The Ypsilanti daily press., 1944-12-01
~ JACK GAVER

have been taken for many seasons
with the work OF Leo G. Carroll, an
Englishman Of calm voice and i'm
perturbable mien, who couldn't
possibly give a bad performance.
Now he is back again in The Late
George Apley" and has the finest
role OF his 33-year career.
Carroll plays the part OF George
Apley in this play adapted by John
p. Marquand and george Kaufman
from the formers 1888 Pulitzer
Prize novel giving a picture OF
tradition-bound Boston aristocrat
OF 1912 that is side-splittingly funny
and yet is not mere caricature of
stuffed shirt. CAROLS Apley
has character and II is as well
rounded a stage portrait as you will
want to see.
The play Itself is on the credit
side of the season although 1t Is
not as its most believably in de-
manding a sudden radical change
In Apley's character and a shift
just as sudden back to the status
quo. But largely 1t is funny, hu.
man and intelligent drama and
must be seen.
The action OF the play occurs
within d few days and revolves
about the efforts OF Apley's son
and daughter to break the rules
and marry outside of the Beacon
ST. set. Al first Apley is adamant,
then he relents. But when the out.
lander father of the sons sweet.
heart puts his foot down against
having an Apley in the family.
Apley is shocked back to the reali.
zation that his first stand was
right and tn t mixing just won't
do. The son submits and Is seen
in an epilogue l. years later, short
ly after Apley's death, carrying on
in the tradition. The daughter re-
bells, however, and married the man
of her choice
Aside from Carroll the cast Is
merely wonderful. There are such
fine people as Mrs. Priestly Nor
rison, Janet Beecher, David Nc
Kay, Joan Chandler. Margaret
Dale, Percy Waram, Reynolds Ev-
ans, Catherine Proctor, Marga ct
Phillips, John Conway, Ivy Trout.
man and Howard st. John The
sets by Stewart Chanev couldn't be
more right. ....
kaufman directed and did one
Of his best Jobs. There are en-
semble stage pictures--the clan be.
fore and after Thanksgiving Day
dinner, the ladies' weekly embroid-
cry .afternoon-that are funny
enough to make you laugh yourself
right out OF your seat.
In short, Producer Max Gordon
has himself another hit.
Twenty.three years after he and
co-autlor wrote about the Ma.
rines of World War | in the unfor-
gettable What Price Glory?"
George Stallings is back with
solo play about the Marines OF this
war. 1t is The Streets are Guard
ed, and at times inspiring but too
frequently muddled drama that is
not quite flesh. fowl nor good red
herring. Yet It is worth seeing be-
cause, despite its faults, 1t is above
the general quality of Broadway.
Above all II Is sincere. Stallings.
by virtue of service in the Marines
In both World Wars, is completely
sold on these boys who go any
place to do anything at any time
His chief protagonist is a Marine
who shows up on a Pacific Island
Just in time to help a stranded
group of three Army airmen, three
Navy men and Dutch nurse oft
of a tight spot. Then he guides
an assault force that comes TO
their rescue in an attack on a
J"nanese garrison on a nearby
island and disappears. One Of the
: Wy men, an old-timer who be-
lieves in miracles, swears that the
Marine came down from Heaven 10
hN'p them out and Stallings never
quite makes clear whether the Ma.
rine Is q Heaven-sent emissary or
a mere mortal, although II is
quite clear that he regards Marines,
living or dead, Is no ordinary per.
sons
TIL are Is some good acting by
Len Doyle, Morton L. Stevens, Phil
Brown as the Marine and George
Matthews. Jeanne Cagney, sister
OF Hollywood's own James is the
only woman in the cast John Hag-
gott directed, John c. Wilson pro-
ducedNith M-G-M backing and Lee
Simons Md the sets.
was vastly disappointed in the
musical version OF the famous old
play Rain" which has been pro-
duced under the title Sadie
Thompson. by A. P. Waxman. 1t
seems that 1t never should have