Word: dianas
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Heartbreak House. An uneven but often brilliant production of Shaw's uneven but often brilliant portrayal of "cultured, leisured Europe" before World War I. With Maurice Evans, Pamela Brown, Sam Levene, Diana Wynyard...
Last week's star-studded production was often brilliant, but not everywhere right. There were superb performances by Pamela Brown as Shotover's snooty upper-class daughter, by Diana Wynyard as his masterfully radiant one, by Alan Webb, despite the hurdle of being the good man of the play. But there was merely competent performing too. And the last scene lacked any touch of magic, partly because it wore too lively an air, partly because Ben Edwards' all-purpose set placed it in a well-lighted sort of courtyard instead of a dusky, dreamlike garden...
There are some better performances among the seven stars. As Shotover's indescribable daughter Hesione, Diana Wynward is splendid, and Pamela Brown is at least intriguing as her sister Ariadne, Lady Utterword. (They are not the "demon women" Hector describes, but that is Shaw's fault more than theirs.) Ellie Dunn, who begins as a romantic ingenue and becomes one of the quietly scary, hard-as-nails young women only Shaw could create, is played well enough by Diane Cilento...
Since presiding over Britain's royal wedding in 1947, Dr. Geoffrey Fisher, 72, Archbishop of Canterbury, has had little practice in tying nuptial knots. So he was understandably rusty last week while presiding at the marriage of his son, TV Producer Humphrey Fisher, 35, to pretty Airline Stewardess Diana Davis, 27. In pronouncing the lines of the Church of England ceremony, he solemnly besought God that "this woman may be lovely" instead of "loving." He hastily corrected himself, at ceremony's end further atoned by stalling the bridal procession with official busses for every single bridesmaid. Protested loving...
...Gates is a first-rate King of France, and nearly succeeds in making his sick-bed scene credible. Will Geer is a lovable Lafeu, and has come up with some very original and effective line-readings. Aline MacMahon is aptly warm-hearted as the Countess; and Barbara Barrie's Diana is properly wily yet pure. Hiram Sherman has fun with the Sergeant's mumbo-jumbo; and among other commendable jobs are Jack Bittner's Clown (though his most difficult passage is cut) and Sada Thompson's Widow...