Interesting Ghat and Stage Gossip for Playgoers

>

Doris Keane GladTo Be Home AfterTriuniph in London

Doris Keane has returned home. Shehas eome back to the New York stagcM Cavallini in Edward Sheldon's mostsuecesaful play, "Romance." Uer re¬

turn to the Playhouse last Mondaynirht was the occasion of one of themost entousiastic ovations in the his-tory or the New York stagc. MissKeane did not expect a vreicome ofsuch proportions and was so over-

whelmed by its extent that she was

uuable to say more than "I thank you"ia a eurtain apeech.

"1 want the playgoers to know howgrateful I am for their appreciation,"she declared in her dressing room attho Playhouse the other night. "I amglad to be home again. It was in NewYork that 1 began my long career in'Romance' just before the war. NewYork took kindly to the play and myname became associated with that ofthe ardent and etot<c Italian operasinger, Cavallini. And I decided totempt the fates in London, followinga tour of the larger American cities.MMy engagement in London opened

October 6, 1915, at the Duke of York'sTheater. The American thcatrical invaslon was at its height. Americanplays and players monopolized the Lon¬don stage. But many of the playswhich had been successful in New Yorkfell by the waysixle. They did not comeat the psychological time. They didnot entertain a nation at war. 1 re-call the anxiety that 1 felt about 'Ro¬mance' during its first weeks. I fearedthat it might prove too serious andeentimental for soldiers home on leaveasd bent upon catching a breath ofcheerful relaxation."My fears were groundless. 'Romance'

began to exert a strong appeal, par-tieularly for soldiera, and we movedto the Lyric Theater, where a recordbreaking run was established.. I hadoriginally intended to stay but a sea-.on in London and then return hometo new activities. But the success of'Romance' waa so overwhelming that Icontinued on and on. and it seemedthat I was never to stop I wentthrough one season in the play, thenanother, and soon we began to cele-brate various milestoneB in our prog¬ress.the 450th performance, the 500thperformance, and so on to the 1,000th

Serformance, which was recorded in[arch, 1918. I was on my way to the

1,050th performance wher the seasonclosed and 1 went on a vacation."Ml»s Keane's success was all the

more striking because she playedthronghout the war with its accom-

panying air raids. For a period shegave performances on six afternoonsand two nights a week and then whenthe raids had been controlled she re¬turned to her former schedule. Tohave held the London stage for morethan 1,000 performances while thegreatest war in history progressedfrom one stage to another, destroyinggovernments and dynasties and wip-ing out whole peoples is an amazingfeat for a play. But London playgoerstook care to show Miss Keane thatthey loved "Romance" as much for hersake as for the drama itself.

"I am proud to have contributed tothe happiness of the soldicrs and tohave been represented in posters inthe dugouts and farm houses wheretroops were stationed. I have beentold that rcproducions of Ivanowski'sstriking poster of me as Cavallini were

widely distributed in No Man's Land.To me, that was a greater tribute thanI have ever or ever expect to receive.I cherish it deeply."

More as a change and a diversionthan because "Romance" had exhaust-ed its popularity, Miss Keane presentedin the spring of 1918 "Roxanna," acomedy by Avery Hopwood, which wasknown in this country as "Nobody'sWidow," with Blanche Bat->s in thestellar role. Here again Miss Keanescored a great success, and "Roxanna"continued for many months at theLyric.Thus it was that Doris Keane played

in London all through the war with theexeeption of a few months at its be-ginning, and achieved a name for her-Belf In English theatrical history whichwas unique. Her triumphs abroad,however, were domestic as well as ar-tistic. She became the bride in 1918of Basil Sidney, who is now playingthe role of her clergyman lover in"Romance." It was a romance within"Romance. Mr. Sidney had been en-gaged to succecd Owen Nares in thepart of the Rev. Thomas Armstrongat the Lyric Theater, and it was notlong before the report came to Amer-ica that the star and her leading manhad been married.

Miss Keane was asked about her

filans. And she replied that she intendso make a transcontinental tour in "Ro¬mance." Following an engugement inNew York she will play the leadingAmerican cities and the principalcities of Canada, as far as Vancouver,B. C. She has already presented "Ro¬mance" in the films, receiving as hershare $150,000.

"I may return to London after mytour in 'Romance,'" she declared. "ButI am ondecided now. Perhaps eome-thing else will attract me to an in-definite stay in America. Perhaps Iwill flnd another play with as strongan appeal as Mr. Sheldon's love drama.In tho nlne years since 'Romance' wasfirst presented many chani * havecome In the theater. New mtfhods oflighting and staging and writing havebeen introdu.'ed and all have advancedtho art of the stage. However, 'Ro¬mance' eeems to me as fresh as whenI first played it. Its message is everyWt ss enduring. And its revival atthis time comes when there is a re-.wakened interest in the New Yorkof generatlons ago."I want to express my gratitude forthe kindness and interest which NewYork has bestowed upon 'Romance'and me. Such a tribute rs was paidon tho opening night at the Playhousetnakes eoming home the dearest eventin a player's life. I want to see thenew aspects of New York's life. NewYork is continuously changing and Imust learn the city all over again."

....

Fred Stone's MarksmanshipFred Stone, who is appearing in 'Tin-Top" at the Globe Theater, probablyhas established one of the most notablemarksmanship records of its kind withhi» sbooting feats in the Red Canyonfeene. Attempting ten targets a per¬formance with a rifle and a low-pow-erod bullet, the comedian for the first376 performances has broken 1,687 ofthe 1,750 targets attempted, for anaverage of 96.4 per cent. Clay pigeonsnsoally are attempted over a longerfiight r*ng9 than ia possible on a stage,and with a shotgun instead of a rifle.In addition, the comedian is compelledto ehoot by artirlcial light, which, evenwith the brilliance of modern stagelighting, is more trieky and unreliablethan even a subdued natural light.

" »

Barrle to Sunerviae Teter Pan*Sir James M. Barrle, it is announced

by J«Mse L. Lasky, will come to thiscountry in July to supervise the film-ing of his play "Peter Pan." Previous.nnonneements stated that the fi'm?ersion of this Uarrie masterplecewould be made in London. Accordingto Mr. Lasky, the English author will¦uporvise the filming at the Lasky.tndio Ia Holiywood, Calif., for theJTaasona Ftayers-Laaky Corporation.

WXJTkr tf^rt/a/0

"Deburau," at Belasco Theater,Throws Iight on Brief butRomantic Life of "Camille"

Two somewhat neglected topics cftho theater have been broached inDavid Belasco's production of "De-buran," in which Lionel Atwill is ap-pearing at the Belasco Theater. Theplay tells who gave Marie Duplessisthe name of Camille and rev«ala justwhat sort of a girl she was in eyery-day life, depictin;* what might bedeemed a truer and much more ro-mantic character than the heroino in"Camille."

It w«b Jean Ga&pard Deburau whonamed h«r the lady with the camellia,The exquisite love scene in which thLoccurred is shown in the second act,as follows:

Deburau.There ia a name that I giveyou then . . a sort of a name.

Marie Duplessis.Tell me.tell me.Oh. whv.t fun!Deburau.A name ls a name It It

tells,Conjures up In Its very soundThe very picture.complet* ln tta

frame..Of Its owner. What do you thlnk IfoundPor a name to thlnk of you by TMy lady wlth the camellia.Marie Dupleasls.Wby 1Deburau.

Becuuse l aliall always see youAs first I saw you standWlth the flickerlng light upon youAnd that flower ln your hand.Marie Duplessis! What romanceand tragedy her name conjures uptShe was born in Normandy and came

to Paris at a very early age. She diedat twenty, crowding into her few vividyears the experiences that seldomcome in a lifetimo.Jules Janin, a celebrated critio oftho period, says her looks were, in

truth, very natural and ingenuous, hergestures delusive and her bearing boldand yet reftned, like that of a lady ofthe bighest rank.Her countenance waa serious and

hrr smile imposing; and, merely from8eeing her walk, any one might ha-osaid of her what Ellevion eaid one dayof a lady of the court, "That is evi-dently a courtesan or a duchess." Butshe was not a dychess; she was bornon tho lowest step of the social lad-der, so difflcult to climb; and she, in-deed, must have been beautiful andcharming to have ascended so lightlytto the first round when she was only¦eightcen, which was about her ago atthat time.

"I lemember meeting her for thefirst time," Janin observes, "in anabominable grcenroom of a theateron tho Boulevard, badly lighted andentiroly filled with that noisy crowdwhich gsnerally criticises grand, spec-tacular melodramas. There were moreblouses than coats ln the room. morecaps than hats with feathers and more.hreadbare paletots than new suits.The conversation turned upon every-thing, on dramatic art and fried pota-toes; on tho plays performed at theGvmnase and on the pastry of theGymnnse; but when this young womanappenred on this peculiar threshold itseemed as if she illumined all theseburlesque or savage objects with aglanco of her lovely eyes."She walked on the muddy floor asIf she were traversing the boulevarrlson a rainy day. She raised her dressintuitively in order not to touch thedried up mud. without thinking ofnhowing us-~for what would havebeen the good of it?.a neatly shodfoot and a well rounded leg, eoveredby a silk stockingr. The whole of hertoilet was in keeping with her young».nd lithesome form And her face, ofa beautiful oval shape, rather pale,corresponded with tho charm Bhe dif-fused around her, like an indescribabl*pertfma, She entered the room and

went, with hend erect, through the as-tonished crowd.

"Liszt and myself were very muchsurprised when she came and sat downiamiliarly at our table, for neitherhe nor I had ever spoken to her. Shewas a woman of intelligence, taste andcommon sense. She immediately ad-dressed the great artist and informedhim that she had onco heard him play,rtnd that he had set her dreaming. Likethose sonorous instruments which'espond to the fresh breath of a MayIreeze, he listened with uninterruptedattention."Her beautiful language, so full of

ideas, was at the same time both elo-quent and pensive. With the marvel-ous instinct which was peculiar to himand his great experience in the highestdiplomatic circlea, as well aa in thehighest circlea among artists, he wbbtrying to discover who this womancould be who waa ro familiar and sodignifled, spoke of him first, and who,after the first words had been ex-changed, treated him with a certainhauteur. as If he had been. presentedto her at a levee in London, or at aparty given by the Duchess of Suther-land."Later I saw Marie Duplessis ieave

ner box and wrap herself up in a cloaklined with ermin«. I saw her comedown the staircase on the right, herwhite dress standing out against thered cloak."At the end of her career she no longerhad any lovers, but she had never had

so many fri«nds; and yet Bhe did notregret life. She died ailently, as re-served in her death as she had beenduring her life; and, after so muchsplendor and so much degradation, ahehad the supreme jrood taste to expressa wish to be buried At the break ofday m some retired and solitary spotwithout fuss and without noisc* onlytollowed by those whom she had loved.

With the New Plays;A Climpse Into SomeForthcoming Productions

(Continued from page oae)

will be given on Monday, Tuesday,Thursday and Friday afternoons.

To-morrow begins the last week ofWilliam Faversham in "The Prince andthe Pauper" at the Selwyn Theater. Hewill begin'a cross-country tour afternext Saturday.Edward Vroom has leased the Slxty-third Street Theater for the balance of

the season after Easter, and has gath-ered together a group of aetors to pro-duce a series of plays under his ownmanagement. The theater will be re-christened the Romance Theater, andthe company already includes FederickLewis, Charles Stevenson, AdrienneMorrison and Hubert Wilke. The playsto be presented first will be "The Mer-chant of Venice," "Cyrano de Bergerae,*'"The Devil's Holiday," "Richelleu,""Hamlet" and "A Night in Old Paris."

"

At Outlying HousesSHUBERT-RIVIERA-'Honey-Glrl- isshe bul for this week.8R0NX OPERA HOUSE~"Pitter Pat-*er," with Ernest Truex, is the at-trsction.

fEfce Cbolutifflatilm

Marilynn Miller, the newest Ziegfeldstar, who shines nightly in "Sally," be-gan her stage career at tho age offour. She comes of a theatrical family.Her father, mother and sister wferetroupers, and with them Misa Millerwcnt all over the world, billed a3 "TheMiller Family."

In those days she did a little toedance to fill in while the other mem-bers of the family changed their cos-tumes. Nearly all her life she haabeen a dancer, and it was a« a toe dancerthat she haa been known until herdebut at tho New Amsterdam, whenshe revealed an excellcnt voice and anunusual dramatic ability.Back of this revelation, however,

have been years of painstaking work,with always the goal of having hername lighting the Broadway heavensin electrict lights.

It was while Marilynn Miller wasdancing in London at a private clubthat she came under the attention ofan American managcr who was so-journing there. He told her to cometo America, an<: slie did. appearing atthe Winter Garden, dancing on her tocswith the usual property smile of thevaudeville artist.

Mr. Ziegfeld gave her the first bigchance in the Ziegfeld "Follies." Hereshe had the Ziegfeld lighting, the Ur-ban scenic background and tho marvel-ous Zieg eldian costumes to bring herbefore the public. But she was only atoe dancer.perhaps the best in herHne. But while she loves dancing itwas not he« big ambition.She was featured for three years in

the Ziegfeld "Follies" in New York andall of the principal cities on tour. Mr.Ziegfeld saw something about MarilynnMiller that stirred his intercst in her

VaudevillePALACE.Nati Bilbainita makes her

first Broadway appcarance. Gus T,d-wards, with his Song Revue, sharosBtellar honors. "Chic" Sale, SylviaGlark, Toto, Bronson and Baldwin,Parish and Peru and others fill outthe bill.

RIVERSIDE.Pearl Regay and HomerMason and Marguerite Keeler nre thotopliners thia week. Mason pndKeeler, Julius Tannen and Jay Dil-lon and Betty Parker, with theCharlie Chaplin picture, "The Kid,"and others, complete the program.

COLONIAL.Virginia Pearson andSheldon Lewis, "Chic" Sale, RalphRiggs and Katherine Witchie, MackPonch, Billy Frawley and LdnaLouise, Chaplln'8 picture, "The Kid,"and others make up this week's bill.

EIGHTY-FIRST STREET.Kitty Doneris the star this week. Walter New-man, Jim and Betty Morgan, AI Ly-dell and Carleton Macy, and "TheKid" aa the picture, make the billfor this week.

HAM1LTON.William Rock tops thebill. "The Kid" is the picture. Wil¬liam Gibson and Regina Connclli,Princess Radjah, Shelton Brooks,Ryan and Ryan and others also ap-pear this week.

JEFFERSON.Leo Carillo heads thebill, which includes Eddie Cox, FrankBurtand Myrtle Rosedale, Wattsand Hawley, Daly and Berlew, andothers.MOSS'S BROADWAY."The Kid" isthe screen attraction, with "TheNight Boat" as the chief vaudevillefeature.LOEWS AMERICAN-Chnrlie Chap¬lin in "The Kid" and the AI GolemJroupe make up the features for thefirst of the week. "Godless Men" isthe picture, "Dolly's Dream" thevaudeville feature, for the lattarpart. <

In Picture TheatersBROADHURST--William Fqx's picture,^i»i*«»the H!,1Sl" continues.UAPITOL--"Lying Lips," n Thomas H.Inco productim, with Housn PeteraFlorence Vldor and Joseph Kilgourm the prlndpal roles, is this week'sieatur*. t

on of a i&tar.n JEtlkrprofesslonal career. At the time hehad no specific thought of stardom.He wanted, however, to bring out moredistinctly her natural talents. Thenhe began to see that she was of thematerial stars are mado of and he toldher so.

There was much to be done. Shemust study dramatic art under compe-tent teachers. She must learn the artof correct walking and speaking, and,most of all, her voice must be culti-vated. It took five years of hardwork. No one was in on the secretbut Mr. Ziegfeld and Miss Miller. Atvarious time3 she came to his ofliceand reported progress.A year ago Mr. Ziegfeld decided that

she was ripe for stellar honors, and hebegan the prcparation of a play forher. "Sally" is the Cinderella story,always old, but always appealing, ofthe dishwasher who, by a freak of cir-cumstance, gets her chance to appearat a big ball as a pseudo-French dancerand then lands in the "Follies" as thegreat ballet dancer.

Miss Miller is unspoiled by her suc¬cess. She has worked hard and be-lieves that success was really comingto her for her work. An idea of thecarefulness that was exercised in hertraining may be gleaned from one in-cident in the play:Aa a pseudo-French dancer she is to

appear at the garden party of amillion-aire. She has to have a French accent.Miss Miller d;d not take the chance ofmaking a slip in this linguistic featLast Bummer, when her play was readto her, she took her script, went toParis and lived with a Parisian familyfor three months to acquaint herselfbetter with the accent. .

Miss Miller lives with her motherand sister in a quiet apartment onMadison Avenue.

CRITERION."Buried Treasure," theMarion Davies plcture.

FORTY-FOURTH STREET "WayDown East," the D. W. Griffith pic-ture, continues.LYRIC.Metro's screen version ofIbanez's novel "The Four Horaemenof the Apocalypse" has its first show-

ing to-night.RIALTO.Douglas MacLean in "Chick-

ens," ia the feature for thia week. AChaplin picture, "A Night at theShow," is shown, and the musicalprogram ia given minus tho conduc-tor as a novelty for "Comedy Week."

RIVOLI."The Gllded Lily," with MaeMurray, is the chief screen attrac-tion. The music program has theAmpico reproducing piano as the boIo-ist with the house orchestra,STRAND.Douglas Fairbahka in "TheNut" and "The Skipper's TreasureGarden," a Fontaine Fox comedy, arethe features of this week's bill.

Brooklyn Theaters'MAJEST1C."Love Birds," with Pat

Rooney and Marion Bent, bas itsmetropolitan premier.

MONTAUK."Apple Blossoms," withWilda Bennett and John CharlesThomas, is here thia week.

ORPHEUM.Ethel Levey is the head-liner. Donal Kerr, Sydney Grant,Franklyn and Charles, Wilson Broth-ers, Kara, Transfield Sisters, SylviaLoyal and Evana and Parez completethe bill.

BUSHWICK.Clccolini divides stellarhonors with George Whiting andSadie Burt. Harry Masters andJack Kraft, Burt Gordon and GeneFord, Frank Davis i nd Adele Darnell,Sheldon and Dailey, Charles McGood,Ida May Chadwick and Jolly JohnnieJones are also on the bill.

LOEW'S METROPOLITAN."GodlessMen" is the film feature for the firstof the week, with a musical farce,"Jimmy's Affair," to head the vaude-ville. The last part will have"Brcwster'a Millions" on the screenand Marty Brooks's "Toy Shop" onthe etage.

SHUBERT-CRESCENT "Buddies."with Donald Brian, Peggy Wood andRalph Morgan.

ST* AND.Charle- Ray in "TH OldSv/immin' Hole' and the Bnsljr Kea-ton comedy, "The Scareerow," areshowing this week.

;4Spiritual Values" Souglit byFlorence Vidor, Starring inInce's Spectacle,"Lying Lips"

"Unless I can give some spiritunlvalue to a screen role I would rathoinot play at all."

Florence Vidor repeated a phras^often placed in the mouths of movieladies, by their interviewers. Oftenerby their press agents. But she gaveit a new inflection.that of sincerityShe meant it.She means all she says, and say*

nothing without thinking twice. Sheis possessed of a degreo of quiet con-viction that is more forceful than exuberant enthusiasm. Here from California for to-day's premiere of ThomasH. Ince's spectacle, "Lying Lips," atthe Capitol Theater, ln which she play-sa leading part, Mrs, Vidor is at theChatham with her huaband, KingVidor.

"It's much simpler, of course, to con-sider a character in a picture fromevery standpoint but Its spiritual as-pect, because," she smiled faintly, "toooften there isn't any. They're apt tohave no character at all except thatwhich the dressmaker gives them anc*the dlrector tries to supply.if he'sthat sort of a director. In fact," sh«pursued, "1 believe that what mostpictures lack to-day is due to theirfailure, in many instances, to debictcharacter, And unless a story doe-disclose some mental conflict, somecharacter development or even retro-gression, I do think that we are nothingmore than shadows on tho screen.

"Five years ago shadow people werevery amusmg to watch, but nowadays,with the great strides motion pictureshave taken, it is vitally necessary tosuppleraent movement and action withmental processes. For a picture, afteTall, is like a novcl to a certain extent.And the sort of novela that are writ-ten ln terms of the physical are pop-ular, after a fashlon, but who remem-

Mae Murray Is a GreatMotion Picture Actress,But She Can Also DanceWhen Mae Murray left the dance

stage the screen was the gainer notonly for the capable emotional actressit won, but also for the dancer whichit acqulred, for Misa Murray has madedancing important in her screen work."On With the Dance," one of her re-

cent successes, was a notable exampleof the particular field which. she hasmastered and "The Gilded Llly," hernewest Paramount picture, is still an-other proof of her art both as an ac¬tress and a dancer. "The Gilded Lily,"a Robert Z. Leonard special produc¬tion, wa3 written by Clara Berangerdirectly for tho screen and will be thefilm feature of the Rivoli programthis week. Miss Beranger, who will berecalled for her scenario of "Dr. Jekylland Mr. Hyde," created a story in"The Gilded Lily" which not onlygrips the emotions, but also gives ad-rairers of Jdiss Murray's dancing anopportunity" to seo her in this branchof her work.The central figure of the Btory is aclub hoste3s.a Broadway dancer, who

entertains her blase patrons with drsh-ing terpsichore.and Miss Murray pre-pared a series of special dance numbersfor the production.numbers whichhave »<ever been seen on the screen be¬fore. For several weeks the charmingbrtist rehearsed the new numbers, andthey are renroduced (hi <v«- «-rcen so

bers them? So it is with pictures, lthink.. When we get even a flash ofsubtlety we remember it. We areeager for more."In 'Lying Lips' I believc that Mr.

Ince has combined melodramatic actionand mental subtlrty with unusual suc¬cess. When a picture holds these twoelements its appeal is doubly en-hanced. We all tried hard to makeit so."The scenario.it's from a story byMay Edington, the English novelist.

tempted me quite as much a3 Mr.Ince's persuasions. There was no ques¬tion about the character I was askedto play. She was not a mere fictionalcut-out, but a real woman thrown intoa succession of spiritual difficulties aswell as physical ones, from which nohuman being could emerge in the samemental condition as entering it. Imean, you know, entering the story.>becoming a part of it."At this point the aetress outlined

the story of "Lying Lips" and centeredher attention on the incident of animpromptu marriage, uniting the hero-ine with her lover, taking place on awreck at sea, with no witnesses butthe stars.

"It sounds terrifying," said Mrs.Vidor, "if not incrtdible. At tirst, itseemed both to me. Then I reallzed itwas my task to lift the episode aplane above the physical expedient ofsuch a marriage, and I was glad. Forhere waa a time when my desire toraise my work above the obvious mustbe employed, and with a vengeance. Itwaa rather a desperate problem, really,and one not at all dependent on mere'acting.'

"It had to be a state of mlnd. Iassure you that having a state of mindand permitting r.n audience to share itare two quite different conditions."

eatisfactorily as to Drovide an enter-tainment in themselves.One of the dances.the opening onein tho picture.is an adaptat'on of a

Spanish dance, in which the star wearsa modified Carmen costume consistingof a dr'ess of unusual cut made .mtirelyof spangles and topped off with a redhat. Another is a bubble dance, forwhich the cabaret is gayiy decoratedwith balloons of many colora.Miss Murray, in a bizarre costume,makes her entrance out of an enormous

basket of balloons, and then does someastounding stunts with a large whitei alloon while she whisks around thefloor.The balloon dance has a rreater sig-nificance than merely a bit of terpsi-chore. It is the girl's dazzling dance

to fascinate the youth who had offeredto rn r¦¦ ¦. :. ' b .VJ;,been opposed by his mother. It is thedance of an unhappy woman who,r'qued at interference, yet disillu-sioned when she had found the youthloved the gilt and not the lily, is de-termined to hold him with the veryweapons which she despised.Tt e cnst pi sr-*!l one.though the cabaret scenes engaged thepervices of many screen players. Low-ell Sherman and Charles Gerard, twofamous screen "villains," appear asBroadway "rounders,* and Jason Rob-ards has the role of the unsophisti-cated New Englander. The part of theNew England mother ia played byLeonora Ottinger.

*

New Shubert Vaudeville TeamFred Hillebrand and Louis Simon,two of the comediuns in "The Rose

Girl" t.t the Amh^ssador The\ ,er,have f»vmed a vaudeville team. J»eirKct wf. be seen in "ihubert Adv*» *edvaudeville" next season.

How Moody Evolved"Faith Healer," NowReady for ScreenThree solutions were written by WlL

liam Veu<?hn Moodv for Lii rjr, .&»"fhe F «tn M*»if>r- lernr. h« tl .

satisfied with his n >.>**, acnording fehis widow, who. in co'.aboration wtfcMilton Sills and Z Wall Covertoawrote the scenario for the screenversion for Paramour.t, which HugoRiesenfeld will present for an extenowengagement at the Criterion Theaterbeginning Sunday, March 13.The playwright was faced by the

same problem that his hero was askedco solve. It was a question of pro-found Interest to Mr Moody and isone which occupies the thought ofmany profcssional mc'n and artists."Mr. Moody was from the beginnia*

deeply interested i:i the questionwhether a man who feels himselfdedicated to some great work shouldnot feel called upon to deny himselftho ordinary human lot," said Mrs.Moody. "He was turning over in hismind thi3 problem as a motive for astage play with deep interest whenone day he happened to read somej.ress notices about a man who wasgoing about the country healing th:sick by prayer.

"It imracdiately occurred to Mr.Moody that he might use this mediurr.as a setting for the problem of hisplay, deeming that a story of religiousdedication would give it a more uni-versal appeal."The story as he told it ls one of a

voung shepherd, Michaelis, who in thesolitude of mountain herding becameabsorbed in the reiigious idea of heal-ng as presented iij the New Testament,and who afterward, feeiir.g that he hada divine call to carry out a mission o:'heaiing, travcled over the country heal¬ing the sick."Among those whom he was called t»

help was a paralytic woman, the youngwife of a well-to-do farmer. Her af-fliction came as a reaction from aJeath in the family. In the home ofthia patient, Mary Beeler. Michaelissees and fahls in love with a beautifu'.young girl.Mrs. Beeler's niece.RhodaWilliams. The healing is performed.but the healer. realizing ihat love forthe young girl is beginning to pre-occupy his thought, feels that he islosing his healing power in proportionto the growth of his love. A crowdof sufferers, having heard of the pres-ence of the healer in the Beeler h.iuse-bold, gathers in the f.elds around thehouse clamoring for help. One womanforces her way into the room with asick baby in her arms imploring hishelp."As a result of this inner confilet

Michaelis is unable to go on with hiswork, and this awakens him to the be-'ief that he is called upon to make a'hoice between his mission and love,"In an earlier version of this play."

continued Mrs. Moody, "Mr. Moodymade the healer renew his dedicationto his work, renounce his love, banlshall thought of love for the future, andgo forth again nbout his work with re-newed consecration to his mission. BotMr. Moody was too great an artist andtoo true to his understanding of lifeto be satisfied wlth this denouementHe felt that the problem in his ownmind had not yet been solved. Hcdrafted the play and, with the iraps-tience at the fal3e conclusion, wentover to the other extreme and raadethe healer give up his mijsion and re¬nounce his healing power for the loyeof the girl.

"It was, of course. impossible forMm to re?t satisfied with such a con¬clusion. Suddenly the truth, with allits reassuring certainties, becameclear to him. 'God,' he says in theplay, 'does not deny love to any of hiscreaturcs; it is on each man's headthe use hc> makes of it.' He realizedthat even the girl whom Michaelisloved needed the very healing powerwhich the latter had been tempted tfirenounce for her pake.that she wasone of those he was called upon toheal."This girl Rhoda Williams.whilt

very young, had been carried away byan illusion of love and now lookfdupon herself as unworthy of Michaelis'sloye, being, as she cal'.cd herself, '»wicked woman'; but her consciousnes?of his spiritual exaltation filled herwith the bigh idea of setting him frecfrom herself, and with that idea shetells him her whole story. In th"moment of realizing the in-pired solu-tion of their mutual problem theirthoughts are turned to the sufferincpeople waiting for the healer. Rhoda'*first thought is of them, and Michaelis.responding to it, passes out into thecrowd to go on with his work."Thus, in the writing of his play.

Mr. Moody progTessed from one atageof conceptlon of limitation to anothernot so limited and then to a thirdwhich brought him to a vision of !tf°and a solution of his problem whkhsatisfied his artistic sense. ln hi^earlier conception he had not preservedthe spiritual freedom which njhtiy be-longs to all human beings; in his sec-ond he had brcken dnwn idealism tofavor of a vision of love which tn'U'ultimately bring destruction, but ln thethird he reached an inspired under¬standing that spiritual freedom is thehealer's real power and that a pu.human love does not weigh against tbi:freedom, but rather sustains it"

Milton Sills, who plays the W»role in "The Faith Healer" and aidcain adapting the play to the screen, wssa personal friend of the playwri&b'and his wife at tho time the play **!written. When the play was beinpconsidered for presen'.a'.ion on tafstage Mr3. Moody urged that Mr. Sili-play the title role.

Metro's Picturization ©fIbanez's 'Four HorsemenOpens To-ni?ht at Lyric

Metro's screen version of Vieent*Blasco Ibafie:'.'s nove; The F >ur H*men of the Apocalypse will be gi^its first public presentation in t°eUnited States at the Lyric Theater to-

night.this film version of "The Four Uora*-

men," which is a Rex Ingram prodofrtion from a screen vcrsi n '. JHD_Mathis, will be given a presentatio-under the p-rsona superv s on 4 v\Hugo Riesenfeld. managing directer o*

the Rivoli, Rialto and Criterion tfce»'ters. With its colorful, pictures**;episodes in the Argentine. i'.s f**^against the background of Parla and i-

stirring sweep of drama in the Mamscenes "The Four Horsemen" ofTcrsO5-usual scope and inspirauon for rfl"*1'cal interpretation. A special njo*1'setting, to be rendered by a sympnoworchestra, has been arranged by J-

Riesenfeld.The screen premiere of "The F°*

Horsemen" comes as the ciimax '

many munths of production actiwU"After a year of ejehaustive preparatw'by a large staff of experts, who **'sent to South America and f'ra'?c*t,^obtain the vast amount of techa"*material required, the actual !'!n,1Jf,was commenced iast sumraer una?Tjj*rector Ingram at Metro's West po#fStudios. «n Los Ange>-i. It -ook»?months to film the r,**ducti«N», *<grepresenln a cost p£ ra«» «^,$1,OUO,OML