Evening star., 1955-05-11

they WdlCeQ lOr IIle peIllClIllI
1t should be quite evidel
In addition to being an expert
on how to stage shows out of
1900 Pennsylvania avenue, is
probably the mediums foremost
authority on the roaring '2O's.
(This is a strange combination
Ill admit, but please read on
His approach to Gatsby Mon
day was wonderfully uncompli-
Gated. John O'Hara's Julie
English" (in appointment in
SamarraD presented a number
of emotional challenges, but
Gatsby was purely study in
restraint.
I know of no other period in
our times that is so instantly re-
created by a scratchy phono-
graph recording-and it was on
this basis, I suspect, that Mont
gomery simply approached the
Fitzgerald sampling.
The casting was impeccable.
Lee Bowman was so detached, l
expected him to go into COM
mercial for Oldsmobile momen-
'tarily. The surprise-to me,
anyhow-was John Newland's
wonderfully keyed portrayal of
the errant husband.
I've seen him in any number
of TV shows, but this one was
far and away his best. He made
every scene count - especially
those with the wayward wife Of
the garage owner. a thoroughly
impossible bit sketched in with
the heaviest of brush strokes.
There was no switching away
from this one-not even with
the thought of seeing James
Dunn, one of our favorite actors
about TV, taking a stand for
right and justice on Studio One.
BY contrast. the latter half of
the play seemed strangely heavy
handed to Montgomery's sophis-
ticated Fitzgerald sampling.
II r II II
INTERMISSION: It was late
last year when CBS's you Are
There" tried a half-hour dra-
matization of the history of
jazz-with particular emphasis
on the closing of fabulous Story
vile in New Orleans.
Among the interested viewers
was a Washington resident, who
discovered. thanks to a friend
who called hastily on the phone,
that he was being impersonated
on TV by drummer Cozy Cole.
This gentleman, Louis Mitch
ell, walked into our office the
next day to comment, "how
about that?" 1t seems that he
wasn't even consulted for the
show. or permission obtained to
use his name.
Well, sir, I'm happy to report
that not only has Mitchell won
q small settlement from CHS
(which he hasn't received yeti
for the invasion of his privacy.
but that Hollywood appears ex-
cited about a motion picture
based on his fabulous life.
According to jazz authority
Robert Coffin and noted Negro
bandsman Noble SisSle, Mitchell
is the man who had the first
Jazz band in New York Q9l2
in London 1914 and Paris
u916).
A story in daily Variety. picked
up by jet" and a number of
other publications. reveals that
Sammy Davis, jr., the logical
choice. is enthusiastic about
making a picture based on his
life. I land Louis) hope he fol-
lows through.
MAILBAG: The note in this
space chiding Richard Harkness
for his criticism of the Yucca
Flats Civil Defense A-bomb test
as useless" neatly divided read
ers. r. P. B.. for example. agrees
with Harkness and writes:
For many years all the knowl-
edge concerning military use Of
A-bombs has been known, as
well as the damages caused by
explosions. Therefore, there is
not any excuse to continue these
experiments Also, they use val
liable resources, cost fantastic
sums of money. pollute the air
and large land areas, and cause
tremendous damage by creating
tornados, floods and other alb
normal conditions"
Joan c.. on the other hand,
writes:
II thought everybody knew, by