ARBUCKLE FAILS TO SATISFY

At the Modern and Beacon this week, the feature picture is "Fatty" Arbuckle in "The Travelling Salesman", a comedy done in the usual Arbuckle style, but lacking the customary amount of laugh-producing "pep." Perhaps the cause of this can be found in the fact that the picture, instead of being written for Mr. Arbuckle, was adapted from a stage play. In the case of a comedian whose humor is so peculiarly distinct in its character as is Mr. Arbuckle's, such a procedure has its difficulties, since the comedian must adapt himself to the play, rather than the play to himself. In spite of this, Mr. Arbuckle does rather well; the play itself is not particularly funny, but the flashes of Arbuckle humor which occur whenever there is any opening for them, provide an ample amount of comedy.

The other two pictures on the bill are both comedies; one presents Viola Dana in "Home Stuff"; the other is a refined slap-stick comedy blessed with the vague name "Sneakers". The appearance on the title of the latter of a picture of a young child and a dog, leads one to believe that it is a picture of youthful adventure, but it turns out to be a tale of married life, concerned chiefly with the doings of the husband and wife in a society gambling house. "Home Stuff" is an unsatisfactory attempt to make a comedy out of the "Way Down East" type of melodrama, in which Viola Dana's eyes fail to be effective.