Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 December 1939 — Page 10

PAGE 10

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

THE STAGE

English's Play Portrays Powerfully The Majestic Stature of Lincoln

By JAMES THRASHER

A CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNT of Keane's Hamlet relates that the actor's performance was like reading the play by flashes of lights ning. And no better description of Robert E, Sherwood's “Abe Lincoln in Illinois” comes to mind than to say that the playwright has seemed to illuminate Lincoln's life by the same means. Here is a subject which has baffled some biographers and com-

pelled others to write ponderous and searching volumes. Yet Mr. Sherwood, in this play now at

English's, has managed in 12 |

scenes to give us a striking portrait, as full of revelations as of

much of the play's powerful impression is due to Raymond Massey’s portrayal of Lincoln, and of that more later

Mr. Sherwood's play is part | | that every admiring American [ must have created and enshrined | his own image of Lincoln. Physi= [ ‘cally, Mr. Massey's resemblance to

conjecture, and partly a condensation and rearrangement of Lincoln's own utterances. But so deeply is the playwright imbued With a love and sympathy and understanding of his subject, that Within an evening's playing time Lincoln grows to his majestic stature in full and honest proportion ” 5 5

THE PLAY 1s not a play in the accepted sense of the word. There is, of course, no conventional plot of exposition, climax and denouement. Yet if the life story of this most baffling, fascinating and great-souled of Ainericans 1s not drama in its highest sense, what i135? The building, groping, heartbreaking preparation for great deeds and sudden catastrophe is tragedy of a high and noble sort. Wisely, Mr. Sherwood has centered his play about the theme

resort to copyv-book maxims to

do 50. He makes of his hero no |

faultless paragon. Yet he shows us the inevitable shaping of Lincoln’s career by legitimate dra-

ati ¢ lati 8) { by b matic manipulation of actual | perfect ensemble. Muriel Kirk-

events of his life It is probably true, as the play suggests, that the tragic blight that came to Lincoln with the death of Ann Rutledge was necessan For surely without the

shrewish goadings of Mary Todd, |

he could not have reached his destined end ” 5 »

THE PLAY BEGINS with the |

New Salema Lincoln in his early twenties The first act reveals us the amiable, diffident, beloved man, the curious mixture of good fellowship, quenchless thirst for knowledge, misanthropic loneliness and deep melancholy. Succeeding scenes show the

deep wound of Ann Rutledge's | , . death, the days of law practice in | I a [ow ue

Springfield, the meeting with |

Mary Todd and the desperate, perhaps cowardly flight from

from the Lincoln-Douglas debate. And afterwards, the beginning and success of his presidential candidacy. The final scene is of

: . | Lincoln's departure for Washingfamiliar characteristics. Of course |

ton. 5 ” »

MR. MASSEY'S REALIZA-

| TION of the role is triumphant. I

say this, too, in the knowledge

the part is more than fortunate, It is, at least to me, a startling actuality. Time and again the

| actor dissolves time and space and

theater and produced the living

| man that he portrayed.

His performance is faithful to the last degree. Trained in the language and tradition of the

London stage. Mr. Massey forsakes | any temptation to be “theatrical”

His voice becomes the high-

| pitched and rather unimpressive | Lincoln voice of which history | tells us. The Midwestern accent

falls familiarly upon our ears. Through Mr. Massey's art of

tious vouth he becomes the man

| of wisdom and compassion and of Lincoln's destiny. He does not | | homelier side of Lincoln neglected, |

greatness. Nor is the lighter,

either by playwright or player, ” » »

THE SUPPORTING CAST fis |

competent, if not always a

Jand's Mary Todd has flashes of

| brilliance and stretches of tech-

nical vocalism. The performance of Herndon by David Clarke, an

| Imdianapolis native. also is capable,

except for one scene of overzealous hysteria. Of the other prominent parts in a large cast, those by Calvin Thomas and Arthur Griffin as Joshua Speed and Bowling Green are entirely praiseworthy No small gmount of the play's effectiveness lies in Jo Mielziner's

| settings, simple vet entirely in key

with what takes place before them. The play's engagement ends with performances tonight and to-

| morrow afternoon and evening

To miss it would be more than to

to deprive vourself of knowing through the theater's magic, the

actual man who was Lincoln, and | of knowing a renewed faith in |

KICKING UP FOR PRINCETON

FRIDAY, DEC. 22, 1939

Times-Aeme Photo.

Here are some of the Princeton “chorines” who will be seen at the Murat Saturday night when the | Triangle Club comes to Indianapolis with its 51st annual show, “Any Moment Now.”

Communist Movie Critic

Is Gone With the Wind

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (U. P).— that since his status had been that Howard Rushmore, movie eritie of of occasional contributor. the Communist Party organ, The | Daily Worker, is out of a job today the review, the notice said, brought because he was not vehement from

enough in his condemnation of the “which revealed not only his antithe Negro sentiments, but also marked lanti-semitic views, which he sought

motion picture “Gone With wind.”

His dismissal followed his failure about to discern reactionary tendencies of Dies variety.” ‘the $4000.000 production which]

[irked the Communist Daily's edi[torial board and particularly Ben

| Davis, its Negro member, Mr. Rush- Eddy made their screen debut as a eretta for more than a decade, is to § ‘more said. His monetary loss, how- team in 1835 when they appeared be made into a motion picture by #§

(ever, is nil, he added, as his $25

weekly pay check has been missing recently anvway, due to a shortage

of funds which followed signing of [the Stalin-Hitler pact | Mr. Rushmore went to review the

‘Americanism’ of the KKK-

TEAM DEBUT

Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson |

Stokowski Gets || '49-'41 | Contract

PHILADELPHIA, Dee. 22 (U. P) —Lieopold Stokowski was en route

to the West Coast today after sign- # ing a contract as co-conductor of # the Philadelphia Orchestra for the

1940-41 season The noted conductor will direct

the orchestra in 16 concerts next fall and five more in the spring.

This 1s two more appearances than

BROADWAY COMEDY [Tech to Present [PAULETTE GODDARD TO AID FUND DRIVE pooeant Tonight! GETS 2 LEAD ROLES

Times Special Timer Special WASHINGTON, Dee. 22.—-The| wmeonnieal High School's ninth| HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 22.—Paranew and highly successful Broad-|,...al Christmas pageant, “Only mount has signed Paulette Goddard way comedy, “Life With Father,” | yecterday,” will be presented to- |t0 a five-year contract and named has been selected for the “eommand |...) at the school gymnasium, her for the feminine lead in two performance” here in connection gu ohelsea Stewart's direction, |flms following ‘The Ghost Breaks with President Roosevelt's annual go. original compositions by ers,” already scheduled.

Birthday Ball. members of the Tech music de-| The new pictures will be “The

The performance will take place : New Yorker,” with Bob Hope, and [partment will be included in the “Lady Eve,” with Ray Milland.

on Sunday, Jan. 28, so as not to in-| ym " terrupt the play's run in New York. Pageant. They are Noel, by J. —— Net receipts will be turned over to Russell Paxton, and “The Flight the Infantile Paralysis campaign. Into Egypt, by Rosaline Patro- MILA A) 1] 1 1Y “Life With Father” is an adapta-|vich. Other members of the music & / : tion of Clarence Day's famous short | faculty taking part are John M. 8 Stakian Rr A Sr stories by Russel Crouse and How=-| White, William F. Moon, Frederic PRIVATE PARTIES PH MA 0958 231 SOUTH NOBLE STREET

ard Lindsay. Mr. Lindsay plays |Barker, Richard Orton, Alonzo Eidthe part of “father,” Clarence Day son, Raymond Oster and Charles b | Overholt.

MERRY CHRISTMAS. FOLKS

THE NEW HARDY PICTURE IS HERE!

he made under his present contract. Mr. Stokowski's engagements for }

the coming weeks include appear(ances as conductor in San Francisco |and Loos Angeles.

OPERETTA BOUGHT

“Countess Maritza,” a favorite op-

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

their first appointed wedding day. | gemocracy worth a thousand pas [film with orders to “blister” it, he The scene on the prairie, where | trjotic preachments. Aft p th wich { Lincoln prays for the recovery i —— — sala. er viewing e piclure, | of a migrating friend's son is a i however, he was surprised to find telling stroke. Though fictitious, RKO RESUMES it hot so bad as he had been told. | : it epitomizes the obscure growth PARIS, Dee. 22 (U. P).—Jean| F 3% o POET ny x A. of Lincoln's resolution. It eX- |Bernard Derosne has announced | Yells of Instructions musical entertainment! 25 000 : a. aR plains the solidified purpose |that the RKO Radio Film Co. has| Making concessions to ideology, which leads him back to Mary [resumed normal activity in Paris Mr. Rushmore characterized the

Todd in helpless resignation. with the showing of “Bachelor 8 smash song hits...and a § | : ve 13 » In Act II is a telling scene |Nother.” [film as a “magnificent bore” and

— balanced praise of technical |achievement with condemnation, [saying the picture depicted a feudal South and had anti-Negro sequences, ! | “I asked Davis if I could at least | praise the production and the act-| ing,” Mr. Rushmore said today. “His reply was that we praise nothing about this picture and that the most I could say was that Vivien Leigh {and other stars were forced to ap[pear in such a reactionary picture.” Mr. Rushmore showed his Communist Party membership book, showing that his dues were last paid A NEW, in February when, he said, the party Exciting Issue began dropping its “American-

lism” policy. His aim is to find the THE MARCH [way back to old-fashioned “Amer OF TIME

lovable laughable Lilliputians

million It Ian

It's always good news when America's most popular family

comes back with new thrills and laughs. It's especially good

< CHILDREN Anytime A

m cc

[ican Americanism,” he said.

WY IN TECHN lich WN Paper Attacks Views a \ § 1 { A 1] most de te o . ! I ar Conth | Folly oi ® at “\ tv oe Wo" Wier | The Daily Worker, in a “notice to 4

news when they top all their previous fun and laughs and

‘our readers,” said Mr. Rushmore was |

heart-throbs. Here's the best of them all! |dismissed because his “Gone With |=

ber, “when he was released from the |

performance of minor tasks,” and \ y \ A | WHEN DOES IT START? jose Sn ts APOLLO 1) he 5 | “The Amazing Mr. Williams,” with L Of TA | 3) ° A ® i: 3 » i with ol fo! RI 1 oy 1 © com

tions gather and re. port the big news!

Recently complet Nem SER ST, Soha! 3 Pp ° ed Mi y 9h © v Ys and 3:52. 5 tour { March of Time” ab 11:18, 1:22, leading cities of 3:25 D8. Tr Amgen oe LR

thee an | Segement of Shubert | CIRCLE * “Gulliver's Travels,” feature-length t 11:18, 1:25.

LEWIS MICKEY Cro $3 hep prices! NOW, 5. 5:50. & ana 10:16

being ENGLISH STONE 4 ROONEY 'NGLISH'S tenvated it comes te Ye L " “Abe_Lincoln in Wiineis.” jhe Pu.

a AL L litzer Prize play by Robert E. Shere 3 Hy 3 } yrie | wood starring Raymond Massey ? | » § : CECI IA FA gement through Saturday, with A ; 3 ’ 3 ~

Te at 8:30. matinee Saturday, ; : i i 3 30. 7 INDIANA J ho : . DEN “Pour Wives," with Priscilla. Rose- 3 pe A i

mary and Lola Lane le Page

on J x Seth Oatpu in Po yo : Original Story and Screen Play by Carey Wilson + Directed by ih George B. Seitz + A METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURE

Over.” with rt Erwin arforie Weaver, at 7. 2:35, 5:43 and 8:51

LOEW'S

im ‘fudee Hardy and Son” with 3 i 3 A a : . . SLATE BROTHERS HAE NEN May (Shiner. 4 | D That amazing ‘‘Maisie’’ back Wackiest of Screwball ehot Mont TAT Suhern: ak Hit awe same ErO% ¥ hig N : ’ RL TN 00 2:15. 5:20 and Re : on” © 7 ; ” i 0 To help make this Loew's CL TT ‘A Night at the Moulin Rouge Dest a Greatest Holiday Program! on stage at 12:85. 3:47. 6:39 and ro

"BUSTER SHAVER

36 _ With OLIVE and GEORGE a Barrens aR Yaret Ra R Vo ogi 4 id \ £ \ ) uk and 10:38. dh Da sY § : % i : 3 y port ® MANY OTHERS * § ft J / ptton | a . Tovar 18 A i | fan an { 0 N \ ; 4 y } \ =

os 20 seenes of opuLent magniioenee | ENBLISH— wunlil GF 4a ee J (ANSAUNS {WORLD'S BIGGEST STace speerasue | THE PLATRRIGHTS' CO. . | A

ue ENENTS PARSE —_ PLUS THIS "A" PICTURE * RAYMOND MASSEY ¥

ON THE SCREEN | ££ LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS - . ‘ : 3 " i ; p ’ Bi NN. RB : Ho Sens

ty 3 ) \ \

ALICE FAYE SAT. Wik di de 8 ww N COLOR After 6 CARTOON WARNER BAXTER

“Wicky, Wacky Romance’ PARAMOUNT NEWS

A A ———————— 250 OF Manes ne

JOMN BARTON

SEATS NOW! Nights: $1. L i Mate. RNS Icnded). |

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