Life — September 7, 1922 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

LIFE — SUNDAY EDITION An Interesting Book NINA’S NIBLICK, by Ruth McElwy Greech (Neakham, Brodd Co.). In her new novel Miss Greech tells the story of a young man, Roger Manship, who leaves his home in the Middle West to go into newspaper work in New York. He runs into evil com- panions who injure his ear-drum so that he is made deaf. In the same office with his rich uncle, Porter Manship, works a girl named Nina, who turns out later to have been the mother of Rascum, the little boy for whom Nesbit gave his life, but, of course, the young man does not know this when he first meets her. One thing leads to the other, and Roger and Nina become fast friends and name their first child after the faithful old Ludovici. There is a big scene in the jun- gle, where it is finally discovered that Dr. Crespin was in the employ of the railway company all the time, and all ends happily in a manner which to divulge here would be unfair to the author. “Nina's Niblick” is well written for the most part and holds the reader’s interest from beginning to end. Its character delineation is very good and the reader finds himself so interested that it is difficult to lay the book down once it has been taken up. We look for promising things from Miss Greech after she has had her head blown off. News-Notes from Bookland George Elright Strem, author of “The Planting of Martha,” now in its first big printing, has been spending the summer at his cabin on Kleagle’s Island, Vt. “It is lovely here,” he writes to his publishers, “and I shouldn’t be at all surprised if we had a little rain this afternoon.” early in the autumn. * * * One of the least called-for books in the Chicago Public Library during August was} Robert Mamble’s “Little-Known Trails Through Old Quebec” (Nosting & Co.). Mr. Mamble pretends to be quite elated at this distinction. * * * It is said that while writing “Enos Crash” (Libby, Wrenning), Frank Rosmer sat in a hollow tree on his estate at “Bunch-holm” and would see no one except reporters. x * * George Duff & Co. announce for Fall pub- lication a new novel by Elizabeth LaLarge, author of “The Trouble With Lillian Is She Coughs So Much.” Mrs. LaLarge’s forth- coming book is to be called “Teeny-Weeny” and is said to deal with episodes in the life of William Ewart Gladstone. ee * A correspondent has written us enquiring about a book called, “If Winter Comes”, and asking where he can obtain a copy. We re- gr2t that we do not know. Can any of our readers give the desired information? Mr. Strem’s new | book, “My Old Throat Trouble,” will be out | ae roe Watler Burfidge Zone, whose first novel. “John Marchmont—Chipper, Filer and Woodcutter,” has served to place him in the front rank of American hurdlers. THE SILVERSHEET The feature at the Drivoli Theatre this week will be William Fox’s masterpiece, “Hot Lips,” with William Farnum in the stellar réle. The management of the theatre has staged a special pro-epilogue for the occa- sion, and Barbara Frietchie costumes will be) en régle among the ushers. While “out on location” at the Grand Canyon for his new photodrama, “The Old Home Town,” Jackie Coogan pulled a good one. As he gazed into the mighty abyss, age- old as time itself, the youthful star remarked: “Say! That looks like a swell place to throw your old safety razor blades.” David Wark Griffith is to produce a sev- enty-two-reel picturization of “The Outline of History.” He has already signed up a flock of likely looking doves for the cast. Jesse L. Lasky, vice-president of the Para- mount-Artcraft company, flatly denies the report that his world-famous star, Gloria Swanson, is to wed Will H. Hays. All Hollywood is agog over the rumor that George Bernard Shaw has accepted a fat contract to write sub-titles for the mammoth Universal Super-Jewel, “Heart o’ the West.” Cecil B. De Mille has sent to India for seven hundred dancing girls, sixty-eight ele- phants, fourteen Bengal Tigers and five gen- uine Maharajahs to be used in the dream episodes of his forthcoming production of Sinclair Lewis’s novel, “Main Street.” In Playdom “Ben Hur,” Mammoth Heart Drama, Opens at Bijou The season will open at the Bijou on Mon- day night with the advent of Gen. Lew Wal- lace’s super-spectacle play, “Ben Hur.” The all-star cast includes such well-known players as William Gray (in the title-role), George Rosset, Lewis Nevin, Paul Thurston, Alton Roderick, Mary Blake, Doris Davis, Mar- garet Phillips, Roger Duncan, Thomas Van Dyke, Lillian Martin, Herbert Spence, Nor- man Langley, Raymond Blake, Hilda Dans- vort, William Stone, Marguerite Parker, Townsend Claverly, Mary Lee, Helen Shea, Harris Philbin, Gertrude Negley, Nat Gross- beck, Lester Deeds and Phillip Carr. * * * In the cast of Gen. Lew Wallace's super- spectacle play “Ben Hur,” which comes to the |Bijou on Monday after a run of twenty years on Broadway, is an interesting char- acter whose name is not on the program. |This is none other than “Jascha,” the baby }camel, born while the company was playing in McKeesport, Pa. “Jascha” is now three months old and every day she is taken out |for a run by the wardrobe mistress, who has adopted “Jascha” and is bringing her up like her own child. “Jascha’s” daily menu con- sists of three bags of Nonesuch mash, a cou- ple of fried eggs, apple pie and a cup of | coffee. “Jascha” says that she is glad to be playing in (name of city) and hopes that all the kiddies in town will come to see her. * * * William Gray, who plays the part of Ben Hur in Gen, Lew Wallace’s super-spectacle play of that name which comes on Monday to the Bijou, started out in life as a lawyer. | He is a graduate of the Colorado School of Mimes and went on the stage much ag the wishes of his parents, who wanted him to follow in his father’s footsteps and be a fat man. “I am glad that I decided to go on the stage, however,” said Mr. Gray in his dressing-room, “because I consider the the- jatre to be a very good thing to do.” eee During the chariot-race scene in Gen. Lew Wallace’s “Ben Hur,” which comes to the Bijou on Monday, there is a moment of in- tense excitement when it looks as if Bex Hur might lose the race. During its run of twenty years on Broadway, however, he never lost it once. In this connection, a story is told of William Gray, the ex-college-graduate who plays the leading male role in the play of that name. Mr. Gray had just come up to his dressing-room after the big chariot-race scene and was asked by John Drew, who was in the company at that time, if he never felt nervous during the big chariot-race scene. “Only once,” replied Mr. Gray, “and that was when an axle almost broke. If it had broken I might have ben-hur(t).” Mr. Gray is only twenty-four. comicbooks.com