Variety (Dec 1940)

S2 LEGItlMATB ^ediiesdaj, Dlecember 25v 1940 son OLD ACQUAINTANCE roiii'eiiy . In. tljten .ficls-vreseiitcil (ii 'llie- MmiiMM;. ■-N. • X^.: Dov. -iia.: '•••<>. »»• PwiBiu PoMo WlnMXl; JailP..C6<vl «iiiVP>!KK> "'V"'! alnn'oil; Kcnl SinUli. rfoluVeil-/. VJUl'Vi John Vnii UrulP.ii: fllaBeil .vliy-\A''i'.l'>l BolTlnBs liy Uli>liiinl Wliorf; ^a.HO toii, KiilheiMiiB Miifkhiim.; ..;, Jniip ,(:"owi nuaa KemiaH,v.';......>cni.vf<oi th, DMnlru .IHiihe:... i .... .ilo|^.:l,oiminlrc Srihi'lnri . Anna. ti'«nhlln Mllrtrort VN^atSon Drokdi . rcifKy .^^.oo.<l Su.stin ..... I .\ .....-. . I'Miin- Wp.st- Ti-estori Drnke., ;...;, : ... .Hiihloi- Gni iUier Prediction- Was that: beltter pla.vs would start arriving around the holi- day pei:lcid and . thereafter. 'Old Acqdaihtance' Tather be^rs that out; Though- it did riot impress:as a sock show/ week's ilrst ai:ri'Yfll • should ■-Fate-alTio ng - th e e ea s o n^uocfSses^ John- -Van Druten ha;s written : a dialog comedy which starts brightly. Promise of the opening aict^ is some-- What siTiudged in the second section; but the third :act. picks.up,arid the play ends, pleasantly ..'-.Some of the authbr's lines' are bright, ' but too many are no,t so eiffective;, Evidently he would have turned, out. a better script if more , time were ^devoted. to It: ■ .. / . ■ ^ ■ It's a women's play and the cast Is graced by two welcome stars, Jane Cowl arid Peggy Wood;: Early, In the performance the lattet has the edige with her piquant, manner- and comic, coneeptibn of . her part..-Later. the score iSwings . toward Miss CowL . Quite importarit. top, Is Adele Long- mire; young actress Who: plays. the: Ingenue very, attractively. • Van Druteh-' has. sbmethlng oh the ball iri writing about ;Worii6ri". as also attest •The .-Distxiff : Side' and 'Thete's AI-': ways Juliet'.': Miiss.Cdwl and Miss. WoOd:are. Kit. Markham arid Millie... .Dralce; re- spectively. 40?'year-old rioyeUsts and successfMl, thbugh Millie writes more saleable stuff." Frierids .since girl- hood in /Harrisburg,' theyllaugh' over remembrances and are-frank about each other's work. . Millie . was married, but .hasn't worked at it for 10 years! her only problem being an 18-year-old daughter, Deirdce. Mention of affairs is frequent, par- ticularly by Kiti who never married but has haid her lovers. Currently she has Rudd~ Kendall, .connected, with a publishing house. He is about 10 years , her junior, but proposes marriage, which she is inclined to favor, but no promises are made.. Presentljr Rudd -discovers hiriiself In love!/with Deirdre arid she re-, clprocates; It is romance in a flash until the girl .flnds out about his as- sociation with Kit, who has; quite a time convincing the laiss that it is all. over.' Rudd tells Kit of his affection for the girl,, with the' matronly mistress saying their affair could riot go on indefinitely. . She', sweetly aludes to. it as a spell of perfect weather. -. . . There is a quarrel between Kit and. Millie, .which bears down in act two. At the end the two old-friends agree that their friendship at such a time in life, is to be treasured. The cast Is. limited, iriciiiding two maids and only a pair of male players, one having a compiaratively small part. Auriol Lee directed and has the leads teartiirig splendidly- Miss Wood enacts a woman with tacky ideas about clothes. In a gay .mood she is enjoyable, but in .anger rather a pain in the neck. ■ Miss Cowl plays the more re.served part,, arid there are time.t when the roriiance with. Riidd :d6es . not., seem genujne. Latter rbVe -" • .exiiell.cntb'^ played bV Kent Smllli; Mis.si .LGnRmire-s yoii.lh arid hejr iritellitient. readiri.R makes Deirdre a iiikeable- young lady. - ■ - .• ■ibee. ::- CUE FOR PASSION -Sle(iiilv«Min- ill .il>Vt"i> ■ iii-i«.;i)i-i>Hcn-tfei^. .lit. the ri./yiiJe. N. Y;; Peo. '-itl, My RK'Unnl AUiricli - und Hloliiinl Myern; . «-:rItt«n ^ J>>' Kilsi-ai-iV ('liDiliii'oy rii">" 11. ' «. • Kfafi;. Onle jJonMPi-najii-il.. (ji'.i)rei'* t'oiilpurl!*- .«nrt .-Do.r.is Niilan .fentm-cd; BlnitM Vi.'^:'0tl6 I^. -Prom- .InB'er; .BPtlliiB l>V Uc(-bort Amli'oVva; |.l.,.0 Iblt. '~' — - . -. *-' '' ■ - ' .VIvlonrie-. Arties....... . ... .Dorlfl Ni>Ian. .liiliii Itii-liiivi :KUIou',....«>?Vifk*' roulbvirls ■ \ 1 i.i I; . ■.•;! .. . r-lnrp -t^niinilPrft little ingenue, and Douglas Gllmore, appearing only In the last act as the prosecutor. -' Otlo L. Preminger, the stager, de- livered a sklUful Job and would have fared better with a clearer, more In- cis'lve script. :Ibee.. Relrcjat to Pleasure V .ronitfiiy -'lii- ll'iri'o iiOi*- (foul' Ai-on^ftli.-by.- li-wlti ■.Sliinx'. - nn-«'i.ieil .• )))■:' 1 luroUl .- C.liir*- mini! stfltlriB.s l>y .noiuvlil 'OensliiKeri pos- t-ui|ii>.i ■ by PUMi:. <lu. l>oiit. Prespntoil,. tiy (ri-(iuV> TUoiil'to; :hI lteliVH.ci>i .N.' V-., . Doc. ■ IJoUboy Oavr' .IVen-lck ; Ann. H.THcy. I;... ."■ •IleiiorlerB.. ;.. Phot'oBi'Ri'hf'Vii....., ; Frhnecs Clinpiiian ■ ;l'a01 Jtaii ■Ci.)iUnn;i ■<3cnern-l- ■.I.'.5(i-'ii1>(i'r. . ('llffonl Caieit........ llorbti-i l,ei- Plillllpa. -^rarvln A.- Mallet..., J)oolor ■;...... Mr; (.nni-k........ Cornmls.sloniBr ■.. . 'Me'Oi<;al ; Kxamlner,;.. il!"e^*^f Ivca.,.';.. .;..'.. HnrUrliles ..'..~..-.. .'i l>'lorl8l 'Lucl(! CoiU.ortV. ■.;..:.. Hughes, p.:. A-;..; .Miii-l C.:oii\vii),--| .. .Tliinnin.s I'oley ' .uiaii'c -Nii-Jsen f rn>.KS('Hr.'< .t'Vrrei it; 'W; *;t;;iti tiiit Ki-aiiocHdalUBan.. .. i, Pelor:. M(nvt>r;,,; i.,.. riiesler S.liitk. ..;.. I.eu 'i'arnalU. .N.ornh iiiilllBan.. .Mr. ■ Urdwny..'. ; ;><..... . Ki-nhkllit. Olo.derlr . 'r'.oni>r« -i'l'lUltig,.. i.;. .IIiiAliikiid KiiKPlVd .MiiUofskd., OIH ln.lrttli1nK...SUlb. nri'tPlipn' T.-itnall. .. ■. ■linily -iit nar. ...;;....vHeloii .Fbnl .l.olf - Bi-IOkrou .-.., ■Jt'bn. KiiVwy Ihn'ri^ Crbiiyn ,..,,;lCOiru AiwMer .rrod; SlciViift- ...,..;./..*rt .Smith FlorpJicc -'f>iimlsti-6m ...JOsuph F. Koltfy' .>farle. \ .- .Oeoi'Ktf. I lieiv.i. . Ohrliara JlPcuU' ; ...^Dorotlty - Pniteh -f . .; I,, .nuth . .Ne.lsiin Jutlii ' ai c Qu x'Clw Shows in Rel^ ,.■ TanyMd Str«et'r-J<ick: Kirk-. land. 'Lady In tba DarV—Sam H, Harris. • .,' •Liberty Jonea'T^Theatre Guild. •The Cream lii th» WeII!r-- Carly. Whartbn, Martin Gable. "The Lidy Who Canje io Staj(*-^OuthrieVMcCliritlc; ■: ; 7 . ; •Battle of Angels'. Theatre -■■Guild;-;• ■■■■■■ -■:■ ■ •Mi', and Mrs. Nbrtb'-^lfred - (ie-Lliagre, Jr. ■■■.;. •Sh«^ liad to Say Xm— Dehr^ nls King. . . ■- •The f lylnf Gerardoe'—W, A. -Brad$:,; Edward .Choate>'' .- 'First Stpp . to Heayeh'^Mar- . :,if{aret-.Hewbs. .:'•■ ■■•■:•' •'.■■■-■ ■ ■ ';'. For its first production .<)f Ihe^sea- Sbri the: Grbup-Theatre offers a new play- by Irwin Shaw, the reformed radio, serialistv Whose . -^act ^BUry the : Dead' • five years, ago' Arst brought him critical {ittentiori arid (iMP.ir K-iriwets l^hose AThc .Geritlc. People', was a. . • I Sloliiliin- .bVrrei •'••■.Vj.rlin Ni-llnii ■- . I'Kllpfi ),<A-e V. .(I'lilUii Favoi-.Hham. ' ••) I.i.iin:i.rir..I\Pltli ■. . (lii Ip. tfbh'lerknanV 1.",;.. '.Italpli ■Ivocke .•...I.rilirpii GllbPrl ......Clay rjethpnt ......Albert nprih ...Guy ■J.. SdnipsPl. ■.;.. ..ViilVvfti-d' HuiJer '.■.Kusseir Morrl^Dp ■■ I ICilvvln-; Oordbn .. -{KdWard Forbes -(^spbU Mobi-e. ■ , ;■. ..WhlttiPr :n.lM.scll -Harold -"Ora-ii ... ,.,.U1I Valcnty , ...lioiiBluo Gllmore " Impressiiori created by the work of Coast Writers is that-'Cue for Pasr sion' could have been a drama to cornmand interest. :It .Will probably make a. better .picture, than a stage play, which has. limited appeal. . Ed Chodorov eind Hi Kjraft start a story- of cbrifliet between man and wife, both supposedly prominent per- sonalities, then, after the first act. it turns into a niildly diverting who- dunit.; :Iri the' second arid third acts; there were oppprtunities. for more vivid character delineatiorisi as in the early third Of the . play. ■ At - the initial intermisision fir^t-! nlghters speculated over the. identity of John Michael Elliott, play's mid- dleraged brilliant: Writer who is hav- ing an affair with Viyienne Ames, not particular with her affections,, and of Frances Chapman, jiubllsher,. col- umnist and protagonist of a wideljr circulated women's . magazine,. to whom he is wed. That is how well the parts are etched and so. well acted by Geoirge Gouloufis and Gale Sbndergaatd. Thereafter no. onie seemed' to care arid accepted the pro- gram nbte that all the characters are wholly imaginary ..and fictitious. Anyhow, Elliott is mysteriously shot through the heart in the: bed" room of-this hotel suite shortly be- fore the secorid act starts, taking off the play's strongest character. El- liott had decided to turn actor, which explains the gathering of -assorted people, in the hotel on the. day dt the premiere that, never comes off. • . His. wife journeyed,to town for the. showing; but precipitates a caustic scene With Elliott. '■ He is drinking,- but that doe;s. not. really account for- the explosion of his perit-iip wrath against her. He threatens divorce on the grounds of adultery. The'wife's hatred is not so. intense, but as she TI regards hei^ naitibnwide reputation as. paramourit, .a rriotiVe for homicide might be built up., . It is the wife Who takes over the que.stioning'.of the. material witnesses, I with the assent of the district, attor- ney. She carefully gives the reasons AiqinrlrirH lllHllnedvf. Rnleiialiier ON TOUR "H E L i. 2 . A P P 6 P j N, J R.^^ :': •• "..■■/■■■-.::.;■■■;■.■• Mflt;: .WM; KENT ' 1776 B'way. Nevy Vorit Wotk,"iealled: 'Retreat to Pleasiire,' is. a gbbd'hUmbred and moderately di- verting comedy which somehow re- mains inconclU.sive and unsatisfying. It iis a dbubtful - bbxoffice bet,- but likely-; fllriiiiriaterial. Carl Laemmle; Jr., is repbttedly; ;the. . .principal backer.;;^.-z ./ . ■■■";.;.-:;.:• ■;.•■--■ . • As he has shoWri : ;before, Shaw can write vivid, dialog. '116 ; also creates amusing: minor characters and generally revcal-s a; friendly, re- gard^ for his; fellow -humia'nSi^ But; in this exercise, about a girl and; her three swains; iall seeking to tetreat to pledsiire from .the g'ririi reality of present-day' life, "his thinking-, is;- shallow : arid:.: his. qraftsrii«(nship faulty. ; He rteanders thrciugh three UneventfuL acts' without clairifyirig. anythirig of.; makirig a definite point,- if-he has one. If .he has anything vital to'say, he has smothered it'In, a mass of inconsequential prattle/; Arid he makes the; fatal . error of permitting; tlie wrong characters to wiri sympathy. ■. . Somethirig of this confusion si^enis td' have infiected Harold Clurman,; normally an imaginative and In- cisive director; ■ "He was apparently, baffled by such ain unsubstantial play*; for the. staging lacks his^ cus- tomary. pliancy and riacing and cogency.. In ,the sort of part; every actreisis craves-r^a vibrant and at-^ tractive girl pursued tbirough three acts and proposed to every other monrierit by . a stageful of suitors—=• Edittv Atwater is gobd-lobking and well poised, but her playing iackis Variety and expressiveness. . . Leif ErickSon's: headlong boyish- ness, which gives enormous gusto to;,the right part, accerituates the already. irritating qualities, qf the restless,; supef-egotfstical riadical Whb: knows all the answers and per- sists in. bending everyone's ears all evening to prove It. A iiuzzling kind of part,.it apparently got coni- pletely beyond: Shaw's control in the writing. As the millionkire in- dustrialist who almost gets the girl, Hume. Crohyn jgives niuch thie be.st performance in the show. It is the fattest part he has yet .had on Broad- way and he plays it with keeri in- sight, impressive , vigor and , per- suasive sincerity. , John Emery is eloquently color- less as the. disillusioned playboy whom the girl Just Won't take seri- ously. ;Art Smith makes -the par thetically riiaterialistic businessman believable. Helen Ford is plausibly amiable as the girl's . philosophical mother, ivhile Florence, Sundstroni ligious and siTrituai ihemes, Carroll this , time Js writing about a geritle; girl, who, after Uvlnff,wlth a riiember of the outlaw Irish -Republican Army in. Dublin, flees, to his family in a rural district.-, ,,She disrupts the' household when the two. brpthers fall In love with her, so iflrially ,she just ■ wariders ,off Into the dusk; like the . heroine ^f . a, Hollywood epic. Probably there^S' a symbolic riiean ing in all this, but unless he!s a clair- voyant the ordinary playgoer will be merely perplexed ana a trifle Irritated;;;^ -. .•':•..■:-; •'■;-',',.-•:•/"■ liiachel Crbthefs,.. Whb is .under- stood to .have .d,one considerable > te- writing;6n the script, has staged the play, with; ,acute feeling for atriio;- sphere and; character, :witK an; author's, ari^reciatiori of. the lyric, imagery , of . Carroll's. writing. Roy Roberts, generally .Identified wiith comedy parts; gives ^ an irispiring eriiotibnal' performance as the un- imaginative; . conscientious, brother.: wliose passion for, thie; girl unshakes hl5 >vHole pattern of "living; ., ; v As the girl,. iSally Q'Neill Is sincere and appealing, but her performance: lacks lustre. and isn't developed through the" thfeie kcts. Vincent Donehue Is suitably -forthright as the poetic, ' IriipUlslVie, youngest brother, but, Margery Maude seenis ' un- necessarily colorless as the mother; and Walter Burke's , playing of the . noisily cpriiic: neighbor is on a rii.o-.' notonous single . key; Laurence O'Brien and' Guerita Dbrinelly afe passable' as a village squire and his daughter, and Sean Dillon is rightly bitter as the renegade son.,. St. Glair Bayfield touches only the surface of the part of the Canon. Donald Oen- slager's cottage setting is decorative, but with A puzzling , symbolic toiich; His ruined castle setting is stunning^, however. J>lay Is; doubtful picture materlaL ^ Hobe. . 1 why all should :^gr"ee that Elliott's I death was accidental.: The method bellious .mistress. Fred Stewart is I and reasoning of the doriiinant -worn SAMUEL FRENCH •:■; , SINCE lt:3U REPRESENTATIVE : >>lay"|- (or Staoe,-.;8trean ind RadI* . ■ 25 Wtit 4Sth ;^trtet, Niw Vork ail West. 7th Street;. .Lm Apgelee an Irifiply those bf ; Fascism, arousing the prbtest. of a young reporter I whose fiance would be involved. The I others more or less agree to the plan,- as the woman • picks' flaws. Iri their ^!nakeups., ,;: :•'■ '-:■■•- : Ann Bailey Is the reporter's afliari- . ced.; Her- lat« father had been El- liott's; preceptor; whoni the author had castigated In a book. Wheri El- ;iiott proposes an :affair with the lass, she.teUs him how much lie had. hurt; her :father. Ann ■ was the last person; to have beeri .ailbne with Elliott. -At the end .she .reads a . much too lorig; letter from the .d(3ad .mari that clears up the-mvs.leryi. As Couloiiri.'? is oiit: of action most of the performance. theCactirig. hon- ors theh fall, to. Miss, Soridergaard; whose slithery hio,vcments,and ppsi-' tive manner, hold, the .onlbbker.:. At the finale she ; convey? . a- definite idea of a woman whose scheriies aro .di.sai^angedi one; who has tslerity to . ihink ^about., ; Doris Nblari. Who- is , ^ilsb fentured;- gives pi good, perform-. I hnce of an nctre.ss with scant-empha- sis on-morals When; it siii'ts heir pur- pose.. '. ; ;'-.v-... ■ - ;. Some-of -tbn- .-bt.hef '^hhv'fioters .are ; In the lighter vein. .One tt^at espe^, i ciallv won the'.,audience is played ' by Oscar Kat'lw.eis;. He lS .'suppb.<?ed . , _ , to be the; author of the. play about I vagaries thari before; so hisVplay is to be;tri.p,d ,out, g wl-snv littl(» Ffori'^h-1 even harder to. understand.- Always mari With, cbniic .shyD^.'js that , drew j it gives the iiripressioh of iribariing giggles. Hp k a .refugee actor, hail- something lofty and: inspiring arid; inc from Vic.nnn. ; . * , I, invariably it seems: about to make Others who cbvirit include Ratnh itself clear, But it ,never does, and Lodce,, pl.nviiii? h loqii'^iiioiis b'l* pfvy -jhstead of reaching-.a cliriiax, firiSlly directbr; Gla.v;.GIempnt. gs a. hfctiirh I just fades away in poetic vapor;: director: Clrtirb Nielperi; as: AnnI a l-v ;Alwoys;deeply'concerned'^rith'i^e- a credibly distraught Federal relief official, and George Matthews clicks solidly as a liarmleissly punch-nutty fighter. .; ,: .;■" -','- Of Donald Oenslager's twb' set- tings, , trie first is decorative and rightly cbmriionplace. the -second colorful, but. iiripractical for play- ing, PaUl dii Pbrit's costunies are. becoming. Hobe, The Old FoHplishnesi priima .:lri thred:' acttf'-. (tni'ir ' 8rcnc.s)' by Piitii: Vliic^ni; (,'arr.oll.-. -S'ujiervlsied-. and directed' by Rnoliol' CVolfierS.-, hcUI'iibA by Donald- -QunsbiKcr.' 'Presented . by .'John GQlden... at Wlfi<l.siir. N'. Y.. Dec. 20, '40; $3.aO toil..(?4:40 biieiilntt.). - Mra.. SUoeruii...;,,....;.;. .^f argery Stdude Peter...'.... •..,.-;.,.,,;. .Roy Roberts Mlkb'. .....-, J..i>.'...'.-.;.. .-.LVlnoeht -nonebue Mr,-, .TMi'labi ...... .Grace 'Friinels- FIndlny iVii- rJorlfin'.. .',;.,.■ ; .\\Va1tpr HurkP .Mapye .McHusli....;;........; ..Sally O'Nell r,he.llm . FU.zfnKnu'.. i.. v. .,Iiaui-erirc OmUcn Ho.-ieinnry.n nn'e' Fl Iztuna ii;. fl it erU a Don nelly 'J'be Gilhoji....;.;........St. - C'lair Biiynplil Francis. ..;.;..... ;.. i..i..;Sean Dillon (Closed Saturday (21> hfter three perforniancca. Printed for the record.) as thieves who rpbbed arid Wounded him two years ago; Cops. und . de- tectives pollect. 'The house manager tries frantically, to. get ; the: play to go on. . Another, member of the audi^ encfi screams his wallet has been lifted. Two other audiencees rise arid berate the cops fot arresting the actor; Carid actress, claiming tiiem as friendsi A doctor, one of the tWo audiencees, charges, . the first dis-. turber with.being irisan.e;. The .cOjis:: arrest him: The; man' whose wallet was stolen, which in the meantiriie had been found, jumps, to the stage.: A deputy sheriff,, ori vacation', identi- fies the.; wallet , guy and the ftrit disturber .; as escaped nuts; liha wallet guy pUlls a gun arid shoots an Usherette,, he and " his pal . then escajpe.. More business,' theri the two audiencee$, one the doctor and the oth'er .a-, woriian; are: iderititled as the two crooks :.who held up the first ^disturber; twpV years :ago. : ■ .: They are arrested arid carted off to jail. ' The :play begins again. It :ii nnterraptedrag&in^The-lttnaties-have^ escaped, it then deyelps they \yeren?t ' the lunatics. It Was the house man- - ager and the deputy .sheriff who are really ..crazy. They are. arrested arid escape, The dame, and the doc walk m again. She was really a G-woman arid:;the: doc > was -a doc. .Another iisheriette then discloses- the, house manager ahd the deputy were plairi- rilng to" rob the safe.. They appev. 'agam, so do the cops. Everybody is arrested. Everything happy again. The play goes; on and the curtain, falls. An elatrii bell starts ririgirig, set off;:)?y the. watchman before ha was slugged; The cUrtairi rises. Copis. rush in. They've .caught the: slugger. He squeals, that the. house manager • and his pal wexe going to rob . the isafe and he was trying to beat them to it; Ari' usherette confirms the scheme. The manager. Is arrested, the slugger is arrested. "The night watchman Is dizzy frtfin the crack on his hoggin. So Is the 'audience^ Prbbably,. although no fndicatibri is giveri by Mine. or business,; what. transpired hetween the slugging and the final denbuenrtent must have been the watchriiari's; and the author's, nightmare , While Uricbnscibus. ' At' least that is this reviewer's guess. y Brod. BROWN IN 'SHOW OFF' RELIGHTS EL CAPITAN Pby Out of Town BRAINSTORM . Hbllywopd; Dec. 20.. Hyistery:. comedy : In three acta by Mark Linder; -adapted by. Iphlgenle CesllKlloiil and., Leonid KInskey; presented-:by-. (.Sord Oswald - and: The Theatre Assernbly; di- rected by Iphlgenle CaattglloriU'-■cttlnKs by Gene' Osten. • Caet: Jack- aebrge,: Lotv KIbbee, Brian O'Hara, Bart Hammond, Qeruldlne Hray. Pat Lawrence,- Josepli 'A. Ubrdou, AI -Munro'e,: Bllsa, Fellsa, Warren Mu.ier, Dan Stowell,' Theodore Jaquee, Gordon . Wooil,. Rodwar Bankiiton, "Wayne -. Treadway,' Howard- HUKhe?, l>BVld DflVfpa,.- Henry Schwab, Oil .Somner. A( the Troupem theatre,' Dec. .SO, '40. . ■ . ' Hollywood, Dec. ,'24, After being dark several weeks. El Capitan ; theatre relighted (22,) to give, Los, Angeles" its only Christmas holiday legit. Jbe E. Brbwri, who has been tburing trie one:arid twb- nighters with 'The Show Off,' Is cur- rently at the boulevard; house ,pre- siented by- Henry Duffy, whose last- production, effort, 'Quiet, Please,* done m associatibn with Jesse, L. Lasky, died recently in New York. . Only bther show i.n:tbwn for holi- day period is Salici's Puppets, Avhich Is 'playing to mild grosises at Wil- shlre-EbeTl. theatre following , tw weeks' at the El Capitan. The same illusiveriess and mysti- cism that characterized his.'Shadbw arid Substance" and: ,'The White Steed' are again - evident in this latest Paul Vincent Carroll, drama, 'The Old .Foolishness.' But. this time the ',Irish : dramatiist is even. ;icss .Whcrcrit,. further .lost ;in spiritual •Brainstorm,' , an undevelbped brainchild from the pen of Mark Linder, who, : as a publicity blurb points but^ Is also known as Mark ■ ('Diamond Lil') Linder,- debuted at the Trouper^ theatre in Hollywood, an Intiriiate plisyhouse that has seen many strange' doirigs on its stage, tjndoubtedly, this Venture will go down ; as the -weirdest that; ever crossed its bdards; . ; , It , is possible the tilay is "Way ahead of; its: tlnie—at least 50 yea^s; If sp, :many at the preem riiUst hope they dpn't live that long. To again qubte from that publicity blur)3, "New::York, via Sari, Fraricisco- and major, legitimate theatres, is: the ■ next 'Step for- 'Brainstbrm'.' "The theatres will be able to take it, what with mbdern-day. buildirig' cbriT structlori—but the., audience is;. an- bther question. If; the brainstorm could confine itself .to the . stage arid the actors without; Spreading beyond the footlights rit could safely be. shown. For a pretty good, definition of what will happen: to ,spec.tato'rs, the dictioriary's quote bri brairi.storm. fits very handily, i.e. 'a period of abnormally-rapid breaking dbwri of brain.: Cells ; resulting. in violent mental derangement.'; ■ : ; ; Program footnote requestslthat .-for the 'ehjoyment;' of your - friends, jjlease dbri't disclbse the plot' of this play.' The .producer, aUthorV adaptors and anyone qlSe Interested need nave; rib fear that this critic wall squeal on them. Quite ' frankly, he doesn't- know', ' ' '.. • A theatre ; riight, Watcrimari :Js slugged on the head by a bandit. The curtain falls, then rises bn" the first act of a play within a' play. A man leaps frorix the audience to the stage and denounces the two actors OVERSEAS STUNt CLICKS Radio Exploitation for Legit Recelyes Impetus Click of the two-w^ trans-At- lantic 'Corn Is Green' broadcast over WOR-Mutual last weiek is e.vpecled to result in closer co-operation, t'e- itweeri. Broadway producers and. Mu- tual. Program was : so successf ul When aired Tuesday night (17), that WOR rebroadcast, a recbrding bf it in New York locally Sunday after- noon (22). : ■ With,-the Theatre Guild and NBC readying a coi-operative sustaining series of adaptations of former Guild pilays arid WORrMutuai more favor- able to, , the idea bf 'co-operative, broadcasts froni Broadway; showi;" it ,ia figured that other; legit prddueers. m.ay follow suit." Frorn the.viewpofnT of Hetmari Shuriiliri, piroduccr of, 'Corn; the. bro:adcast. was definitely worth while.: It involved an, cstiiri.at-, ed total outlay, bf only- around $500 for shbrt-ivave; costs, cable chai;ges, ,reCprdirig .fees,- arid..; AFRA saiiaries.: For that he received :a poterit direct ;plug for the sHb,W Iri New Ybrk, plus an- indirect ;hypp witii network lis- teners, who would presumabjy.want to see the play when/they come to New" York ...pr when It; gpes on the road. ■'^ ' - ■ _ ' ■..::„ •--,' :; School Belles' Bells On Shoes a l^^ew RO, Bane ■ , ' v ^ Regina, Sask,; ;ipeC. ;24, ■ ,;Theaitremen iri these .parts h^iye a new headache. It's the' fad ol/col- iege girls .who wear 'bells., pri thei?. shoes. :■:" - : ■, • ■ , ; - . / Doormen re.c(uelit that the gir'S .either-removc-thcbell.s. or : tuck tbein- J.nto their. ; SOX . before . enlering iheatres. , ' ' 'v , Noise made by: peariut-ealers Is j slight in cbmparison to that made ' by the belied bpbties on the:.beUea. 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