Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-04-21
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Terrific
By CHARLES GENTRY

night.
Here is play Of our times
fraught within sinister significance
vet courageous in its message Of
valiant hope. And 10 make this
even more compelling. Herman
Shumlin has assembled a perfect
cast in a superb production.
Miss Holman has written in
words of startling beauty and
power a warning which can much
less afford 10 be ignored than
when il was first penned at the
pre-war beginning of 1941.
A lovely American household
suddenly finds that il can no
longer shut its doors TO the evil
that lies outside in Europe. The
daughter of a well-to-do WASH
ington woman returns home after
20 years, bringing with her, her
three children and her German
husband. who is an anti-Nazi
undercover agent.
After seven years OF subversive
defiance of the Fascist order,
these political refugees are unable
to adjust themselves to the free
dom, the comfort and the rather
SNUG orderliness OF things.
They are suspicious of such open
ways, such casual liberty, for they
have been trained in a world of
guarded tongues and secret ges-
lures.
THE SINISTER FORCE
Their suspicious prove to be
well founded when another house
guest. a ne'er-do-well nobleman
from middle Europe. an unscrupu-
lous adventurer. blackmails the
father and threatens to give infor-
nation to the Nazis unless he gets
large sum of money. money des-
perately needed to help other
undercoNer agents in Germany
carry on their work.
And so the father. who hoped
for short respite in a land of
peace, must act, and act he does
in such quick and decisive manner
as to leave the beholder a little
limp. especially after he has re-
turned to state the reasons for
his deed
II is in this scene, the climax of
the play. that Paul Lukas, as the
father. proves himself without
doubt one of the leading actors on
the stage today.
Seldom have we seen an actor
so shaken with emotion that the
audience trembles with him. Here
is no over-acting. Here is sincerity
and emotional force so remarkably
projected that il is actually over
coming to the receiver.
WONDERFUL CHARACTERS
But aside from this great scene
we are conscious of the subtle
way Lukas braces himself for his
final deed: the doubts and evasions
he seeks within himself. and then
the sudden flash of determination
as he finds no recourse.
To save the situation from the
melodramatic. Miss Hellman has
placed her other characters so that
they complement each other in
less violent juxtaposition.
Lucille Watson as the wonderful
old matriarch relieves the high
tension with her words of humor
and sage wisdom.
Even though what has happened
in her home has shocked her out
Iof her charming. isolation, she
draws a characterization of clear
reason and fine mettle. In fact
her portrayal dominates the first
scenes, until il becomes evident
that the other figures must take
over and she retires graciously
into the background.
WHAT AN ACTRESS!
The same kind of give-and-take
OF histrionic balance, is the con.
tribution of Mady Christians
whose performance as the mother
lis a classic one.
From the bewildered wife, glaC
TO be home in the first act. to the
distraught woman who must make
a terrific sacrifice in the last act
she gives the gamut of suppressed
emotions a new standard.
George Coulouris, a splendid
actor. is sufficiently despicable t.
be believable without having to re
sort to a Prussian accent or I
swastika arIn-band.
John Lodge and Helen Tren
holme make the most OF theil
minor parts. while the children
except for one, remain quietly il
the background, where they be
long. when there are forces o
hate. and evil at large.
AS fine a play as Miss Hellmal
has undoubtedly conceived,
would be nowhere near its presen
greatness without this magnificen
cast and the wonderful direction o
Mr.. Shumlin.
Put all these encomiums TO
gether and you'll find that il spell
the kind of theater you can't miss
, Nn0 nat. wsl..sst 2:,o
aaaaaAM ogl 4 nanmsH