If you have seen Elizabeth Bergner on the stage or in a picture you can understand why the anti-Semitic German government is so anxious to keep the German people from seeing her. It is simply a case of plain fear. This Jewish girl, who has been on the stage since she was eleven years old, and has played such roles as “St. Joan” in Shaw’s play, Rosalind in “As You Like It,” Catherine in “Catherine the Great” and many other roles, unquestionably is one of the world’s leading actresses.
It is difficult after watching her to remain unmoved by her consummate skill and charm. Her appearance in Germany would certainly create some doubt in the minds of the audiences that all Jews are as villainous as Herr Hitler pictures them.
At the present time at the Fifty-fifth Street Playhouse, Miss Bergner may be seen in her first modern role in English. She plays “Ariane” in the picture of that name which was adapted from the famous novel by Claude Anet and which Mr. Knopf published in translation in this country with gratifying success. The picture itself is nothing to inspire loud cheers but Miss Bergner’s acting in the role of a young inexperienced girl who passes herself off as a woman of the world, just so she can have the man she loves, makes it very much worthwhile.
RECOMMENDED CINEMAS AND PLAYS
I don’t think my list of recommended pictures and plays would meet with the approval of an association of Women’s Clubs, but here it is anyway:
Catherine the Great.
Eskimo.
The Wonder Bar.
Fashions of 1934.
Six of a Kind.
The plays I think you will enjoy most are:
Men In White.
They Shall Not Die.
Four Saints in Three Acts.
Mary of Scotland.
Peace on Earth.
THUMB NAIL REVIEW
“The Perfumed Lady,” Harry Wagstaff’s new play, which opened at the Ambassador, is nearly a very funny comedy. If you can forget the first two acts, you will be rewarded in the last act with a series of really amusing situations. The play deals lightly with the methods used by females to ensnare and torture the males species. Helen Brooks and Brian Dunlevy are the protaganists in this comedy of sex.
‘WEDNESDAY’S CHILD’
“Wednesday’s Child,” a play I liked very much and it seems almost alone, has closed, but if you didn’t see it on the stage you will have the opportunity again when RKO makes it into a picture. Of course John Barrymore will play one of the leading roles. Someday RKO is going to buy a script and not announce that Mr. Barry more will play the lead. Incidentally, twelve-year-old Frank Thomas Jr., who was the Wednesday Child in the play will do the same part in the picture, which will be adapted by Willis Goldbeck.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
