The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-09-19
Prize Paly in
 Palace Picture
"Street Scene" With Syl- via Sidney and William
 Collier, Jr


 It was merely an accident of birth that made the great city of New York the locale of Street Scene, which comes to the Fox Poli Palace theater on Sunday. Had the author of this prize drama, Elmer Rice, been born and drawn his characters from the life of any other American city, large or small, his characters would have been the same flesh and blood.
 For Street Scene" is the story of the conflict and emotions, the feeting joys and longer heart aches of human characters in an environment which is the same in every city.
 "A cross-section of New York life" it was called when it was pre- sented as stage play. In bringing it to the larger panorama of the screen with King Vidor directing and Sylvia Sidney, William Collier. Jr, and Estelle Taylor in the lead- ing roles, Samuel Goldwyn is pre- senting it as a cross-section of the entire world.
 New York may have taller build ings, more money, noise and crowds than other cities, but, says Mir Goldwyn the producer, the lives of its people are inherently the same.
 A boy and girl in love feel the same hope and despair in any other city. Joy and hate and passion, the anxieties of their parents, the tongues of gossip and scandal, all the emotions of humanity are alike.
 A Dramatic Panorama
 "Street Scene is d dramatic pan , orama of any street in any city in the world. It speaks the language of the heart, and knows no differ ence in race, cOIor or creed. The Pulitzer prize, bestowed on Elmer Rice's play as the best stage drama of its year, specially provides that the award shall be for the best drama written by an American au- thor and based on the American scene.
 Anyone who sees the picture will recognize the roles of Rose Maur- rant and Max kaplan, portrayed respectively by Sylvla Sidney and William Collier, Jr, as the boy and girl down the street.
 Beulah Bondi as Mrs Jones Is the neighborhood gossip, who has all the scandal of the street at the tip of her tongue, and relishes every morsel of 1t.
 David Landau, as MT Maurrant is an American father - not the ideal American father, of course but a type who is all too common as a product of poverty. He is q symbol, rather than an individual, symbol of the tragedy which re- suits from narrowness and intoler- ance.
 A Pitilcss Story
 Estelle Taylor, as Mrs Maurrant, is another symbol of the darker side of life-a woman driven to despair through lack of effectioll. A devoted mother, the years O. fruitless yearning for tenderness and warmth drive her to rebellion. And Elmer Rice, the dramatist, has had the courage to raise the question as to whether she was not as much sinned against as shining. whether she was not a victim of the gossip mongers even while her conduct was providing them with the good for their gossip.
 Elmer Rice, the playwright, has told a pitiless story, but has used infinite pity in the telling. And 50 moved by its truth and poignancy was Samuel Goldwyn that, in bring ing 1t to the screen. he permitted King Vidor to film 1t in the same bold spirit with which 1t was pre- sented on the speaking stage.
 All of the ringing, smashing speeches which Rice put into the mouth of the stage players have been retained. Where originally all the action took place before the doorway of a single house, Gold wyn has confined the action to a single street. So that Street Scene" the United Artists release, in its screen version. remains what it's author intended it to be, stir ring indictment of the hyprocrisy and false standards of life in any city in the world.
 The supporting program will be. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in their latest comedy sensation Come Clean" Fox Movietone News and Flip the Frog Cartot n will complete the program.