William Morris

Ventriloquy sketch dialogue.

"Framed."

William Morris (formerly Mr. and Mrs. William Morris) has devised a novelty for his ventriloquistic ability. The turn starts out as a sketch and remains so until the surprise finish. There is no intimation that it is anything else but a playlet, save for the crudity of construction and stolidity worth while, the supposed second character stands at a table and delivers lines with his face and form cloaked. The act opens in darkness, a woman's scream following the rise of the curtain. The man enters the drawing room, switched to half lights. A figure at the table commands him to throw up his hands and there follows a long dialog. The intruder advises his intended victim that he will shoot him within five minutes because he had taken the visitor's wife A woman's voice from behind the curtains warns the intruder that she has a gun pointed at his heart and unless he drops his revolver she will shoot. The gun falls to the table. The intended victim then explains he is a ventriloquist, that there never was a woman behind the curtains. The act could have ended there but more plot is dragged in. Morris uncovers the mystery of the cloaked figure by removing the cover and turning the dummy to the audience. There is no question about the figure fooling the house and making a clever surprise finish. But the mixture of comedy lines with those of melodrama lend the impression that it is all a bad sketch at present. Reducing the running time, Morris may greatly improve his novelty.

Variety, 54:6 (04/04/1919)