"HIS SECRETARY."

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18893, 7 January 1927, Page 12

"HIS SECRETARY."

INTERESTING REVELATIONS. There is absolutely no truth in the contention th.3t there is no romance in business. Business, wo arc ready to admit, is probably the most romantic thing in the world, possibly because the prosaic exterior gives no hint of what goes on indoors, and when the truth is out, tho real intriguing picturesqueness of tho commercial world heroines moru glamorous in comparison. Of course, there are bound to l>o dissentients, those who smile, virtually, superciliously, those who openly scoff. To bo sure, commerce is innocent until proved guilty (although (here is really no guilt in romance, only gilt), hut it takes tho motion picture, to state a case and win it, and this it docs in "His Secretary," tho astonishingly revealing and highly amusing comedy drama to be presented at Kverybody's Theatre next week- Many are tho interesting little secrets betrayed in this picture, many are the uproariously amusing situations when suspicious wives, plausible husbands, and innocent, and not so innocent secretaries hold tho stage. "His Secretary treats of a therm, which very simply may have been mishandled, a story which _ could easily have become indiscreet and lacking in all tho little subtleties which aro iudispensible in such a pleasantly sophisticated concoction, but thanks to directorial discretion and tho sense of proportion possessed by the artists participating in the play, it is a comparatively restrained piece. We arc of the opinion that the writer of "Ili.s Secretary" must have consulted, with all his twentloth-century prejudices and outlooks in full play, the Book of Revelations, _ become steeped in the informative style of its chapters and verses, then turned his enquiring and facetious eyo upon modernity, as represented by a legal firm, and fell to with a relish. Private secretaries, with "broadminded" chiefs must be tho most worldywise in existence, but after seeing this picture, we are prepared to admit that the most interesting are tho bachelor and his doting and homely secretary. In such a pair the possibilities for comedy acting of the higher order are immense; they permit of much onesided intrigue; eventually the situation leads the doting duckling to her banker, her beauty specialist and her dressmaker. As an afterthought, or an aside, it also brings her late to the office in the morning. As for the complement of this duo, it sends him frantically to his oculist, and then to the florist. And the secretary, being that motor of illogic and well-thought-out inconsistency, woman, will proceed to smile upon the janitor, tho liftman, the broadminded partner, anyone but the bachelor. Do theso things occur in tho business world! Assuredly, and "His Secretary" has taken them up, given them the spice of intrigue, and allure of drama, and the hilarious inclusion of what the careful and astute world often omits, the aforementioned suspicious wife. "His Secretary" is brilliantly satirical and courteously discreet, a rarely met with and clever combination. It is all vastly amusing, humour of that rare type, which evokes a sheepish grin and a sidelong and uneasy glance to see does she catch the import of it all, and a wary and highly uncomfortable movement in the seat —theso latter premises, of course, depend entirely upon with whom one is seeing "His Secretary." One may be bold and unconcerned—or one may not. The cast assembled to play tho leading roles in this production was selected with particular care, both for natural ability and type. In the title role is Norma Shearer, an unusually competent actress with a marked inclination to humorous drama. Lew Cody and Willard Louis are the legal firm, the "one unattached, critical, and altogether too observant, the other describes himself as "broadminded." Mabel van Buren is inimitable as the latter'a wife, and Gwen Lee is light and vivacious as his "platonic" secretary. The hnr plans arc now open at The Bristol Piano Company, where seats may be reserved.