The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-09-29
Moral Wave
Fails TO Touch
Old Broadway
Sinful New Plays Put
ChaSte Hollywood to
Shame.
BY PAUL HARRISON
NEA Service Correspondent

NEW YORK, Sept. 29-What
the Legion Of Decency soaring the
sin out of the movies. and some of
the elder sages predicting a cleaner
theater, you'd think that by this
time the Puritans would have
landed on Broadway and had the
situation well in hand.
Well, they haven't News of the
play crop. at this writing. is news
OF illicit love, and if the PuritanS
don't like it they can stay away.
That precisely what they're do
ing. together with swarms of sophiS-
ticated and thoroughly tolerant
people.
For the fact remains that many of
the new plays have been mere trifieS
-trifles in negligee which live to
blush unseen. then die.
And this season hapleSS produ-
GERS are not being conSoled by Hol-
Iy-wood purchases of fieSh-drama.
Will Hays says mustn't touch.
Another College Farce
1t isn't likely, anyway, that the
Screen will attempt to adapt First
Episode" a burbling bit of oxford
undergraduate life which has been
retitled college Sinners
In it the authors have tried to
combine some of the tender, SORROW
full qualities of The Wind and the
Rain" last seasons glum play about
English undergraduates with the
archneSS and merriment of "She
Loves Me Not" hilarious hit con-
corning PrincetOn).
AS a result it has been observed
hereabout that the oxford lads are
a curious combination of Winnie
the Pooh and Casanova.
A Lady and Cats
Continuing the study of theatre
cal turpitude there is Cor waS)
"Errant Lady" A comedy, this one,
dealing with a dominent but adven-
turous matron and her daughter.
The latter is about to arrange a di-
vorce so she can marry a daShing
Russian. But her plans are thwart-
er by mama, who takes the Rus
sian for herself.
Another comedy, ALLEY Cat"
deals COR dealt) with all sorts of
extra-marital paternity. I never
quite got the straight of all the
smutty complications, and, for that
matter. didn't try very hard.
A second and better opus with
feline traits is The Red Cat" 1t
seems that the wife of a certain
famous financier is mildly in love
with an actor who does imperSona-
tions of her husband. A business
crisis makes it imperative that the
banker go to London, so his as
SociateS hire the actor to imperSo-
nate him in order that -ival finan-
cierS won't suspect the impending
coup.
No Sparing of Bushes
EFom that moment on there is
no sparing of bushes, for the actor
plays his role in the bedroom as
well as at directors meetings. The
boudoir scene very definitely is
something not to write home about
But however immoderate, it's liked
by audiences.
And besides. virtue eventually is
triumphant. and such a conclusion
always seems to cover a multitude
of SHINING.
Still another comedy of the stripe
called sophisticated" is Lady Jane"
which provides circumstances so
unusual that marital infidelity is
presented as something of virtue.
1t shows a mother, who herself is
an old hand at deceiving her hus-
band. deliberately arranging a trySt
between daughter-in-law and lover,
and then urging the diSilluSioned
yOuI gSter to conceal the infidelity
from her husband.
Ably performed and Soundly con-
structed. Lady Jane" is applauded
in this region. But the Hollywood
scouts sem to have passed it up