Variety (Jun 1935)

72 VARIETY L E G I T I M A Y C Wednesday, June 19, 1935 Plays Abroad Je Vivrai un Amour ('I Shall Live a Great Love') Paris, June 8. Thrcc-act piny by Sieve Pnasour. prc- Benteil by Georges Pltocft nt Matliurlns. Parla. Mo^Joilo GcorBes Pltoeff Dominique Renee Corclode Marie ..Louis S:lou OI>Tii'e ...Nora Rylver.' Can;llle RoKcr anlllnnl Clause Ludmllla PltcelT This curloua arid beautiful piece by Steve Passeur opens at the end of the sea.3on because•Ludmilla Pi- toeff, playing the femme lead, fell 111-a couple of months aso, during rehearsals, and had to undergo an operation. Passeur, despite the fact that the time of year will prevent a Ions run, insisted that the play be nut on as soon as the star recov- ered, rather than holding- It over to next year. Play is a psychological and dra- matic study of a woman's love. Has an extraordinary second act, in which two women (Claude and Dominloue) flcht for a man (Ca- mille). First Dominique wins him from Claude, then Claude wins him back, and then she gives him bacli to Dominlfiue, with his consent— all between two curtains. And it's convincing. Part of Claude is meat for any great emotional actress. She's a youn.sr girl hipped on love—'I'll live a great love, or I won't live at all' Is her key line. CamiUe is a big, handsome fellow and she's crazy about him, but alV thoush he says he lovfes her she Isn't so sure about It. And that makes no difference to her own love. ■ Dominique comes along and falls heavy for CaimlUe. She is so fixed that she can get him the job he needs to fulfill his life's ambition, and also can get his family and Claude's family, too, out of a rotten elutatlon. She makes Camille, both ■^Ith the prospect of her love and throuth his fmbitlon, and he breaks with Claude. Cl."ude, merely .by showing how great her own love Is, wins him back and then, seeing that her vic- tory will ruin his life and that of both their families, convinces him that he really loves neither her nor Dominique, and sends him off with his new woman. In the third act, Claude Is living alone In the old homestead, her famtlv gone away to their new life She Is accompanied only by Mod- este, her tutor, who is madly In love with her but remaining merely to serve her. Camille comes back, unable to get along with Dominiauc. who has turned to debauchery. She ■wants to give herself to him, but he is incapable of taking advantage of her love. She ends as an old maid. Claude Is continually turning to Gamllle and away from him again. Author has done a remarkable job In making her undergo continual, apparently, emotional sv/Itches, while always remaining really con- Blstent. Passeur made this, curiously enough, into a costume play. Sets It In the relgri of Louis XIV, for no good reason except to make It hard- er—or- to make the emotional study purer, uncomplicated by any mod- ern problems. Easy to adapt the costumes right out of the play, for Broadway. As now written, Dom- inique is a duchess and favorite of the King, who gets CamlUe a com- mission In the army and restores the two families to favor at court. Pos- sible modern adaptation Is obvious, leaving character of Claude and main conflict comnletelv unchanged. Pl.'-y is one of those things which could be a hit If the right actress stumbled on It. Us love theme, while a pretty hi'vh level, could have a broad appeal. Job which Ludmllla Pltoeff docs with it is remarkable, considering that she'.<! the mother of seven chil- dren, just risen from sick bed. Is a forciener and speaks French with Uucslan nccsnt. She succeeds in in- carnating a pure and impassioned young rrlrl. She puts the play over here; there are plenty of actresses who could do It oven better on Broadway. stem. YAHOO T.ondon, .Tunc ^. l"iini-,si ii- iil.iy by Enrl iif r.onKforil p.c-cntc l by tli- UiiiiH,, cntc Tbc.itr' Com- P~ny. nl tl:o Westm nrilcr tbrntrc. .Tunc ," undf • tho rlirofiloii or Hilton Kilwardti' Dr. .Inna'.hivi y-win Illlion iMlwnnis •?;<^"-' •. Mcrlol Moorp Mr, D;n,:; >■ Wnnn Vernon n.-. f.pors-c r. rkplcy I'dwn-d I.exv \nn?<i.<;i C'onilic Oarml~hr.r| S r - rt to S' in Sentnin HphIy Mtit.i li) .•!ivl;t Sliolla Mnv Mnlil to Vanessa Cnthleen Deliin" T''f Vuhor, T.anrtnn Forrcll I'ncl-" .•• Llo-i'l nynioltp Mi'.bcr IDllppn A.she I'JilK" Olil Malrin Hayes Mai) III Howler ioliert Ilennp.ssy Lppt'JVPi' Cecil .Monron This is the first London season of the D'.'blln O.ite Theatre Co., whicli was founded about hnlf-a-dpzer years ago for the rroductlon of 'P'l.nys of exceptional interest and esperlmrntlng in production. "Will remain here three weeks, present ve'iic^e la?tlnrr on'': the second week 'The Old Lady ays No,' by tho author of 'The Moon in the Yellow River,' and third. 'Hamlet.' 'Yahoo' la a fantastic and inter- esting commentary on the life of Jonathan Swift, author of 'Gulliv- er's Travels." Deals. Svlth part of his life when he Is Dean of St. Pat- ricks in Dublin during the reign of George I, and dwells on his relations with Stella and Vanessa. Author shows him torn between his pas- sion for Vanes.sa and love for Stella, when he Is well past middle age, .'jufferJng from 'the noises in my head' and' revealing the tumultuous pride v.-hicli eventually terminated ;n insanity. After showing Swift devoting his pen to the Irish cause and acclaimed by the populace, the finish has an ironical turn, wherein after his death he Is mercilessly slandered by the very people for whom he fought. Interestingly written, splendidly acted, and artistically produced. It will have a limited appeal to the in- telligentsia and Is well worth pro- ducing anywhere for a. brief period by a management more Intent on artistry than commercial profit. Jolo. NIGHT MUST FALL London, June 1. Thriller In three acts by Emiyn Wllllamg. Produced by Miles Malleson, at tbc Duchess ■theatre. May .11. '33. r.,ord Chlst JuBllcc Eric Stanley Mrs. Bramson May Whltty Olivia Grayne .....Aneela Baddeley L'lubert Laurie Basil Radford ■Murse LIbby Dorothy LanRley Mr;. Terence Kathleen Harrison Dora Parkoe .■ Betty Jardlne Inspector Eelslze . .TMatthew Boulton Dan Einlyn WUUams Author and star has done some- thing very orlgitial in the rhatter of play construction and in putting on the stage this psychological study of an egotistical murderer. There is no suspense of the whodunit sort. As a tpatter of fact there is a prolog where the summing up of the Judge is heard refusing the appeal regis- tered on behalf of the convicted murderer. A young servant kills a womar and buries her- In the woods, minus the head, which he carries away In his hatbox. Meantime, he has se- duced the housemaid, who works for a family on the outskirts of the woods, and who Is about to become a mother. Lady of the house, on learning this; has the boy brought to her, with the intention of persuading him to marry the girl. He promptly cajoles her to the extent where he becomes d member of the household and dances attendance upon the old lady, who Is so obsessed with his attentions to her that she forgets the troubles of the maid and every- thing else. No one suspects the youth but the niece of the jady of the house, and when she confronts him with evi- dence he revels In his ingenuity In evading discovery by the police. It is an Interesting study to watch the niece falling under the spell of his hypnotism, to the extent where the police, as a matter of form, hav- ing gbne_^through everybody's lug- gage, finally ask him to open the hatbox. At this juncture, the niece comes In and claims It as hers, say- ing it was In the boy's room off the kitchen, which had formerly been used as a storeroom. When, In the end, he suffocates the old lady so he can steal her money, the girl once more endeavors to protect him, and before he is led away by the police ahe permits him, handcuffed, to embrace her. Play is for sophisticated adults only, very uncanny, and with a ten- sion so strong that resort must be had to obvious theatrical comedy devices to relieve it. Again, the re- spective roles must be played with extreme nicety, or the whole thing stands the chance of creating ridi- cule. As- done at present, it Is luridly effective and certain of success. Jolo. CSASZARPARADE ('Imperial - Parade') Budapest, June 3. HIslbrkMl piny In four acts by Ernest Lengyel. nt the .Vallonul theatre, Jluila- pest. Ca.st: A.anlca Varady. Evxsl .Motrjy, .irimd Cdry. Last venture of the old manage- ment, suddenly discharged from the National theatre, Is another of those hiytorical-biographical revues that are so much the fashion these days. This is far better th.in the avorag«. written with historical accuracy and literary skill, centering oround llg- iires that claim particular Interest— but nevertheless it isn't drama. It is tho story of Napoleon 111. and the Empress Eugenic—showing,' Napoleon's nephew first as an exile .in Londoii, in love with the beauti- ful Counters Montijo and conspiring for the throne of r'rance; later as president of tho republic, then as emperor with Eugenie as his empresK. and egged on by tho wom- an's ambition and his own weakness, gradualiv losing everything, until he is taken ;i prisoner of the Cer- maiis and Ruponie has to fly from the people's wrath. Last scene shows them agaUn as exiles, years later, In the same London cafe as the first. Scenes are.-well chosen and pre- sented. Principal characters do not lack human Interest, but hardly claim much sympathy. Background of the luxurious 1860's lends Itself particularly well tb stage presenta- tion. Odry does a very good portrait of the weak,^ neurasthenic emperor, half Bohemian and half mountebank on the throne. Rest of the cast do not give sufficlenf Illusion. On the whole, one of the best productions of the National theatre this year, but not good enough. AUTOUR P'UNE MERE ('Around a Mother') Paris, June 8. Draroatlo action In three parts, by Jean- Louis Barrault. based on novel by William B'aulkner, 'As I lay Dying." Set and cca- tumea by Fellic Lablese, chants- by Tata Macho. At Montmartre (Atelier). Paris. Anse Bundren Georges l*nolr Cash Paul Hlgonenc Darl Jean Dasie Jewel Jean Louis Barrault Vardcman .Baby Guy Pastor Yves Gladlne Addle Bundren... Jean Louis Barrault Dewey -Dell Marthe Herlln Woman Genlca Atlmnoalou This iEellow. Jean Lk)u1s Barrault, Is versatile. First he's the author of this 'dramatic action,' based on Faulkner's novel. (And don't call it a play; nothing could be further). Then he plays the male lead. On the program, a, woman, France Igne, Is cast as the dying woman herself—the mother. But on the first, night a gent stepped out before the curtain rose and announced that there was a change—the same actor was going to play the mother and her son. Barrault, of course. ■ Doubling involves certain difflcul-. ties, because some scenes require both characters on the stage at the same time. . Barrault just slips on and oit, changing costumes, and nobody notices anything funny. Cos- tumes, by the way, are simple but effective; as a middle western farm boy Barrault wears only a loin cloth, and as the mother he wears a wig with straight black hair, a deathlike mask, and a flowing dress o^en in ■front to the waist. Showing hls'man- ly chest. His versatility does not end there. In the part of Jewel most of the time he's playing simultaneously the man and a horse he's riding. As the horse, he gallops and paces. As the man, he daiices, too, and he's obviously on the horse's bade, al- though you can't see the horse, except in the form of a horse's head paiiitcd on a piece of wood, which he has hooked to his belt. Whoa! This review may sound in- volved, but so's the play. It's a new kind of pantomime, with singing (no orchestral or piano accompaniment — just chants in chorus) and a spot of dialog here and there. There are also noises from loudspeakers representing the buzz of a town, and finally, a jazz number, also from speakers. There's a story, which Is ter.sely but completely explained in a print- ed program. Spectators must have this in order to follow the action. You see the mother die and you get a suggestion of the inner life of each member of the family. In- cluding the pastor with whom she deceived her husband and had Jewel —all shown by gestures and a few words. You see her coffin being made while she dies, without props. Cash, the carpenter son, makes the gestures of laying out the planks wlth his hands, and he saws them with an Imaginary saw, making an eerie rhythmic sound of sawing with his mouth, while the mother and the audience shiver. Thereafter the coffin Is represent- ed, like the horse, in two ways; by a symbolic coffin-shaped plank- about ten inches long, and in a purely Imaginary manner bv the gestures of the actor.s as they pre- tend to heave something on their shoulders. ^ A whole act shows the journey with the Imaginary body in tlie imaginary coffin to Jeffersonvillc. where the mother wanted to be burled. They put it on a farm wagon, represented by a. stick and a hoop. By their gestures you see them climb into the wagon and put the coffin on board. Then you see them make a long journey, all the way across stage. Then you see them cross a river which has overflown its banks. In this scene the set is the .same simple arrangement of planks that serves for all the rest of the show, with platforms on both side.s of the stage, which in this "case serve as river banks. River is represented by .actors and actress, who dance frorii the footlights to downstage, their arms extended—and', undulating to express waves. Wagon is overturnod in midstream and the coffin sinks. You se? Jewel dive, swim underwater and fiali the coffin up—all by gestures. A lot more like this, includinq the seduction of the daughter. Dewey Dell; and the little l)oy,~V.ir- daman, going nuts. But why ex- plain all of it. A mtigg wouldn't Undorst.ind, anyway. Utrrn. GRIEF GOES OVER London, June 7, New play In three acts by Dr. Morton Ilodb'e, produced by Aurlol L«« at. lh« Globe theatre, Juns 0, '35. Hester Dora Barton Tony Oldham Ronald Ward Lady Maddox Winifred Ouehton Blanche Oldham Sybil Thorndlko Kim Oldham , Goeffrey Norcs Mary Lou Mallng Mary Jones Judith Oldham Sylvia Coleridge Duvid Oldham Clive Morton Police Inspector.., rge Chamberlain .Nanny .' Bllldt Mason Joan Trevor Helen Vayne Play depict"} the life of a family, commencing with the mother, a wid- ow, with three grown-up sons. Eld- est Is married, well fixed financially, with a pinheadcd wife who mistakes his brlgglshness for br'alnlness. Sec- ond Is a booze-hound and drug ad- dict, having- an affair with a mar- ried woman who shares his vices. Third, a boy of 18 Just back-from Rugby and undecided between'go- ing into business or to Oxford. Widow alsi? has a young ward, daughter of her best friend, who died, and the widow exercises, a motherly supervision of the girl. . Ward and the youngest son. have been sweethearts from childhood. Second son visits his mistress' home and shoots himself.. Toung boy se- duces the girl he loves and they marry. Baby is born and the moth- er dies In childbirth. Last scene is a year later, showing the boy. who was inconsolable at first, going to a dance' with his late wife's best friend. Curtain falls with the mother seated on a couch and mumbling gometjiing about life going'on, If this Is a play Shakespeare was not a playwright. Author wrote 'The Wind and tha Rain,' which Is'now in its second year in London. Questionable if Merton Hodge's second play would be received seriously by any pro- ducer had not 'Wind and the Rain* caught on. Play has been given every onpor- tunity with production, stage direc- tion and casting. Sybil Thorndike, as the mother, holds the piece to- gether, keeping It from disintegra- tion when it shows signs of sag- ging. It is a dlflBcult and thank- less role for so competent an artist. Ronald Ward ns the dope-fiend who Is bumped off in the first act, portrays a sensitive, nervous young man, III In mind and body, and Is arresting. Goeffrey Nares, son of a distinguished histrionic father, is making his first West End ap- pearance. One or two other roles, of the character sort, are admirably nlayed by people who know their business. Jolo. DUET IN FLOODLIGHT London, June 5. Comedy In three acts by J. P. Priestley, iiroduced by Codrlc HardwicUe and the iau- thor nt the Apollo theatre, June 4. '39. Keith Flaxman Anthony Ireland Julia Cliertsey Madalelne Carroll Hector Rodd i....David Hornc ■JJolly Kelvin , Violn Lycl Norman Sims '.,. .Goeffrpy Edw.-n's" Mr. Grcoster .FInlay Currid Miss Worrall... Google Withers Fay Haggcrsteln BJrbara Worth Mark Dowser Richard Caldlcbt Helen Pully Nancy Pritch.ird Frances Barbara Warlne Slipshod comedy satirizing public- ity ballyhoo attending ..stage stars. Brings Madaleinc Carroll back to the stage after three years, but gen- eral opinion Is .-she Is miscast In the role of a temneramental actress. With a hidden husband, whom she believes dead, ai.d a very obvious playwright lover, she falls for her publicity man's suggestion that she marry her scribbler to provide ro- rnantlc gossip for her fans. Hitherto happy together, the cou- ple bicker continuously after the ceremony, when the camera Isn't looking, and only find harmony in the calm haven of an English coun- try house, following a fake divorce, .md the fact that her first husband is npt dead after all. Piece is certainly not up to the authorls standard. palatini?, she sets her heart on goi ing to . Paris to study. Mother ob< Jects; Maria faints, they go to Paris. There at the Academy she meets the great painter, Bastlen-Lepage, but Is too Jealous of her fame as an artist to respond to hi.'; love. When hei* rival,. Louise Breslau, wins the coveted golden m^dal, Maria, In a state of hysterical rage, goes to the other woman's studio, her riding whip in hand. But she Is won over by the strong, person- ality of her rival and convinced by her that there is something in life besides art: love. But by tho time she has called Baistlen-Lepage to confess her love for him she has learned that she has not much longer to live. Plot sounds a bit sobby, but sit- uations are simply and strongly handled, with good sense for dra- matic highlights in the girl's life. And'.characters, such as that of the disillusioned, worldly mother, or blase end-of-thercentury Bastlen- Lepage, are very neatly drawn. Walpurga und Agathe Vienna, June 4, Tragedy In three acts, by Alfred Qruene-v wald; premiere at Akademle theatre; di- rector, Phllipp Zeakas. Walpurga lelbtreu Agathe Mayer Ex-Captaln Krueger Sleb«rt 'Marie..his daughter..'. JanReen PauIu.H ; E. Hueuasermann Schlmmerling ' Schmidt Frau KlUemann ^....Karoty Kornella Llnde; Moyen Maria Baschkirtzeff Vienna, June 3. Draiiui In five acts, by Ernst .■\ndal and I.udwiK Bulint: prcmlcic nt the Biinjlhpa- ler. Mr.y K"., 'K; directed by Herbert Wanlolt: sets and cottumcs by Stoplinn 1-lluwas. Muria naschlcirlzelT Nora Grogor Her Mother Lllll Marb:-rs Her Aunt Maria Mayer Haslipn-Lepnsc Kaoal Asian LouiKe Brpslau BaNer-Ehprle Uoberl-Fleury Ferdinand Onno Two Hungarian playwrights havp made a colorful and effective drama from material taken out of the diary of the talented, high-strung and hy.'iterical Maria Baschkirtzeff. They portray the almost feverish desire of their young tubercular heroine for fame and immortality, and lier just-as-fcrvent desire for love. Biography is especially suited for drama, as it keeps up to a tense lii'.ch and is prevented from period? of calm or dragging by the early death of Its writer. Play must stand or fall by presen- tation of the character of Maria. With Nora Gregor playing the lead, it stands. Maria, a snollcd. hpauliful. d'»ll- cato young girl, travels about Eu- rone with her mother and her aunt When, in Rome, the painter Robert. T'leury discovers her talent foi Very dismal for the sake of being dismal, rather than for the sake of presenting ■ a significant problem. " Storj' of two bld-mald sisters; Agathe, quite full of the milk of human kindness, and Walpurga, full of misanthropic Impulses and ' bitterness, and a desire to dominate. They are devoted to each other and live In a small German town in the time before the war. Into this idyll steps adolescent nephew Paulus, son of a deceased half-sister of the two old maids— a despised half-islster who had early strayed from the fold and been lost. To- the gentle Agathe, young PauhiB becomes the child her motherly soul had always craved;, biit to the mean Walpurga he appears an object on which she can take out her dislike of youth In general. Walpurga drives her adolescent nephew Into the arms of the frivo- lous Marie, daughter of ex-Captain Krueger. And when Marie runs oft with a traveling group of players, young Paulus, feeling betrayed and deceived, chooses the occasion of a festival to throw himself from a tower. From this gloomy main ac- tion the village drunk and philoso- pher, Schlmmerling; the house- keeper, Frau Killcmann; and the romantic theatrical lady, Kornella Llnde, give occasional welcome re- lief. Play has Its lyric moments, but on whole doesn't convince. Anti-Trust Teeth (Continued from page 7) provisions would be eligible for in- clusion In such a code, while tho question of interstate commerce and Federal jurisdiction also arises. The cancellation clause, for ex- ample, would not be permissible since it does not forbid acts v/hlch are in violation of present statutes. Likewise, the overbuying, the clear- ance and zoning, the forcing shorts features probably would be prohib- ited unless they were tied up with the antl - trust law restrictions against conspiracies to curb free competition. Furthermore, the voluntary code idea In the film Industry probabl.v coiUd not govern exhibitor-exhibitor or producer-producer relations, striking out any provisions such as mainten.ancc of admissions, anti- premiums, interference with lease, and advance billing provisions. In tho case of production, a voluntary pact presumably could not touch raiding or other problems related solely to this branch of the Industry. Distributor - exhibitor agreement.s apparently could be negotiated but' the scope of such treaties would bo r.trlctly limited; and many legal :;n.irls undoubtedly would arlso, princip.illy because provisions of 0::lsting law.-s rarely touch upon practices in the fil industry and there would be only a few acta whii'h miglu bo b.ihncd in acoord- y.nce willi limitation;; in the e.':- tendod act. Wnother tl:o Government will try to stir up new voluntary agreomc-nts remains conjectural, although in many NRA circles it is expected ntill that steps of this kind are likely. According to inner gossip, Lho now set-up v/ill havo a division responsible for matters of industry co-op?r.",tlon. the appearance being ihat this iiart of tho organizatlim wiil attempt to got key industri;>s to !:ooi) Ea.'Tio-principles alivo cm their ov. n hook.