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i 4 te ce ten tel ten. ce. . WINNETKA WEEKLY TALK, SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 1925 HERE AND THERE ON STAGE AND Reviews of the Week By Thespian STAGE "PLL: SAY SHE IS" Apollo Theatre Here are the Four Marx Brothers back with us again after more than a year's absence most of which was spent in New York where their ef- forts were highly regarded. In No- vember 1923 we had them at the Studebaker for some two months but not nearly all theater-goers who fancy this style of entertainment made haste to visit them there. Consequently, I imagine they should have no difficulty in remaining at the Apollo for fully as long. As I have intimated before these four brothers are about as funny a group as one will find on the stage. Each has a distinct bit to do and each is a master in doing it. As presented here at this time it is almost an exact duplicate of its previous showing, still I find much to laugh at and to ap- plaud. Tt consists of many scenes, has a thread of plot and is full of song, dance, pretty girls and wise repartee. And in and through it all the brothers show their stuff which includes a con- tinuous pantomime by one of them which is unusual and music by two of them that indicates they know much about the piano and the harp. Many of those who added in this effort when here are with it still. Miss Carlotta Miles, who was plain Lotta before, is the somewhat stately and well developed exponent of "Beauty" in search of a thrill. Lloyd Garrett, with an attractive voice, and Miss Ruth Urban do most of the singing while Marcella Hardie is cute and at- tractive in her dancing efforts. The performance as a whole is one of the best of the musical comedy ef- forts seen recently at the Apollo and its careful mixing of the various ele- ments usually found in such endeavors is one of the attractive things about it. "SHIPWRECKED" Studebaker Theatre The first time on any stage is ap- plicable to "Shipwrecked" inasmuch as this is its first showing. It is termed a spectacular drama and was written and staged by Langdon Mec- Cormick who was also responsible for the "Storm." The story is of and on the high seas. John Calvin, governor of Babalo Is- land and owner of the steam-ship Corsican, has ordered his more or less shiftless son to embark on that boat at New York and join him on the Ts- land. Taking his pal, Jimmie, for company's sake, he is about to em- bark when a woman attempts suicide from the wharf and he rescues her. Discovering that she has much in the past she would forget and realizing that to leave her would mean she would try suicide again, he insists on smuggling her on the hoat. During the voyage serious complications arise, there are indications that she is pos- sibly guilty of murder and the captain of the vessel makes undesirable ad- vances. Fire breaks out, there is a wrecked ship but a final landing on the island and in the end a satisfac- tory adjustment of affairs. Through it all there develops a love affair be- tween the young man and the girl he saves. Of the four acts, two are on ship hoard and give opportunity for melo- dramatic work that is interesting. The spectacular scene showing the burning of the vessel is well worked out and quite realistic. There is' much di- alogue touching the theories of the young woman toward men in general, considerable comedy on the part of the pal" and enough action to keep things at a comparatively high pitch from the start. Richard Farrell makes an interesting "Steve," Margaret Mower an attractive "Loie" and Mit- chell Harris, a convincine captain. Alaric Arnee does a good hit of char- acter work and Joseph Marba has some good comedy moments as "Jim- 4 " mie. SCREEN "THE CHARMER" McVickers Theatre A piece written possibly, to let sev- eral excellent actors and actresses amuse and entertain. Certainly there is little that is original, but neverthe- less it does entertain. Pola Neeri is a Spanish dancer who meets Wallace Mac Donald as he tours Europe with his mother and chauffeur (Robert Fra- zer). Both men become quite fond of the dancer although the mother will have none of her because of her peas- nt ancestry in the shape of her mother Trixie Friganza). The scene changes y the United States where the dancer ppears in a New York theatre. Later he chooses the chauffeur. Miss Friganza is a scream and in- >cts much of her well known person- lity into the proceedings. Miss Negri s splendid as the dancer, in fact about enan.s oood as I have ever seen her. Mr. nance» 'razer makes much of the honest SCREEN chauffeur. The picture is light and airy and passible entertainment of its kind. "CHEAPER TO MARRY" Chicagc Theatre The p = ore or less of a suc- cess when . _ppeared here some time ago. In many ways the picture is even more successful. The story touches the lives of two young men, one of whom marries. The other in- sists it is far better to have the wom- an at beck and call but to forget about the wedding ring. Through a financial crisis the latter discovers that in the long run it is not only cheaper to marry but far more satisfactory from many points of view. An excellent cast is involved in the picture. Conrad Nagel and Margaret De LaMotte the the young couple, Lewis Stone the man who decries marriage and Paul- ette Duval, his mistress. Louise Fa- zenda and Claude Gillingwater inject much good comedy. Well directed and quite an interesting film. VAUDEVILLE Majestic Theatre The annual N. V. A. week brought a number of excellent acts to the Majes- tic. There seemed to be a certain sameness about some of them but on the whole the bill was attractive. "By The Sea," the headline attraction con- sisted of five girls and two men in a minature musical comedy with good dancing and not a little comedy. The Graham Revue, an act of similar na- ture, consisted of five girls and one man ih a series of dances and a limit- ed amount of song. The masculine end of the act can dance very well. Farnell and Florence is a collection of nonsense caught on immediately and were good for numerous encores. The same was true of Crafts and Sheehan, two men who handled repartee and wise sayings with considerable aban- don. Walter Hill and his company in their familiar sketch were another number which found approval. Neighboring Theaters VILLAGE THEATRE "The Bridge of Sighs," featuring Dor- othy Mackaill and Creighton Hale, will be shown at the Village theatre next Monday and Tuesday, April 20 and 21. Here is a story dear to the heart of the movie fan--the regeneration of a no-good, weak-willed youth through his love for a pure girl. It is done master- fully, woven with the episodes of the girl who refuses to believe her father is a thief, the money stolen, the wrong man sent "up the road" and his refusal to be- tray his secret so that his daughter and the reformed hero may be happy. With this picture will be shown a two-reel Christie comedy, "Fasy Pick- ing" and a Pathe news reel. ? The funniest comedy ever produced, "Charley's Aunt," starring Sid Chaplin, comes to delight Wilmette audiences the latter part of the week, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Plays may come and plays may go, but 'tis said in the theatre that "Charley's Aunt" will go on forever. No play has has a more interesting or extensive "career" than this famous old farce by Brandon Thomas. After 33 years in every corner of the globe, it is still going strong and now that it has been translated into the universal language of the screen it is said "the old lady" has taken a new lease of life and will be delighting our great, grand-chil- dren as it delighted our grand-parents. It is said that the sun never sets on "Charley's Aunt," meaning that it is al- ways being played somewhere in the United States, England, Canada, Aus- tralia or some place where good comedy entertainment is enjoyed. Mr. Chaplin is supported by a strong cast including Alec Francis, Lucien Lit- tlefield and Pricilla Bonner. The other attractions on the bill are: on Wednes- day and Thursday, a Pathe review and a cross-word puzzle, and on Friday and on Saturday a Pathe news, a comedy, "Dusty Dollars" and a Kelley Color reel. THE HOWARD For next Sunday only, April 19, the Howard theatre will offer a film called "The Fifth Avenue Models" with Mary Philbin and a star cast. An agreement releasing the Hecla Mining Company of Wallace, Idaho, from all liability had to be signed by every member of J. K. McDonald's First Na- tional company before that production unit could use the aerial tramway in the Idaho mines, where thrilling fight scenes were made for the climax to "Frivolous Sal," to be shown at the Howard next Monday and Tuesday, April 20 and 21. The "punch" 'of the story is built around a hand-to-hand battle between Eugene O'Brien and Mitchell Lewis in an ore bucket traveling on a cable over a 300-foot gorge. A special ore bucket had to be built to accommodate the di- rector, Victor Schertzinger, and Chester Lyons, the cinematographer, with his camera. From this the fight was photo- graphed as the two buckets rolled along the aerial tram. It was risky business for everyone concerned. The film people, accustomed to dangerous work in bringing thrills to Coming to the Howard Ben Alexander in Frivolous Sal" the screen, thought nothing of it, but officials of the mining company whose property was being used, viewed the situation differently. It was not until every member of the motion picture com- pany had signed the unconditional re- lease, that permission was granted to stage the scene. However, it went off without untoward incident. Those happy days, when a night at the theatre didn't cost more than a chap could earn in a couple of days of hon- est work, have been revived, however, in "The Denial" which is to be the Howard attraction Wednesday and Thursday, April 22 and 23. "The Denial" is a picturization of the stage play, "The Square Peg," by Lewis Beach. It's a Hobart Henley production for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; and it has Claire Windsor, William Haines, Ed- ward Connelly, Lucille Ricksen, Robert Agnew, Emily Fitzroy, Vivia Ogden, Bert Roach, Billy Kugene and goodness knows who else in one of those casts that leave nothing to be desired. But the real inside fact about "The Denial" is that it also has the atmosphere --the real tittivating, reminiscently ro- mantic, delightfully stirring nudge in the ribs of the mind, if one might call it that--of those good old days when the late Theodore Roosevelt was rough rid- ing, ballon sleeves were ballooning, Dr. Parkhurst was a-cleaning up New York, and everybody was thinking what an awful place the world was and never dreaming what a delightfu! place it was going to turn out to be. "The Denial" is absolutely free from the Revolutionary influence. It was written under the Spanish War canned beef inspiration. It has all the flavor of the old days--with a kick that has been removed entirely from the new days. It deals with the time when some persons now alive were standing on street cor- ners watching a big, clumsy collection of iron work snort and sneeze down the avenue, and saying "Hal. Ha! Those automobiles! Horses! always be good enough for me!" "The Denial" is an epic of an inter- esting period. There were lots of other interesting items that have been em- 7 ZANTY 1D \ TING <= AN S 20), (7 dy th \ Y) ~-- \ A\7 \ NiNg 1), 1 1'77 YAN _--TNS : <EMNETRA XZ Matinees = Evenings 4PM. I 7:15 & 9 All Seats 15¢ All Seats 25¢ TUESDAY APR. 21 PAT O'MALLEY in a story of youthful adventure "The Fighting American" Cur Gang in "Derby Days" FRIDAY APR. 24 Thomas Meighan mn "Coming Through" COMING SOON DCUCLAS FAIRBANKS "The Thief of Bagdad" balmed in this enthrallingly interesting hotoplay. : i Saturday, April 24 and 25, will be known as "Double Feature Days" at the Howard theatre, when Harold Lloyd will be seen on the silver screen in a revival of his well known success "Now or Never" and Hoot Gibson will perform in "Let'er Buck." THE NEW EVANSTON Florenz Ziegfeld, now, has nothing on James Cruze, for the noted Paramount director does a little glorifying himself in his latest photoplay, "The Goose Hangs High," which will open at the New Evanston next Monday, April 20. The Follies producer, however, need not lose any sleep over his new com- petitor as the maker of "The Covered Wagon" and other notable film produc- tions has chosen to glorify, not the American girl, but the American father! "The Goose Hangs High," which Walter Woods and Anthony Coldewey adap.ed from the famous stage play by Lewis Beach, reveals Dad as the great unappreciated family hero. Cruze, with infinite skill and understanding, realisti- cally pictures all the disappointments and sacrifices of an average small-town father who struggles and scrapes so that his children may have the benefit of a callege education. The plot hinges on the children's in- gratitude, their failure to appreciate what their parent is doing for them, and their unexpected about-face when they realize their selfishness. Only Cruze, with his amazing insight into human hearts, could take such a simple story and make of it a heart- gripping epic picture of pathos and drama, richly woven with typically American humor and a wistfully sweet romance. Not only that, but he has managed to imbue the players with his own en- thusiasm so that they portray their roles with a sincerity and spontaneity seldom seen on the screen. The uniformly meritorious acting of the leading mem- bers of the cast--Constance Bennett, Myrtle Stedman, Esther Ralston, George Irving and Edward Peil, Jr.--is one of the outstanding features of tthe picture. In the final analysis, "The Goose Hangs High" deserves a blue ribbon award not alone for its excellent enter- tainment, but for its sympathetic treat- ment of a phase of American life that is, at the present moment, looming large in the public consciousness. WAY TO STOP GAMBLING? There was a decided slump in profes- sional gambling in Southern California during the filming of First National's new picture, "Frivolous Sal". The rea- son was that the picture required an enormous combination of saloon, dance hall and gambling resort of the type pre- valent in Western mining camps 20 years ago. In order to equip it, Produc- er J. K. McDonald corralled practically all available gambling apparatus in the district. 'This might afford a suggestion to societies for the suppression of gamb- ling. an of forty-fiv i Village Theatre Your Home Theatre J. B. Koppel Managing Director Tues., April 20-21 Evenings, 7:30 and 9:00 Matinee, Tuesday, 3:30 Dorothy Mackaill in "The Bridge of Sighs" also "Easy Picking" 2-Reel Comedy and Latest Pathe News Mon., Wed., Thur., Fri., Sat., 7:30 and 9 "Charley's Aunt" with Syd Chaplin Wed. and Thur, Cross Word Matinees, Saturday, 2 and 4 p. m. Puzzle and Pathe Review Fri. and Sat. "Dusty Dollars"-- Comedy. Pathe News and "Wonder Book" in colors Coming Next Week Douglas Fairbanks "The Thief of Bagdad" NEW CAMPUS Fountain Square Evanston Con. from 1:30ito 11 P. M. Mon. Tues, Wed. April 20, 21, 22 Doris Kenyon--Frank Mayo Anna Q. Nilsson "IF I MARRY AGAIN" Christie Comedy--News Thur. Fri, April 23, 24 Milton Sills--Viola Dana "AS A MAN DESIRES" Walter Hiers' Comedy Saturday, April 25 TOM MIX "North of Hudson Bay" Century Comedy--Aesops Fables Pathe Review--Pathe News Newell & Retchin Hc House of ARD Continuous Every Day--2:15 to 11:15 N. W. "L" Station at Howard Sunday, April 19 One Day Only "The Fifth Ave. Models" with Marv Philbin and all Star Cast Monday and Tuesday April 20, 21 Eugene O'Brien and Mae Busch "Frivolous Sal" Wednesday and Thursday April 22, 23 Claire Windsor, Bert Roach and William Haines "The Denial" Friday and Saturday April 24, 25 Big Double Feature Days HAROLD LLOYD in A revival of his .Big Success "Now or Never" Hoot Gibson in his Greatest Success "Let'er Buck" Shore Trains Stop at Howard All North New Evar.con Starting Monday James Cruzes Newest Production 'The Goose Hanges High' with an all star cast --also-- OUR GANG in 'Mysterious Mystery' Hoyburn Mon., Tues. and Wed. Monte Blue and Marie Prevost mn : 9 '""Recompense Sequal to "Simon Called Peter" Daily Shows at 2, 4, 7 and 9--Saturday Continuous 2 to 11 P. M.