells. In the book, we were given the Hollywood in terms of literature; in the play we get only a pervading and disgusting the- an in- sewer that is Some of the language that the hacks employ wouldn't even be at home in a lavatory, and some of the action they offer would be barred by the madame of any reputable peep-show. The whole sad barrel of refuse, excepting only such extremely faint flashes of Tully’s novel as accidentally illuminate it, is homesick for the dump. The leading réle is in the hands of Richard Ben- nett, who, either because he didn’t know his lines on the opening night or disdained them, dropped it every other minute with aon ble thud. This Ben nett is an actor not without a measure of skill, but all thro imps may atrical stench, is evident so much ob over with in order that he curtain speech that he loses competent dramatist’s effect. Bennett would devote to his work one-tenth and ene that he devotes to thinking up ions of critics and audiences he better off. Miss Joan Ben- nett, his daughter, a very lovely young girl, plays a small part nicely and a drunken’ scene, vulgar, but moderately funny, is well handled by Miss Wynne Gibson, The rest, unfortunately, is not silence, his performances there ience to get the make an idiotic every ounce of even If Mr. the fig elocutionary denune would be time considerably ice No, 2 of violent balderdash is “Fast Life,” by hipman and Hymer, This is a determined and orable effort to shock the boobs, as crude as a pig-pen and. almost loriferous. The thing is cheap beyond belief. The first act, for example, dis- young man's apartment to which, after a returns and engages in a M The lowest kind of suggestion are indulged in, including the (Continued on page 26) closes ¢ party, a girl act with th and innuendo lessee. man’s Theatre “darnegan™ (Longacre)—Sim Tull acted and periatically amusing polite vie novel reduced to box-office walla- * (Erlanger's)—The new an song and dance sb wed next week The Command —See next week's “Possession” (Hooth)—Ditto. “The Froat Page” (Times Syuate) Teg livelbat play in town, “Stange Interlude” (Colden)— outstanding American play of the ger junk. “Might Hestess™ (Beck This Thing Called Love” (Filictt)— Dreary melo- t “Qed Boy” (Hammerstein) —The scenery will divert you in epite of the dul- The teased the reat ef the pr Gress My Heart” (K. (Lemperial)— seal comebies erbocker)— “Heavy Traffic” (Empire) comedy. newly played “The Song Writer” (48th Broadway drivel. “The High Read” (Fulton) Street}— Smoothly As bad aa they come. Tre te FB (Li to spend an evening “The Big Fight"? (Majestic) —Jack Dempsey in a tin-pot melodrama. le) —A. poor way Digest “Gentlemen of the Press” (Miller)— ing in this oe. “The Light of Asia (Hamplen) be reviewed later ‘Plessare Man’ (Bilumore)— “Straight Through the “By Request”? (Iudson)—Tepid, oma To ubert)—T'll tell you Terrible. - 1 “Little Accident"? (Morceco)—To be paned on later, “The War Seng. (National)—Senti- mental dlaptrap. “Machinat” (Plymouth) ““Gein’ Home” (Masque)—Some Preuantious ndes but the play as a whole “Blackbirds” (Fltinge entertaining smoke show “Vanities” (Carroll) —Stale revue, with one of two coxnical sl “Courage” (1 A really goo The same olf echoes. To be reviews! comicbooks.com