things chasing each other up and down our back-bone. The St. James players rise gloriously to the inherent worth of the piece and give, collectively and individually, one of the best performances of the current season.

There is nothing startlingly original in "The Cat and the Canary." Its originality lies chiefly in the fact that not a single one of the hackneyed, conventional thriller devices is omitted. If we could sit back coldly and explain to those in the few rows within whispering distance that, technically speaking, it is not a very good play, we might not be so very far wrong. Despite our utmost efforts, however, we find ourselves constantly on the edge of our seats, on the very verge of yelling to the heroine in distress, "Hey! Look behind you!" So what's the use?

The most thrill mad auditor can hardly be dissatisfied with the amazing succession of mystery, murder, ghosts, darkness, weird noises off stage and weird doings on stage. The most skillful amateur detective will find enough mental exercise in the attempt to fathom the mystery. The most exacting audience can find little to criticise in the work of the St. James players. We were frankly prejudiced against Bernard Nedell when we found him cast for the role which belonged so logically to Houston Richards, but his performance was good enough to stifle our prejudice almost completely. It is one of his best characterizations. Miss Hitz has as her chief task to invent several different ways to show that she was frightened, and she fulfilled it admirably. Miss Layng was Mammy Pleasant to the life.