Evening star., 1940-03-12

is remarkably successful within the
limits of mans ability to get about
in the heavy going OF so much pro-
fundity.
Anderson, as a playwright of his
skill must. has sought to create
action IN Key Largo" AS action,
it is all right, but it rarely includes
the central figure of his drama. 1t
is something that takes place around
him but actually involves him only
in the closing moments of the play.
The play, which enjoyed a three
months run on Broadway, is the
narrative Of a man who was faith
less to his dream of making this
better world. The man, King Nc
Cloud (MunD, deserts his men on
nil of death In Loyalist Spain
when he comes to the conclusion
that freedom is a hollow dream, not
worth dying for. The life he saves
turns worthless, and in the vain
hope of giving it value he goes in
turn TO the families of the friends
he deserted to find, in their forgive
ness, an ability to forgive himself.
The journey lands him eventually
at Key Largo, off the coast of
Florida, where, in saving a blind
father and his beautiful daughter
from a gambler outfit, he finds him.
self in death.
AS usual, and with his unrivaled
skill at it, Anderson introduces a
mob of characters more varied than
the average playwright could put
reasonably into two plays. In addi-
ton to his tortured protagonist, he
produces as tough a set of gang
sters and their regretful molls as
one ever met, sheriff bulging with
corruption, two ragged but intel
lectual Indians. two sets of Florida
tourists, four Americans who die
for Spanish freedom, and of course,
the harassed father and daughter
on that forlorn Florida key. All
are drawn with skill, though not
invariably played with it, and each
has telling words to speak in behalf
Of Anderson's theory that life is
mean and meaningless
The poetic speech which so often
is great deal of sound to make SO
little sense naturally is given pri-
marily to MUM, who makes its
cadences something to hear. Ander-
sons words, indeed, never have been
better spoken by the tormented Nc
Cloud whose demons tear constantly
at his desire to believe that mere
living and reproducing are mans
sole function.
Next to Muni's ghost of an ideal
dered with skill. the outstanding
bit of playing in Key Largo" is
that of Frederic Tozere as the
knowing, dastardly gangster chief,
black-hearted vulture whose
existence enormously irritates the
playwright. Changes in the COM
pany have brought Helen Beverley
to the role of the girl, Allegro
dAlcala, a substitution that occa-
sions few moments for regret. One
that seems less fortunate, however,
is that of Charles Ellis as Father
d'Alcala, whose excellent job in the
early parts of the play is marred
by his recital tsic) of Andersons
longest optimistic soliloquy in the
last act of the play AS the corpu-
lent. corrupt sheriff, Ralph Thea
dore Is adequate and SO, generally,
are the others.
Guthrie McClintics direction, the
kind that makes so much out Of
trif1es, is an asset which shines over
many a moment of the play, espe-
cially those in which the dialogue
has q quality of being wasted music.
10 Mielziner's settings, especially
that rocky hilltop altar on which
McCloud refuses to die, contribute
Mr.. Mielziner's familiar volume Of
atmosphere to Key Largo"
But not the acting, nor the dlrec-
ton, nor the settings can change
the truth that Muni's starring We
hicle is more philosophy and poetry
than play.
X X X X
P. S.-Last-minute memo from
Keith's: Success of last years mys-
terry drama week has inspired Mr..
Meakin to combine House of Seven
Gables" and Black Friday" into
another such program . And a
memo from the Little announces
the opening tomorrow of Fire Over
England" revival of the Korda film
which features Laurence Olivier,
Vivien Leigh and Raymond Massey,
all of whom have done very we'll
lately.