New Play in Manhattan

Uncle Harry (by Thomas Job; produced by Clifford Hayman in association with Lennie Hatten) is a Grade-B thriller--which, in the present sad state of Broadway, makes it one of the notable events of the spring season. Overlengthy dialogue makes the play move too slowly, overmuch plot makes it run too long. With more work (on the author's part) and less play, Uncle Harry might have come closer to being a first-rate psychological thriller; it contains a sound idea, clever characterizations, some skillful writing, and a neatly ironic tone.

Uncle Harry tells of a man (Joseph Schildkraut) who commits a perfect crime. The criminal is a mild, Milquetoastish bachelor who lives with two maiden sisters (Eva Le Gallienne, Adelaide Klein) who spoil him dreadfully but also spoil his life. They wrangle with each other, watch him like a hawk, keep him from marrying. Not being as harmless as he looks, Harry coolly schemes to poison one of them and have the other charged with the crime.

The working out of Harry's little plan provides some nice edge-of-the-seat suspense, and it has some nice sardonic consequences. The trouble is that there are too many consequences. For Playwright Job is overconcerned, more as a wry joker than as a moralist, with showing that getting away with murder can be even worse than not getting away with it; and he continues to make the point long after both Harry and the audience have caught on.

The play once more brings together Eva Le Gallienne and Joseph Schildkraut who, 21 years ago, both rose to fame in Liliom. Hardly since Liliom has either one of them acted so well.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.