Word: dugout
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Dates: during 1920-1929
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Sherriff, 32, dark, slender, taciturn, was an insurance broker. He knew little of playwriting but he said he would try. The only drama he knew was the War. He had enlisted at 17 and emerged a second lieutenant. He sat down and wrote the story of a dugout in which he had lived. The play was produced. Friends said it was good. At their urging he sent it off to the London managers. One by one they turned it down...
Thus the story of Journey's End. The plot itself is not nearly so involved. It is a simple war story of ten men in a dugout during 36 hours that precede a German attack. Their reactions form the basis of the play. They snarl, they laugh, they fight, they cower, they die. Standing out among them is one who hopes for death. He has drowned cowardice with whiskey. He has nothing for which to live. On the eve of the attack there is sent to his company the brother of the girl he loves−the last person...
...second and last acts are considerably better. The camp at Yaphank, Long Island is amusingly portrayed and the usual soldier cracks go off with unexpected success. The scenes "over there" are short, and after being captured in a shell hole, our hero ends up in a German dugout. He is just about to be executed when the Armistice is announced...
...knotted. This situation was remedied. He noted that the other lace was not quite as it should be; leaned over; re-tied that one. After such exercise he felt uncontrollable thirst for soda pop. Purchasing a bottle from a passing vender, he sat down on the edge of the dugout; proceeded to swig politely, without haste...
...work in the picture should go to Raoul Walsh, the director. He has caught the idea of Stallings and Anderson to teach pacifism by examples from the horrible side of war. With this in mind his scenes centering around the "Mother's Boy" are gripping and moving. The underground dugout scene, so powerful on the stage, has increased power in the films, due to good direction as well as to effective acting...