Franklin v. Maine Amusement Co.

This action of tort for personal injuries is before us on the plaintiff’s exception to the direction by the presiding Justice of a verdict for the defendant.

The plaintiff, a vaudeville actor, was injured while carrying on his act on the stage of Keith’s Theatre in Portland, which was controlled and operated by the defendant. The plaintiff’s engagement called for three performances a day for three days, and the accident happened during the last performance. The act was billed as “Trifles With Rifles in Class and Speed,” and was an exhibition of marksmanship carried through with great rapidity.…