Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines

Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (1901), a comedy by Clyde Fitch. [ Garrick Theatre, 168 perf.] When Aurelia Johnson of Trenton, New Jersey, returns to America as a world‐famous prima donna, Mme. Trentoni (Ethel Barrymore), she wins over the newsmen and others at the dock with her beauty, grace, and charm, addressing them gaily as “darlings.” She also enchants Captain Robert Carrolton Jinks (H. Reeves‐Smith), who makes a written wager of $1,000 with his friends that he can win her love. He quickly succeeds, and not even the stormy disapproval of his snobbish mother (Mrs. Thomas Whiffen) can seemingly deter the young couple. But on the eve of her big concert, Mme. Trentoni is shown the wager and she is so distressed that she doubts she can perform that night. However, her American debut is a triumph, made all the sweeter when Jinks convinces her that what began as a cynical bet has blossomed into real affection. Upset by Fitch's strenuous objections, producer Charles Frohman cast Barrymore with some trepidation, shared by the starlet who found the part “very taxing for so young and inexperienced an actress. There were comedy, pathos and dancing in it. I was more worried about the dancing than about anything else.” The tryout was not a success, but New York reviews established the play as a major hit and launched Barrymore's career as a star. In 1925 the comedy was turned into a popular musical comedy, Captain Jinks, with a book by Frank Mandel and Laurence Schwab, lyrics by B. G. DeSylva, and music by Lewis E. Gensler and Stephen Jones. Featuring Louise Brown and J. Harold Murray in the principal roles, it ran five months.