◆ SpookStack

a On Broadway — By RALPH WARNER ; L ellman play is in town. He meets -atrangers on the street, receives telephone calls, letters asking: “What did you think of it?” Or—"Did you mean what you said in your review?” man writes as which make people think, talk, argue. | “tnphererching Wind” jis that sort of theatre piecb—not as new #5 this morning’s news- newspaper. For it concerns an American diplomat what the appeasers. were up to—but did nothing about it. First, think of it?” I want to say—tit’s the second vital American play of this season, sharing with “De- cision” honors. for. timeliness, Jt attacks fasclem at broad audience which attends Miss Hellman's works. As I have pointed out in other columns, this hes been a parlous season from q qualitative point of view, If, for exampie, our theatre had been enriched by fine topical plays of the war and the Peace to come by other authors, one might judge ¢ Searching Wind” as somewhat less than might ave been expected from Miss Hellman, Ns the steps by which war came, the support emocracy gave to its mortal enemy, fascism: the unwavering anti-fasvist position taken by the Soviet Union, and the manner in which Chamberiain and Daladier ylelded to Hitler at Munich, Miss Heliman has directly linked our fate of today, the deaths and wounds of our soldier sons and brothers, to the perfidy of Munich. This ig a stratling thought for the millions who still do not realize this simple link between, let us.say, the pre-war isolationists and our own immersion in the blood bath, — But--Miss Hellman hag not gone quite far enough. She has not made plain that many Amer- dcans worked and are still working to perpetuate the policies of appeasement, which are cloaked variously under the names of isolationism, defeat- Th) VU mb ater anmenineatae Mlonzlism, or what you will—ell, whether CORSCISUsly or not, objective support for fascism, This Miss Hellman does not do. - | Iam not sure why she omitted this last link wish to stuff her audience too full. Perhaps she did not choose te go beyond the limita,of compre~ hension of the average member of her audience. “ At one point in “The Searching Wind,” she puts this frantic query into the mouth of a charatter: “Where are those who can read the events of today, who can tell not three months from today, but knows now the meaning of today's happenings?” | Where, oh, where? 1. tel” id tising in my aid. grry RITIC can always tell when # Lillian This is healthy stuff—it means that Miss Hell- paper, but valuable in understanding this morning's - who saw the war coming at first hand; who knew © to my friends who aak: “What do ‘you . enough, is ‘on: the. technical side. ita core in terms which are understandable to: the. . “The Szarching Wind” is atrongest when it re- - ism,. pacifist support for # hegotiated peace, na- . between yesterday and today. Perhaps she did not ~ She i in there fighting, perhaps not. with. full courage, but better than almost enone elze at. ster did. ees tine, _ , a Teltz.— LY..11.. wv) " bacnsii4ii Heliman's taxgbin did. jeck, Ercoli, Kuusinen, Litvinby, @talin did... raany others did. . -Perhaps it woud have been inconvenient even’ -to have suggested this historic fact. But, eave for a scene in which ome of the characters perceives Mussolini's intent as long ago as 1922, none. of Miss Hellman's fictional personalities rises above confusion except, of course, the Narl diplomat on the day before Munich in 1938. It is not. true that _ everyone was confused. about the progression of fasclsm-—Mr. Roosevelt called for quarantining the aggressors in 1938. “The Searching Wind’ would have been a better play if note had been made of this historic division of opinion regarding polley, strategy and tactics in ihe “spproaching global war. Where “The Bearching. ina’ s weakest, oddly A. love. story parallels the political story-—the dipiomat's love Ife is muddled, He. Tejects tha ole tng: somewhat progressive . Foung teacher, miarries ‘a ‘Wealthy. women who un-: ‘wittingly plays around with feacists, and is forever haunted by his on personal confusion in bis rela- tons with ihis wife. Obviously he is somewhat less than ‘master of his personal déstiny.’ This inner conflict is not well explained. Even jess clear is the relationship between the two women—there is unhealthy implication in their early friendship an later hatred for each other. - Then, in the character of ‘aire Wisonian liberal who abandons his wapeper the face of grim realities, Miss Hellman | done herself justice. That fine actor, Daud] Plays this role—as Dudley Digges. It's the same old stop-gap character, ood for chuckles, but not | & serious study of, let us say, a aa leer or an Oswald Garrisomgiiliard. For t eed Uberals usually did more than tum t their backa— fee air to Mr. Pulitzer if I did not point cut a ring, Dut the Villards, Cowleys, "Kirchweys beat about the bush, landing in the inoms of anii- Communism, doing thelr bit to still the cries of those who were shedding their blood in Spain against the fascists as-early as 1936. ae Finally, on the technica] side, Miss Hellman - commits the unforgivable crime of the double flash- back, Flashbacks from 1944 to 1922 are bad enough; in iv ananes Misa Hellman goss fram ‘ad ta "9 ta "44 to 33 to "38 to"44. Rascamental fa st won |» 6 - i rT e, i a — a 2 as in “The bce OO , rrveennaeee anh Oren ee 87 APR eyt04e of wri is unity—-the flashback may be but when it cuts across a pla ing Wind,” it breeds confusi . 8 oe NOT In other words, “The Searching Wind” is tm- perfect as an example of playwriting. It is not a great play. But it is one of the two significant —— ——— oo plays of this season. The public has taken it to its “~~ ‘heart—proof that the public wants more and more - Plays about the war. Miss Gellman stil! stands in - the forefront of our shattered, dramatic phalans. { rd ye woo “ othe 5 Searching Wind” aaa Dimttrom, Marty, Pastoptin. Louls Post-Dispatch hos kept in the ; | a | —_ aot <5. 95 oA ia