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15 Mins.; Five (Parlor). “Justice.” If “Justice” were not so palpably machine-made, it would stand out among dramatic playlets, with its present cast. Three men play the piece, a judge, his son and an elderly German. The story is far-fetched, even beyond dramatic license, drawing the characters together at the opening, when the German calls upon the judge, to intercede for his daughter, to be tried on the marrow for the child murderer. The judge is stern, saying the circumstantial evidence is so clear there is no hope for the girl, and he would do the same through the criminal were one of his own. In rapid succession then is revealed that the son (suffering from a weak heart) was the betrayer of the girl, and the murderer of the infant. The boy describes how he did it, then appeals to his father, and afterwards upbraids him for sending him to college, giving him money to spend, but paying no further attention to his welfare. The excitement of the denouncement overwhelms the boy, whose heart gives out and he dies, with the curtain. The judge (unprogrammed) is excellent. He takes a strong grip on the character, makes it forceful and is an actor. The boy is also fully capable in his heavier passages, but does not command sympathy, the role forbidding that. The German is well played. The cast is an exceptionable one to be found in a small time skit. For the small time also “Justice” is quite worthy. It is holding, almost intense.
Source:
Variety, Volume XXXVI, no.10, November 7, 1914