Variety (Dec 1942)

44 LEGITIMATE Wednesday, Dceoinber 16, 1942 Play Out of Town TME P'.'SSIAN PEOPLE' ^ '""^ pioduclinn and an cxccllcnl casl. ii.^hinglon. Doc. 1-1 .:i.uM ..zky. Mil Whal Konslantin Simonov has wi'iiten and ClilTord Odets adapted in The RiLssian People' is good red melodrama and rousing theatre. It pulls no punches in its' propaganda preachment that Stalin's soldiers hale the enemy with a blinding pas- sion for its sadistic cruelty and im- provoked invasion of the mother- land. The Theatre Guild has given In lis fir.-.! performance, with Ihe Ru^^ iiin AmUnssiidors parly occupy- ing ;i slnyc bo.x. Ihe play ran .'Jinoolh- l.v. bill there are obvious flaw.^ wliich will be corretled when Ihe pruning luiN been applied. \\s main defect is a windy fir.vl act InkmK three scenes lo sl;ilc the prenu.>;o :iiid tHK Ihe char- acters. Once over this Iclharpic slarl. The I^iissiaii People' winds up and fiives Ihe enemv both barrels. The pla.v becomes vital and alive, (illctl uilh e.xcilemcnl. sufTicientlv char,:;e(l with vi\id action to stir nne's palriolie spirit. Simonov lells his story throLiuh a uroup of characters in a Russian villan-^ occupied by the enemy, pre- sumably r.ear Stalingrad and close enoush to a surrounded Soviet gue- rilla garrison on the other side of the river. His romantic fabric in- volves Valya. an attractive army chaufTeur. and a reconnaisance o(Ti- cer. If realism suffers when a Nazi .-py is inriltruled into the Stalin camp. Simonov excu.":es it by expediency. Eventually this enemy is discovered, and the Nazi proves to be a whim- pering and yellow weakling who whines as he's led off to be shot. The blinding hate of the populace and their capacity for sabotage arc expressed through the mother of the garri.<;on's commander. She poisons one Nazi tormentor, and when the scaffold is threatening delivers a blis- tering castigation of the Nazis ond their mothers in what one must ac- cept as the epitome of courage and full expression of the national spirit. The most colorful character of Si- JOSEPHINE HOUSTON TIE SIKIilllli Featured . . . •STARS FROM THE BLUE'—On The Blue Net- work, Tuesdays, 7:00-7:30 P.M.. EWT and again on Sundays, 7:15-7:30 P.M., EWT. Opening in the ick nnusical 'SHOWTIME' at the Broad- hurst Theatre, New York . . . Wednesday, Dec. 16 PrrM»niil MQiiajeeni«>at GALE, Inc. 48 West 48th Street New York monov's play is Globa. played by Luther Adier, a gay Lothario in his leisure moments who lakes his hap- piness where he tir.ds it. but re- sponds unflinchinglv lo Ihe call of duty. Simonov has peopled his play with interesting incidental characters. There is the veteran of three wars. Kray and beyond military age. who becomes the guerilla chief of staff: a Quisling in the person of Ihe villaijc doctor, and for him the playwri.nht. unlike .S'iCinbeck in 'Moon Is Down,' has nothini,' but searing coiUempt. Such Nazis as come upon the scene are craven and savaucly cruel, and not particularly bright. The whole is a composite picture of a segment of Stalin's small people, of their hopes and aspirations. Ihoir failures and despairs, with the general pat- their one thought being lhal every- Ihing is subordinate to the fighting armies ;nid the men and women who back them up behind Ihe lines. It porlrays the Russians 'saven" by a kind of philosophy which informs it lliat over the horizon is victory. Adler comes on late but gels Ihe richest .Tiid most fri'ilful lines of the play. And he transfers llicni lo ac- tion in vr.lid terms. Leon Ames, as Ihe Soviet commander, is less mili- tary than he is understanding, and makes the role solidly sympathetic. Vr.lya. the chaufTeur. offers Eliza- beth Fraser moments that arc "ich in emotional opportunity. 'It is -in exacting characterization and her performance is tip-top. If she looks too well nourished and full of Ihe bloom of life for one who under- goes the great hardships, this can be corrected by less voluminous cos- tuming. Victor Varconi as the old soldier is a character that strikes the core, and he serves it with dis- tinction. Eleanora Mendelssohn makes the mother the most alTecting character of the play in a nicely shaded performance. All the bit parts are carefully limned, and some of the play's best acting develops here. Joseph Shat- luck. Ann Minot, Herbert Berghof, Margaret Waller, Eduard Franz. Ru- dolph Anders, Harold Dyrenforth and Robert Simon serve most accept- ably. The settings of Boris Aronson are fine aids to illusion. Throughout tlie play background music comes through the loud speakers, chiefly songs of the Red Army and favorites of the Soviet people. Harold Clurman's direction, once over the flrst-act hurdle, is fast and charged with spirit. Kely Seek Change in Penal Code It is likely the next session of the N. Y. state legislature will see an effort to a.gain amend the penal code in reference to alleged indecent performances. Idea is lo exclude employees, other than actors who arc exempt from pro.seculion, from being held responsible. It is gen- erally believed that if a show is at fault the blame should rest upon the producer, owner or operator of the theatre and author. - Move to amend may not emanate from managers, who naturally veer away from any form of stage control, but the Association of The- atrical Agcnls and Managers is considering seeking such legislation. Company manager of 'Wine, Women and Song" was included in the complaint, but the press agent was not tapped for a court appear- ance. If and when other complaints are made, others not culpable might be wrongfully included. Broadway Censorship Continued from paRc 41 I U.S. Roll Call 1^^^ Continued from patr 4 - Robert Miller, studio office man- ager, Army. Jean Selby, studio cartoon painter, WAVES. Alex Petry, NBC music right, air corps. Rex Koury, NBC organist, air corps. Alan Cormack, CBS Pacific traf- Ac manager, naval aviation. H. G. 'Jock' Fearnhead, NBC audi- toV, Royal air force. Jane Fowler, still photographer, WAACS. Aaron Rosenberg, assistant direc- tor and former all-American grid star, navj'. Ivan GoflF, screen writer, army. Merrill While, sound technician, army signal corps, Larry Briston, film salesman, army. Cecil D. Love, «ludio technician, navy. Bob Tasker, screen writer, army. Bud Gerdes-Testa, press agent, army. Sidney Saikow, Columbia dire'cfSr",' sworn in as 1st Lieut., U. S. Marine Corps. Reports at Quantico, Va.. Jan. 1. Fred Feldkamp, fan mag editor, Marines. Myrtle Anderson, screen dancer, WAACS. Maurice H. Conn, indie producer. Army Air Force. Sergei PetschnikolT. unit manager, Army. inoiit was careful to state that it was not in any way influenced by re- ports lhal a religious body (Catholic Theatre Movement) regarded 'Strip' as objectionable. Attraction is in the last half of its third month, having started to strong business. Mayor La Guardia Mayor La Guardia, who injected himself into the situation, when the 'Wine' case was decided, huddled with -Equity leaders last Thursday (10) after having been quoted as saying he wanted the legitimate theatre cleaned up. City Hall was coy about what went on, and It is known that Equity doesn't intend Current Road Shows (Dec. 16-26) Chet Price In Salt Lake City, Dec. 16. Che.cter Price, manager of the Victory, coast guard, replaced by Frank Pratt, former Fox manager for Montana and Idaho. Allen Karf, manager of Uptown, K. C, Fox-Midwest nabe house, army; succeeded by Frank Hitter, who managed theatre several years ago. Sailer's Commission Due Maestro Harry Salter, who was originally commissioned by the Spe- cialists Corps, has completed his military training and moved to Lex- ington, Va„ where he will receive a commiaslon In the regular army. 'Angel Street' (2d Co.)—Bushnell Auditorium, Hartford (16); Metro- politan, Providence (17). 'Arsenic and Old Lace" (1st Co.)— Colonial, Boston (16-26). 'Arsenic and Old Lace' (3d Co.)— Lafayette, Detroit (16-26). ■Blackouts ot 1942' (vaude)—EI Capitan, Hollywood (16-26). 'Chocolate Soldier'—Biltmore, Los Angeles (24-26), 'Claudia' (1st Co.)—Selwyn, Chi- cago (16-26). •Corn Is Green'—Mayfair, Portland (16-17). ■Cry Havoc'—Music Box, Holly- wood (16-26). 'Dark Eyes' (tryout)—Ford's, Bal- timore (24-26) (premiere). 'Doughglrls' (tryout)—Ford's Bal- timore (16-19); Walnut, Philadelphia (21-26). ■Flare Path' (tryout)—Shubert, New Haven (17-19) (premiere). 'Full Speed Ahead' ('Firefly') (try- out)—Majestic. Boston (16-19); For- rest, Philadelphia <25-26). 'Good Night Ladies' — Blackstone, Chicago (16-26). 'Her First Murder' (tryout)—Mu- nicipal Auditorium, Shreveport, La. (|6); Robinson Auditorium, Little Rock (17); Auditorium. Memphis (18-19); Cass, Detroit (21-26) 'Hey, Rookie'—Belasco, Los An- geles. 'Junior Miss' (2d Co.)—Harris, Chicago (16-26). 'Junior Miss' (3d Co.)—Wilbur, Bo.'iton (16-19). 'Lady ..In The Dark'—Cass, De- troit (16-19). Life With Father' (2d Co.)— Hanna. Cleveland (16-26). Maid In The Ozarks'—Great Northern, Chicago (16-26). ~,'Mt"y Widow'—Cox, Cincinnati (16-19). " ■•^--^y-.^: 'Porgy and Bess'—Studebaker. Chicago (16-26). 'Priorities of 1942' (vaude)—Er- 'Russlan People' (ti-yout)—Na- langer, Chicago (16-26). tional. Washington (16-26). ■Somethinc for the Boys' (tryout) —Shubert, Bo.ston (18-26). ■Sprinr Ajain'—Nixon, Pittsburgh (16-19). ■Student Prince'-Curran, San Francisco (10-19). 'Sweet Charily' devised) (tryout) —Locust. Philadelphia (21-26). 'This la The- Arm>'—Municipal Auditorium. St. Louis (16-19); Shrine Auditorium. Detroit (21-28). This Little Hand house, Wilmington iere). 'Thret Curtains' (tryout)—Court Sciuare, Springfield, Mass. (16); Er- (tryout)—Play- (25-28) (prem- (17-19); Majestic, langer, Buffalo Boston (29-26). 'Three Sisters' (tryout)—Forrest, Philadelphia (16-19). 'Tobacco Road'—American, St. Louis (18-19). 'Watch on th« Rhine'—StaU, Kal- amazoo, Mich. (16); Michigan, Jackson, Mich. (17). 'mu Takes • OhUd' (tryout)— Wilbur, Boston (25-t6) (premiere^ sticking its neck out on any scheme to tell malingers how to put on shows. The thought of Equity lead- ing a ri\ovement to censor its own actors is abhon'cnt. The Mayor is said to have made a mistake in not including managers and authors at his session. Not that the ac(ors won't partici- pate if there is a move to judge the morality of plays, but it will not start any such plan. Neither do the managers want to step out and in- augurate the establishment of a play jury. That idea was tried out dur- ing the censorship wave in the late '20s, when jury panels were drawn, but the idea petered out. Sentence Tomorrow The trio convicted on the 'Wine' rap are slated to be sentenced to- morrow (Thursday). It is believed that the court will hear a defense plea that the company and stage managers were not actually respon- sible for the 'indecent' performance, and if the actors have been made exempt from the charges, the de- fendants, too, should be similarl.v classified. The amendment to the Wales Act of Ihe penal code, which bars the arrest ot actors and stage- hands under just such an emergency, has been credited to Equity. As now constituted those responsible in cases of indecent performances are the producers and house owners. Paul Moss License Commissioner Paul Moss appears to have picked his spots by excluding the hou.se management, explaining that in case of a convic- tion the theatre license should be subject to suspension; this he thinks is ample punishment for the latter. Indicated further that Moss was pressured into making the complaint against the ofl'cnding 'Wine.' Casual inquiry of the Shubert office or the theatre would have informed him that the show was slated to close the very week he popped off. After the publicity, business a', the Am- bassador picked up to a much great- er extent than at the Majestic for Son,' subsequent to the outcry in- spired by the closing notice. Equity's position was clearly em- phasized during its quarterly meet- ing Friday (11). when executive secretary Paul Dullzell, who with president Bert Lytell and others ot the association talked it over with the mayor, said: 'We hope to avoid any form of official censorship from the city or police, or from the re form (religious) organizations.' Hrt. 1.00 CLaxton o/o Variety, Hollywood THROW A POSEY TO EDDIE PLOHN The Tlicatrrs' Amhnswiilor la WHslalnslou Oiraotion:/WfCVe •