Stage Critical Moments Screen

It is probably very unjournalistic to start off a column with the death notices, but Broadway is as much interested in the plays that expire as it is in the new arrivals, and then, after all, it is but fitting to get over with the old business before starting with the new.

All of which is but an introduction to the announcement that since last Sunday no fewer than nine stage productions have gone into permanent retirement.

Heading the list was “The Farmer Takes a Wife.” in which June Walker starred. It opened on October 30 and was hailed, with one exception, by the critics as a fine piece of Americana. This column, probably unappreciative of its bucolic virtues, thought it pretty dull.

Next in point of time came “Page Miss Glory,” which opened on November 27. Produced by Laurence Schwab, it turned out to be a second-rate imitation of “She Loves Me Not.” Opinion about it was divided.

A night later, or, to keep you straight, on November 28, the Group Theatre offered “Gold Eagle Guy” by the once hefty but now cadaverous Melvin P. Levy. The reviewers were kind to his melodrama of the shipping magnate but the piece never did any real business. However, it was bought by a picture company for $72,000, which is more money than Melvin Levy ever had imagined existed.

The other closings are of more recent vintage. The Guild play by Maxwell Anderson, “Valley Forge,” which opened on December 10 and was apologetically received, failed to pick up strength and gradually petered out. The other five failed to last four weeks. They were “Music Hath Charm,” “Living Dangerously,” “Little Shot,” “A Lady Detained,” and “Battleship Gertie.”

THE NEW PLAYS

This past week only three new plays came into my horizon. They were “Escape Me Never,” “Nowhere Bound,” and “Crime and Punishment.” The first-named, which Charles Cochran, the English producer, presented in association with the Theatre Guild, has already been discussed in this column. To repeat, it is an indifferent play made worthwhile by the gifted acting of the Jewish star, Elisabeth Bergner.

“Nowhere Bound,” by Leo Birinski and produced by O. E. Wee and Jules Leventhal, who are noted for their economies, opened inauspiciously at the Imperial, a large house usually occupied by musical comedies. There is nothing comical or musical about “Nowhere Bound.” It is the stark story of a group of deportees who are imprisoned in a train across country. This governmental “Deportation Special” is bound from coast to coast, stopping on the way to pick up undesirable aliens who are to be taken to Ellis Island and sent back to Europe.

Mr. Birinski has turned his idea into a crime play. The main character is one of our Public Enemies, who hopes he will be able to escape and return to his activities. There are, of course, many complications, but, alas, the author has sidetracked his “Special” and allowed a mass of not very distinguished verbiage to slow it up.

“Crime and Punishment.” is, as the title indicates, an adaptation of the novel of the same name. Fitting Dostojevsky’s masterpiece into three acts is an ambitious task and the adapters are to be commended for their efforts, but I found it a trifle tiresome. It seemed to me that the adapters were overwhelmed by the material and were simply unable to cut themselves clear.

“Waiting for Lefty,” by Glifford Odets, a one-act play which I am told is one of the best things of its kind, will be presented by the Group Theatre tonight (Sunday) at the Belasco Theatre as part of a benefit for the sinking fund of the Group Theatre. This fund is used for theatrical experimental work.

THE CINEMA

The Strand Theatre, which some weeks ago was gutted by fire, has reopened. As its first offering, “Bordertown,” in which Paul Muni and Bette Davis are the leading players, was shown. Warner Brothers have again scored with this melodrama of the young Mexican who tries to make good in the United States. As the Mexican, Paul Muni is unusually good, and he is aided by the honest and convincing Bette Davis. It is a meaty, strong, absorbing story, and a fine vehicle for Muni.

The Music Hall offers George Arliss in “The Iron Duke.” This is the picture about the Duke of Wellington which Gaumont-British has sent to keep the “Henry VIII” tradition alive. Those of you who saw “The House of Rothschild” will remember Arliss as he played opposite another “Duke.” It is interesting to see him play the role from the other side of the fence.

“David Copperfield” has been held over at the Capitol.