The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-10-31
stTHE GREY FOX" by Lemist FL

sfTHE GREY FOX" by Lernist Es-
Ter, now at the Playhouse, is
melodrama in the sense that Shakes
peare is melodramatic, with its
insistence on large sweep
and bold lines, with substitution for
the nicer and smaller human emo
tions by such coarse and fundamen-
tai passions as lust, patriotism, cow
ardice, courage and bloodthirstiness
AS a chapter out of the lives of Ma
chaivelli, Cesare Borgia and Cater
ina Sforza, it is historical again in
the sense of Shakespeare's historical
dramas, that is, it follows the line
of least resistance which is usually
that of the facts, filling in the gaps
with pure speculation when neces-
sary to continuity, and varying from
them when the interests of drama
re Iuire it.
In play mostly about diplomacy,
Esler seems to have taken to heart
that sage dictum of an even more
experienced envoy than Machiavelli
the old Metternich, who confused his
opponents by always telling the
truth whenever it wouldn't do any
HARM"
In what is probably the finest Of
a series of fine scenes in this play,
Cesare Bo1gia (his drunken boist-
rousness and low cunning notably
reproduced by Edward Arnold and
Machiavelli mutually compliment
each other on their cold-hearted
righteousness, brilliant lying, and
skillful treachery, meanwhile anus
ing the disaffected captains of Bor-
gia's army with the "neritices hon.
cts" of the period until the Spanish
assassins can be assembled to kill
all the rebels. This scene so colorful
and well done, with both the Borgia
and Machiavelli Henry Hull, a
great tragic actor playing their
double game on each other, with
fit mad dash Of women whooping
down the staircase of Castle Ora
vina upon their willing prey and
then the silenter, sinister charge OF
the mob of assassins down the same
staircase, is completely off, histori-
cally. The captains were strangled
not stab cd, =. vcsare's camp, moi
in the castle at Sinigalia. For pur-
poses Of the drama, the captains are
supposed to have been lured through
Maehia - ) trickery, to trust them
selves to the Borgia honor. Actually
they came, good Catholics, defense
les to the slaughter relying on tbs
definite promise of protection from
Pope Alexander VI, "Christ's vicar
on EARTH" only to find that if Ma
chiavelli was "the greatest LITTLE
rogue in Italy, next to me" Zee
sare's words) the pope was ever
more savage in his plans and un
r. III I'D prom3.- Perhaps tn
&C -. ". mt have ofIende,
some of New York's Tammany pa
irons of the theatre, though, ant
hurt box office receipts.
- plot Esler has worked out re
ouires that Machiavelli be swindle
by Caterina Sforza, ruler of Forli
on his frs. .~mat.c mission, an
claims this disloyalty of the duches
"a rel histo.-s.- c.iaraet ., gaHlou
for her exploits alike in war, low
and ing, played "A excellen
C. J Chryst;4l - 'ne) as tn
turning point in the corruption Q
the cooling dove of peace and honest
that was Niccolo Machiavelli unit
his thirtieth year, and the maxim
of a Machiayellian out of him.
lie W.. -s-.-.--.s, theory
probably wrong; fachiavelli, as tn
trusted agent of the oligarchy o
Florence went in 1899 to Torli t
sea abol, loan from the Florentin
bankers and pawnbrokers to tn
Sferza, then facing an attack fror
the Borgia pope and his son Cesart
AS such he needed no corruption, h
was already a heller for the frs
capitalist class to seize state power
and was doing whatever was neces
sary for the profiteering of tina
class. In the play Caterina's diplc
macy and exceeding lack of virtu
| +,,rY, the Rorpia army aside fror