Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/The Bat (play)/archive1

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The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by Sarastro1 via FACBot (talk) 20:20, 27 November 2017 [1].

The Bat (play)[edit]

Nominator(s): RL0919 (talk) 19:18, 24 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The comedy, mystery, and shocking twist ending of The Bat made it one of the most successful plays of the 1920s; it ran on Broadway for over two years at a time when only big hits ran more than a few months. It was the bellwether of a genre of "old dark house" thrillers that were popular through the end of the decade. In the years since, imitation and parody have turned its thrills into clichés, but it has another legacy: a movie version of its masked villain provided inspiration for a masked hero, Batman. Thanks in advance for your feedback; I hope the surprise ending of this nomination is promotion to FA. RL0919 (talk) 19:18, 24 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Image review[edit]

  • File:Mary_Roberts_Rinehart_1920.jpg: when/where was this first published? Same with File:Effie_Ellsler_with_hat_(cropped).jpg, File:Claude_Rains_(cropped).jpg. Nikkimaria (talk) 13:35, 25 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • File:Claude_Rains_(cropped).jpg is an extract from File:Claude_Rains.jpg, which was printed and distributed to theaters in Australia in 1912.
  • File:Effie_Ellsler_with_hat_(cropped).jpg is extracted from File:Effie_Ellsler_autographed_with_hat.jpg, which is an autographed print from the New York-based Burr McIntosh Studio in 1903.
  • File:Mary_Roberts_Rinehart_1920.jpg is a news service photo, so I assume it would have been distributed, but although dozens of photos of her were published from 1920-22, I have not spotted this one. So I've swapped in File:Author_photo_from_The_Works_of_Mary_Roberts_Rinehart_(1918).jpg, which was published in a 1918 book.
Let me know if you have further concerns. --RL0919 (talk) 18:37, 25 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose Comments by Finetooth[edit]

Well-written, well-illustrated, and entertaining. I have a few questions and suggestions, and I made a few minor proofing changes. Please revert any you think are misguided.
Lead
  • ¶2 "Rinehart and Hopwood made a number of changes to prepare it for Broadway..." – Delete "a number of" since it is too nonspecific to be useful? Suggestion: "Rinehart and Hopwood altered the story to prepare it for Broadway...".
  • ¶2 Link antagonist?
  • ¶3 "several road companies brought the show to other areas" - Maybe "took" rather than "brought" since the road companies were probably based outside those other areas?
Plot
  • ¶1 "Dale arrives for a visit with Dr. Wells, the local coroner and an old friend of Fleming's." – Confusing since it's easy to think from this sentence alone that Dr. Wells was already at the mansion. Suggestion: "Dale and Dr. Wells, the local coroner and an old friend of Fleming's, arrive for a visit."
  • ¶1 "When she shows Anderson to his room, Dale warns Brooks...". – It seems doubtful that Dale and Brooks would accompany Cornelia and Anderson to look at his room. Suggestion: substitute "while" for "when"; that is, "While Cornelia shows Anderson to his room, Dale warns Brooks (who is actually Jack Bailey, and Dale's fiancé) that Anderson is a detective."
  • ¶3 "the unknown man apprehends him and reveals that he is the real Detective Anderson" – I would add, "the unknown man" after "he" since at first glance it might be seen to refer to "him"; that is, "the unknown man apprehends him and reveals that he, the unknown man, is the real Detective Anderson".
Adaptation
  • ¶1 "the elderly spinster heroine" – Link spinster?
Reviews
  • ¶1 "Alexander Woollcott described the play as entertaining and well-acted in his New York Times review." – Probably better if the end phrase is moved to the front; i.e. "In his New York Times review, Alexander Woollcott...".
Adaptations and legacy
General
  • Alt text looks fine.
  • No problem with dabs.
  • No dead URLs.
  • No overlinking.
  • This is the first time I've seen a Kindle citation in a Wikipedia article. Way cool!
@Finetooth: All reasonable suggestions, so all done. Let me know if you have any other feedback. --RL0919 (talk) 01:55, 27 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Sources review[edit]

All sources are of appropriate quality and impeccably presented. A couple of tiny nitpicks:

  • Ref 24 is behind a paywall, so it would be helpful to add the (subscription required) template.
  • isbns should ideally be in uniform 13-digit format. There are currently several 10-digit versions, which can be converted by [this. Brianboulton (talk) 20:57, 28 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the review. For Ref 24, the little red padlock is supposed to indicate the subscription requirement; it's what appears when the |url-access=subscription parameter is used. For ISBNs, I use the form that is presented in the book; for editions that pre-date ISBN-13, this will necessarily be ISBN-10 (or for really old editions, no ISBN at all). This matches the advice given at WP:ISBN#Types. --RL0919 (talk) 21:52, 28 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Well, the advice given: "Please use the ISBN-13 if both are provided by the original work" is accompanied by various converters, and has generally been interpreted at FAC as a preference for displaying the 13-digit form. But I won't press the point. Brianboulton (talk) 11:45, 29 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from JM[edit]

  • "The play originated as an adaptation of Rinehart's 1908 mystery novel, The Circular Staircase." Perhaps remove the comma? If it's her only 1908 mystery novel, it's not wrong, but I wouldn't include it.
  • Is the film worth a link?
  • "with the publication of her 1908 novel, The Circular Staircase" As above!
  • I think the name "A Thief in the Night" belongs in the lead; and is it worth mentioning the locations of the previews there? (And for the article body, do we know the particular theatres in these towns? That would be worth including.)
  • Added the title to the lead. I added the theater for the Washington preview, but have not found a source that states the theater for the Atlantic City preview. --RL0919 (talk) 04:48, 6 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Do we have links (redlinks if appropriate!) for Majestic Theatre or National Theatre?
  • "whose nickname became the play's title" Is nickname the right word? Handle, perhaps? (Or would that be anachronistic?)
  • Handle would not be anachronistic, but it seems a bit informal to me; I went with pseudonym. --RL0919 (talk) 04:48, 6 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • I think mentions of both genres (comedy and mystery) belong in the first paragraph of the lead
  • "the detective supposedly investigating the case" The putative detective- he's not actually a detective. How about "a character who is supposedly a detective investigating the case" or something?
  • "Although similar endings had been used in earlier stage mysteries" Some examples would be great, if your source mentions any!
  • I'm pretty sure it does, but it's a print source that I don't have with me today, so I will need a couple of days on this one. --RL0919 (talk) 04:48, 6 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • "the second-longest-running Broadway production in history at the end of its initial stint" Perhaps you could mention the longer-running play?
  • Added a footnote about it. --RL0919 (talk) 04:48, 6 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Is Spanish Love worth a link? The Monster?
  • Spanish Love was already linked; added a redlink for The Monster. --RL0919 (talk) 04:48, 6 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • "a 1925 adaptation of The Monster" Your links are off here; in the sentence, The Monster refers to the play but the wikilink is to the film. Unless you're going to reword, the wikilink needs to be on "a 1925 adaptation"
  • "Rinehart sold the film rights to The Circular Staircase to film producer William Selig's Selig Polyscope Company in 1915, and he released a film version" The he presumably refers to Selig, but, as written, it reads like it refers to Rinehart (whether or not she is a he!)
  • "Wagenhals and Kemper filed suit to block Selig's use of the title" Were they successful?
  • Unfortunately I have not found a source that states what the result was. --RL0919 (talk) 04:48, 6 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Conditional support. I really enjoyed reading this; my support is conditional on the light fixes above being made, as well as a successful source- and image review. I leave it to the delegates to work out whether to count this as a support, as there is every chance that I won't have time to check in to this review as often as I might like! Josh Milburn (talk) 22:08, 5 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@J Milburn: Thanks for your review. I've updated based on your suggestions and only inserted replies above where there is something to say other than "done". --RL0919 (talk) 04:48, 6 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Great; I'm happy with that, and capable editors have OKed the sourcing/images. Full support! Josh Milburn (talk) 19:45, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Comments and support from Gerda[edit]

Looking forward to reading! Comments to come. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:42, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Plot

I confess that the first time, I was confused. It got a bit better the second round. - In opera, we usually have a list of roles, and the setting and time, before the story begins. It makes it easier to look up who a person was when I forgot. Compare Gianni Schicchi. - I see that you have the list with the performers but it would really help me further up, perhaps without "Anderson" twice, to keep the tension.

History

Why is "where she lived" in brackets?

Cast

I think the table would look clearer (at least on small screens) without the images on its side.

That's all, - thank you for enjoyable reading! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:17, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Gerda Arendt: Thanks for reviewing. No reason I know of for the parenthesis around "where she lived", so changed. I also re-distributed the cast images so they are not aligned next to the table. Regarding the placement of the cast list, I think that would be a more complicated change because the text about the cast assumes the identity of the Bat is already known to the reader. Unless this is a critical issue, I would prefer to leave it where it is. --RL0919 (talk) 18:23, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Understand, thank you, and support. (I explained on my FAC that I was off today.) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:08, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Comments Support from Cas Liber[edit]

Taking a look now....

Looks fine...I can't see anything to complain about. so support on comprehensiveness and prose. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 02:50, 23 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for your support! --RL0919 (talk) 18:28, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Coordinator comment: I'm not sure if Gerda Arendt has anything further to add here. But I notice that the link to " "The Bat: A Mystery in Three Acts" is dead, and this should probably be sorted before we promote. Sarastro1 (talk) 12:35, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The link was working recently and the overview of the collection still says "Digital reproductions of the collection are available online." My initial suggestion is to wait a few days and see if the problem is temporary. --RL0919 (talk) 18:28, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Sarastro1: Actually, nevermind what I said about waiting -- I found an archive link and added that. --RL0919 (talk) 15:16, 27 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.
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