The current attraction at the Metropolitan, "The River Pirate" is--a good picture. But it is not so good a picture as it ought to be; it is a bit like an unlighted cigar--all best Havana, but lacks the spark.

It is hard to say just wherein the picture falls down, it comes so close to being truly excellent. Perhaps more than in anything else the fault is in tendency for the story to moralize, to proclaim too blatantly the some-what shopworn "I still believe in you" motif. Far be it from this reviewer to simply that that is not a good and even often necessary chord, but nevertheless it has always had the effect on him of inducing a slight shudder when it is blared forth upon the brasses.

The shudder this time was, however, very slight and conducted away by the excellent acting of Victor McLaglen; not to mention the presence in the picture of Lois Moran. Mr. McLaglen is usually a sympathetic actor, and Miss Moran is always very nice to look at--which may seem like a too categorical statement but is meant merely as an expression of personal preference.