Word: verneuil
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...Louis Verneuil followed Bernard Shaw into the Plymouth Theatre on Monday night. He walked falteringly, tripped on the stage and fell flat on his face...
...Affairs of State," is still on Broadway, and the two may be compared in that they are both vehicles for Hollywood stars. Unfortunately, where Celeste Holm and June Havoc have been able to carry the earlier play, the efforts of Ginger Rogers are not enough to combat the script Verneuil now offers...
...Verneuil has written a brittle farce which is supposed to rely on quick, fast, clever dialogue for its wit. The lines are uniformly poor and the plot so trite that the courageous efforts of Miss Rogers and her supporting cast can bring only sympathetic applause from a thoroughly respectful audience...
Playing a double role, that of an actress and her sister, the beautiful Miss Rogers does show an aptitude for comedy. Her timing is good and an occasional gesture may be laugh-provoking, but in the final analysis she fails, again under the influence of Verneuil. The author also directed the play and one must assume that he is at the root of Miss Rogers' incessant pacing back and forth, her arm-flailing, and her occasional falling into a sophisticated mood which is neither natural nor becoming...
...Verneuil is not at home in the American idiom. Miss Rogers' speeches are punctuated with bits such as "How can I say it . . ." and the conversation frequently falls down under his attempt at phrase-making. He writes a light line with a heavy hand; consequently something must give...