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drama. That she did more of the former than the latter was indicative of
the way the public perceived her: a class act with a wardrobe to match.
Still, in 1934 there were not that many actresses destined for Hollywood
stardom whose resumes included such plays as these:
Philip Barry s Paris Bound (1927), Civic Repertory
A wife who originally took a  sensible view of extramarital sex thinks dif-
ferently when her husband commits adultery but accepts his indiscre-
tion, realizing it is insufficient grounds for divorce.
26 RIDING THE BROADWAY-HOLLYWOOD LOCAL
Robert E. Sherwood s The Queen s Husband (1928), Civic Repertory
While the queen of a mythical island kingdom is away in America, the
king staves off a coup and enables his daughter to marry the man she
loves, even though he is not royalty.
Allan Scott and George Haight s Goodbye Again (1932), Teck Players
A novelist on a lecture tour encounters a woman from his past and nearly
loses the secretary who loves him.
J. B. Priestley s Dangerous Corner (1932), Teck Players
This is a classic melodrama about a dinner party that ends in tragedy.
Frederick Lonsdale s The High Road (1928), Teck Players
An actress discovers, after two abortive affairs, that her true love is the theater.
Rose Franken s Another Language (1932), Teck Players
A popular comedy with serious overtones about the Hallams a family
that resonated with theatergoers but never achieved the popularity of
the Days in Life with Father includes a spirited wife, her domineering
mother-in-law, and her less than supportive husband.
Philip Barry s Holiday (1928), Teck Players
Love and alcoholism among the wealthy who are portrayed with Barry s
unique blend of criticism and compassion.
Rachel Crothers s When Ladies Meet (1932), Teck Players
This is perhaps the most atypical and insightful ménage à trois ever written
for the stage. A mistress and a wife, neither knowing who the other is,
discuss the man they have in common, only to discover each other s
identity. Rather than sever the bond that formed between them, the
wife leaves her husband, and the mistress realizes the consequences of
being  the other woman.
Hugh Buckler s The Barker (1927), Teck Players
In this drama about tent show life, Rosalind played the same role that
Claudette Colbert had on Broadway.
RIDING THE BROADWAY-HOLLYWOOD LOCAL 27
Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman s June Moon (1929), Teck Players
The authors take an affectionately satirical look at song writers and their
obsession with rhyme.
Edwin Burke s This Thing Called Love (1928), Teck Players
A marriage conceived as a business proposition leads to the real thing.
Lynn Starling s Meet the Wife (1923), Teck Players
A celebrity-obsessed wife discovers that her first husband, whom she
thought had died in the San Francisco earthquake, is really alive.
Although Rosalind fought against being typecast, and often succeeded,
by 1933 it was obvious from her resume that her métier was romantic com-
edy, the more sophisticated the better. She had mastered the ability to pick
up cues as quickly as they were tossed to her, and, in the absence of dialogue,
delivered a putdown with a deflating glance or a slow turn of the head. The
Worcester and Buffalo press may have marveled at her technique, and she
may have been the toast of Buffalo, but in New York she was just another
member of Actors Equity looking for a job. Still, she knew she had acquired
enough training in repertory to qualify as a Broadway actress, if not yet a
Broadway star. Even more important, she had found her specialty: sophisti-
cated comedy, which did not rule out melodramas like Dangerous Corner or
comedies with serious overtones like Holiday. The same was true of her film
career. Although Rosalind could play drama, moviegoers preferred her in
comedies. It was the opposite with Bette Davis. Davis s forays into comedy
with The Bride Came C.O.D (1941) and June Bride (1948) found as little favor
with the public as Rosalind s attempts at serious drama in Sister Kenny (1946)
and especially Mourning Becomes Electra (1947). Ironically, both Rosalind
and Davis starred in films about the stage that proved commercially and
critically successful: Rosalind in The Velvet Touch (1948) and Davis in All
about Eve (1950); the former, a thriller in which Rosalind murders her pro-
ducer and ex-lover; the latter, Joseph L. Mankiewicz s take on the theater [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]