The first of George Ade's Fables in Slang series. If judged by the first, the series promises to be exceedingly popular. For me "The Fable of the Drummer and the Nectarine" created gleeful chuckles all the way through. There was not a dull moment during the run of the film, and a thankful spirit prevailed for the absence of anything even remotely suggesting slap-stick business. Strong character drawing is a worthy feature of Mr. Ade's first film story, and the Essanay players sustain the parts admirably. The production is commendable for the strong atmosphere that is created and retained throughout. The small country town is just as real as if one were visiting in it, somewhere in Indiana. The corner grocery store, with the good-natured owner and the rustic loafers who traffic in the gossip of the village, is realistic to a dot. The arrival of the drummer is always a big feature for the gossiping loungers, and his display of liberality, in handing out cheap cigars or stuffing them into the months of the recipients, is in close keeping with his brash manners and superior city air. Wallace Beery plays the part with a fine sense of its requirements. He holds himself from outdoing the character, a something that he can place to his credit. Miss Beverly Bayne is at her best in the part of Clara Louise Willoughby, the modest village belle, or "nectarine," as Mr. Ade jocosely brands her. The havoc wrought on the heart and hair of this shrinking beauty by the drummer, at his first meeting, will force a smile on the stoniest face. Miss Bayne's simulation of the girl's rustic manners and awkwardness stands out in strong contrast with her representation of the same girl after she has received a year's tuition in a finishing school for young ladies. Mr. Ade's definition of a "finishing school," as seen in one of his sub-titles, is "a place at which young ladies learn to give the quick finish to all persons who won't do." The "quick finish" which the nectarine deals out to the drummer, as shown by Miss Bayne, is uproariously funny. As she resents his embraces by a vigorous display of athletic strength and then pours forth on his shrinking head the seven vials of a heated vocabulary, double exposure steps in to assist in the demolition of the unfortunate. We see him actually shrink up before her wrath and finally fade into thin air. The use of double exposure in this case affords one of the most laughable scenes I have viewed in many a day. It is scarcely necessary to remind viewers of this film to pay special heed to the sub-titles. Their quaint humor and slangy diction will make them pass muster as George Ade's own coinage. Nearly every one of them provokes a laugh. Take, for instance, this one: "Deliver them, and just send the bill to father." The nectarine has been out buying new hats, after several months' residence at the finishing school. The sub-title shows the ease with which she disposes of trifling things. When the "old man" gets the bill it amounts to over two hundred dollars! Here's another, describing the return of the nectarine to her village home after completing the course at the finishing school: "When she landed back in the rube village, the natives took one look and got the blind staggers." Contrast this with the description of her birthplace: "Her birthplace was one spicy little burg. They took in the sidewalks at 9 o'clock each evening." As the gabby salesman passes out of the life of the nectarine, Mr. Ade gives us the moral of the whole matter, thusly : "Anybody can win unless there happens to be a second entry." - The Moving Picture World, June 20, 1914