Life, 1899-03-09 · page 13 of 20
Life — March 9, 1899 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page reviews a stage adaptation of *The Three Musketeers*, praising the production's visual spectacle while critiquing its theatrical liberties with Dumas's novel. The critic (Metcalf) particularly commends actress Edith Crane's portrayal of the villainous Comtesse de Winter, though notes she lacks the original character's cat-like cunning. The review acknowledges the play prioritizes dramatic "picture theory" (visual tableaux for advertising) over narrative coherence or realism. The bottom cartoon satirizes Secretary Algir (unclear which Secretary), mocking his annoyance at "canned beef" matters through dialogue suggesting masculine incompatibility with marriage—a gendered jab at bureaucratic ineffectiveness. The accompanying illustration depicting tangled figures appears to reinforce this critique of administrative confusion.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ments of the play, and Miss Katherine Flor- ence as Gabrielle, @Artagnan's divinity, shows more positive qualities of a good sort than she has hitherto seemed to possess. The bulk of the work falls on Miss Edith Crane, Who Impersonates the very devilish Comtesse de Winter of the book, — She Is not so cat-like in her deviltry—bar a feline propensity for coming to life after she ts dead—as the female villain of Dumas, but she brings to the part a magnificent physique nd much personal beauty. She ts a tad lady all right, and acts well. With proper truining and cast for the right Ine of parts, ‘Miss Crane should have a future. STAGE version of “The Three Mus- keteers” can, of course, only dip here and there into the YR story, and naturally must take liberties with It, This one chooses the episodes well, and makes no pretense to probabll- ity, or even to probable sequence of events, It does not go in for dialogue, and tts story 1g Jast sumictently connected to present tt many thrilling situations, Of these, the en- counter in Clarice’s chamber, and her death in the convent, with the musketeers acting as Judges, Jary and executioners, are the most powerful, and quite calculated to give @ nervous spectator a sleepless night. The “stage picture” theory of dramatic production Is here given fall swing, and al- though the successive tableaux are valuable for advertising purposes on the bill-boards, they do not make the play's extreme unreal- ity any more real. “The King’s Musketeer” may be rodo- montade, but tt 1s surely more wholesome than the sexual problem rottenness which, bapplly, is disappearing from the stage. Metcalf. “UP 1D WERE A 1 NEVER WOULD Cane TO MARRY.” LIFE 18 CREDIBLY INFORMED THAT SECRETARY “IP YOU WERE A MAN, I NEVER WOULD WANT TO MARRY, EITHER.” ALOER IS ANNOYED BY THE CANNED BEEP MATTER. comichooks