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"The First Law of Nature" is a type of sketch that has no place upon the stage. The sketch has "a woman with a "past" (escaped from Joliet with still three years to serve), her former paramour comes to levy tribute upon the present wife of a reputable citizen who has married in ignorance of his bride's career, the passing of a roll of "hush money," a final scene wherein the crimson shame of the wife is left unrevealed through a murder done in the center of the stage, the husband shifting to his own shoulders responsibility for the crime - are these the proper ingredients for 'entertainment?'" Russell delivers a characterization of a wanton woman who is unwilling to tell her husband the truth prefers to kill the man who knows the truth.
Don Merrifild and Geo. Kenneth do some excellent acting in support of Miss Russell. She relies more on the hysterical side of the character rather than the remorse. However, even if she was the best actress in the world she could not make the role more than a needless display of criminality.
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Variety 21:6 (01/14/1911)