The screen writer (Apr-Oct 1948)

Agreement in Darien ROBERT NATHAN ROBERT NATHAN is the prominent poet, and author of such ivell-knoivn novels as The Bishop's Wife, Portrait of Jenny, The Enchanted Voyage, and One more Spring. His neiv book Long After Summer has been scheduled for fall release by Alfred A. Knopf. THE effect of the motion picture Gentleman's Agreement upon the community of Darien, Conn, was not at all what had been expected. The good people of Darien were far from feeling depressed, or ashamed j on the contrary, they felt that to be described as one of the most anti-Semitic communities in the country, was to be recognized in an important way. They believed that their true character had been discovered, which was to be resolute, prejudiced, steadfast, and intolerant; and they believed that the advertising they had received had added immeasurably to the value of their property, by pointing out its exclusive features. For a while, however, this rise in the value of real estate in and around Darien did not do anyone any good, since no one who lived in Darien wanted to sell his property, and move to a less exclusive community. The result was that for several years there was nothing to sell, a fact which depressed Mr. Rufus Deal, senior partner of Deal and Deal, Real Estate — a firm which had listed many •of the Darien properties during the old days, and which was now obliged to subsist entirely upon rentals, and on certain lots in the adjoining townships. Nevertheless, in the course of time, as was only to be expected, several aged people died, and some Darien property came into the market. When the fine estate of the late Edwin Dogge was finally offered for sale, it was only natural that it should be placed in the hands of Deal and Deal. And it seemed scarcely less natural that there should be an immediate buyer for it. The buyer was a stranger to the community ; the only curious thing about it was that the estate had not yet been advertised. Advertised or not, the lady and gentleman seated in Mr. Deal's office seemed to know all about it. As a matter of fact, they admitted to having visited the estate on several occasions in the past ; but they did not seem to want to talk about it. Actually, the gentleman said very little, beyond an occasional "Haw!," or "Hah"; and whatever talking was done was done, for the most part, by his wife. She spoke, Mr. Deal thought, rather rapidly; it seemed to him that she said "What?" a great many times — or at least it sounded like What, though it might, possibly, have been Quat. The gentleman, he thought, had a rather noble face, if a little long; his wife's face was sharper, and distinguished by a somewhat bony nose. Both husband and wife were obviously genteel, and nonSemitic. There was no trouble about the price, and the papers were signed with no more than the usual delays necessary to such a transaction. A few weeks later, Mr. and Mrs. Johnasson moved into the old Dogge House. They seemed to fit at once — they could not, in fact, have fitted more 'quickly and happily — into the Darien picture ; they had not been there a week before they seemed to Mr. Deal altogether indistinguishable from the other members of the community. Mr. Deal could scarcely have been more pleased ; for he was proud of his town, and liked to bring into it only the right element. TT was not long after this that The •*Apples came onto the market. And then a strange thing happened — though no one thought it strange at the time. The very day that old Mr. Appley died — even before Mr. Deal had been handed the property to be disposed of — a Mr. and Mrs. Foygrass applied for it. If Mr. Deal had any doubts, however, they were quickly set at rest when he learned that the Foygrasses were cousins of the Johnassons, whom — as it happened — they closely resembled. This time, Mr. Deal scarcely noticed the length of Mr. Foygrass's head, or Mrs. Foygrass's tendency to gabble. He was gratified to be able to prove to himself that Darien real estate had improved in value even over the year before. "As you know," he said to Mr. Foygrass, "we are a very exclusive community indeed, a fact which as been extensively advertised on the screen. So we have to ask a little higher price for our real estate, because almost everyone in the country wants to live here." 12 The Screen Writer, April, 1948