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Lillian
Hellman has brought the awful truth close to home. She has translated the death struggle between ideas in familiar terms we are bound to respect and understand. Curious how much better she has done it than anybody else by forgetting the headlines and by avoiding the obvious approaches to the
173:
Teck threatens to expose Kurt's plans to the Nazis unless they pay him $ 10,000 to keep silent. Kurt kills Teck. David and Fanny agree to help him escape capture by the
American police. The play ends with Kurt saying goodbye to his wife and children and voicing his hope that they'll all be reunited
162:
The
Farrellys have another houseguest, Teck de Brancovis, an impoverished Romanian count "with good manners and odious character" who has been conspiring with the Germans while living in Washington. He searches the Muellers' bedroom and in a locked suitcase discovers a gun and $ 23,000 intended to
429:
Miss
Hellman's contrasting of guileless and good-humored life in America with the bitterness and corruption of life in modern Europe is keenly perceptive. It has a special meaning for us today. But, since Miss Hellman has communicated her thoughts dramatically in terms of articulate human beings,
404:
It is a well-rounded play, full of flavor and good people and the characters control its destinies. For Miss
Hellman never preaches. She has given fascism a terrible appearance without introducing a uniform or a party salute. Being primarily interested in people, she has shown how deeply fascism
424:
Five months later
Atkinson provided another assessment of the cast, calling it "a performance that breeds vast respect for the theatre as a mature form of expression." He noted some problematic scenes but called his own comments "pedantic reservations" and praised the work again:
158:
activities in Spain and
Germany. The Muellers and their children Joshua, Babette, and Bodo are visiting Sara's wealthy relatives, the Farrellys, her brother David, and mother Fanny, in Washington, D.C. Sara tells the Farrellys she and her family hope to live peacefully in the U.S.
153:
It is 1940, in late spring. For the past 17 years, the German-born engineer Kurt
Mueller and Sara, his American wife of 20 years, have lived modestly in Europe and raised three children. He has been deeply involved in
190:
of August 1939. The play's call for a united international alliance against Hitler directly contradicted the
Communist position at the time. Its title comes from a German patriotic song, "
434:
ought to be full of meaning a quarter of a century from now when people are beginning to wonder what life was like in
America when the Nazi evil began to creep across the sea.
992:
460:
while praising "the sincerity of purpose of a dramatist who possesses potentialities far beyond the grasp of any other writer on the contemporary theater scene."
693:
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The Muellers learn that Max Freidank, a member of the resistance, has been arrested in Germany. Because Freidank once rescued Kurt from the
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1007:
1002:
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wrote that the play's "peculiar combination of drawing-room comedy in a genteel southern home with sinister corruption of the
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on April 1, 1941, and ran for 378 performances, closing February 21, 1942. Scenic design for the three-act drama was by
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said the play "avoid the flat didacticism and the thinness of characterization usually so evident in thesis plays."
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The living room of the Farrelly country house, about 20 miles from Washington, D.C., in late spring 1940
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great news subject of today.... It is a play of pith and moment and the theatre may be proud of it.
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The Companion to Southern Literature: Themes, Genres, Places, People, Movements, and Motifs
8:
982:
337:
Hellman accompanied the production to Washington, D.C., for a command performance at the
888:
809:
Realism for the Masses: Aesthetics, Popular Front Pluralism, and U.S Culture, 1935-1947
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447:"the most eloquent" of the many anti-Nazi plays found on Broadway in recent years. The
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regime in Europe made for a unique and powerful drama, one strong enough to win the
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568:"Lillian Hellman's 'Watch on the Rhine' Acted With Paul Lukas in the Leading Part"
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The London Stage 1940–1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel
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170:, Kurt plans to return to Germany to assist Max and those arrested with him.
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360:, which ran for 674 performances (April 22, 1942 – December 4, 1943) at the
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LIFE magazine notice with 9 illustrations from the original production
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Modern Music and Musicians for Vocalists, Vol. I: The Singer's Guide
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409:
Atkinson thought it not as well structured as her earlier plays,
167:
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Vivian M. Patraka, "Realism, Gender, and Historical Crisis," in
746:"After Five Months the Actors Are Giving A Notable Performance"
123:
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Spectacular Suffering: Theatre, Fascism, and the Holocaust
145:
as Kurt Mueller in the original Broadway production of
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The Cold War Romance of Lillian Hellman and John Melby
812:. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 200 n25.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
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penetrates into the hearts and minds of human beings.
421:, but termed it "the finest thing she has written."
914:
887:
673:Lillian Hellman: A Life with Foxes and Scoundrels
598:(University of North Carolina Press, 1989), 11-12
540:. Louisiana State University Press. p. 999.
118:. In an essay on World War II, a contributor to
974:
608:Elson, Louis Charles; De Vore, Nicholas (1918).
480:Award for the best American play of the season.
341:on January 25, 1942, that celebrated President
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643:
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534:Flora, Joseph M.; MacKethan, Lucinda (2002).
993:New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winners
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495:in 1941. It was also collected in Hellman's
163:finance underground operations in Germany.
120:The Companion to Southern Literature (2002)
614:. NY: The University Society. p. 107.
561:
559:
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514:in which Lukas reprised his role opposite
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266:; costumes were designed by Helene Pons;
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300:Helen Trenholme as Marthe de Brancovis
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456:faulted Hellman's vague depiction of
16:1941 American play by Lillian Hellman
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174:someday in a freer, better Germany.
778:, Brings Nazi Danger Close to Home"
744:Atkinson, Brooks (24 August 1941).
13:
833:Atkinson, Brooks (27 April 1941).
356:directed the London production of
19:For the 1943 film adaptation, see
14:
1034:
1023:American plays adapted into films
1008:Southern United States in fiction
950:
675:(Counterpoint Press, 2005), 171-2
566:Atkinson, Brooks (2 April 1941).
958:Watch on the Rhine
946:(Indiana University Press, 1999)
690:Franklin D. Roosevelt Day by Day
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270:composed the incidental music.
188:Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
1003:Plays set in the United States
867:New York Drama Critics' Circle
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706:
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478:New York Drama Critics' Circle
240:in the Broadway production of
220:in the Broadway production of
128:New York Drama Critics' Circle
1:
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258:premiered on Broadway at the
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467:
379:
321:Eric Roberts as Bodo Mueller
7:
510:wrote the screenplay for a
114:is a 1941 American play by
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963:Internet Broadway Database
921:. New York: Random House.
894:. New York: Random House.
653:Internet Broadway Database
18:
913:Hellman, Lillian (1942).
886:Hellman, Lillian (1941).
250:Produced and directed by
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33:
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1013:Plays about World War II
998:Plays by Lillian Hellman
721:Rowman & Littlefield
713:Wearing, J. P. (2014).
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186:in 1940, following the
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79:New York City, New York
59:April 1, 1941
835:"Critics' Prize Plays"
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279:Eda Heinemann as Anise
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806:Vials, Chris (1009).
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343:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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719:. Lanham, Maryland:
686:"January 25th, 1942"
649:"Watch on the Rhine"
364:. The cast included
306:as Teck de Brancovis
774:"New Broadway Hit,
671:Deborah Martinson,
484:Publication history
412:The Children's Hour
372:(Sara Mueller) and
260:Martin Beck Theatre
75:Martin Beck Theatre
1018:Anti-fascist plays
937:Additional sources
890:Watch on the Rhine
776:Watch on the Rhine
594:Robert P. Newman,
489:Watch on the Rhine
474:Watch on the Rhine
445:Watch on the Rhine
432:Watch on the Rhine
387:The New York Times
376:(Fanny Farrelly).
358:Watch on the Rhine
327:as Babette Mueller
256:Watch on the Rhine
242:Watch on the Rhine
222:Watch on the Rhine
192:Die Wacht am Rhein
184:Watch on the Rhine
151:
147:Watch on the Rhine
111:Watch on the Rhine
40:First edition 1941
29:Watch on the Rhine
21:Watch on the Rhine
512:1943 film version
491:was published by
349:London production
318:as Joshua Mueller
297:as David Farrelly
285:as Fanny Farrelly
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84:Original language
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508:Dashiell Hammett
443:magazine called
418:The Little Foxes
368:(Kurt Mueller),
339:National Theatre
304:George Coulouris
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784:. 14 April 1941
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472:In April 1941,
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392:Brooks Atkinson
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362:Aldwych Theatre
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333:as Kurt Mueller
316:Peter Fernandez
312:as Sara Mueller
310:Mady Christians
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723:. p. 70.
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156:anti-Fascist
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516:Bette Davis
503:Adaptations
268:Paul Bowles
983:1941 plays
977:Categories
917:Four Plays
872:2016-10-13
847:17 October
788:17 October
758:17 October
699:2016-10-13
658:2016-10-13
580:17 October
522:References
497:Four Plays
462:The Nation
453:New Masses
331:Paul Lukas
295:John Lodge
218:Paul Lukas
198:Production
178:Background
143:Paul Lukas
63:1941-04-01
46:Written by
468:Accolades
449:Communist
380:Reception
325:Ann Blyth
291:as Joseph
130:Award."
499:(1942).
961:at the
458:fascism
394:wrote:
168:Gestapo
100:Setting
87:English
61: (
927:478679
925:
900:541885
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816:
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544:
149:(1941)
838:(PDF)
749:(PDF)
571:(PDF)
95:Drama
92:Genre
923:OCLC
896:OCLC
849:2012
814:ISBN
790:2012
782:Life
760:2012
725:ISBN
582:2012
542:ISBN
440:Life
415:and
274:Cast
216:and
134:Plot
124:Nazi
384:In
194:".
979::
865:.
840:.
798:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
