home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
TIME: Almanac of the 20th Century
/
TIME, Almanac of the 20th Century.ISO
/
1930
/
30scot
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-02-27
|
3KB
|
60 lines
<text>
<title>
(1930s) Mary Of Scotland
</title>
<history>
TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1930s Highlights
Theater
</history>
<article>
<source>Time Magazine</source>
<hdr>
Mary of Scotland
</hdr>
<body>
<p>(December 4, 1933)
</p>
<p> Nearly 400 years after her birth, any new play or book about
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, is news in the hope that it may
explain why Mary is still potent to make historians and poets
weep. She was Queen of Scotland a few days after birth, Queen
of France at 18, true Queen of England according to Catholic
Europe. She was tall, slim, dark, with an oval, plump-cheeked
face like Film Actress Diana Wynyard's. She had beauty, brains,
charm that she never turned off. She had little Scots
patriotism, no bigotry, a great gift for hatred and revenge, a
warm and grateful heart. The Scots, intent on being Protestants,
were suspicious of her. England's Elizabeth feared, hated and
envied her. Mary was alone in a country too cold for her.
</p>
<p> Author Anderson, who dramatically presented Elizabeth in his
Elizabeth, the Queen three years ago, has done better by Mary
in Mary of Scotland. Of the story of murder and plotting, cloaks
and swords, knife-faced Bothwell, caddish Darnley, crafty young
Elizabeth, the snaggle-toothed pack of Scots Lords, he has made
a poetic play. Designer Robert Edmond Jones has set it against
six harsh splendid sets.
</p>
<p> Author Anderson's plot makes more sense than history: Mary
and Bothwell fall in love at once. Mary marries Darnley for
mistaken policy, sends Bothwell away. Darnley wrecks himself and
Mary by playing with the Lords, knifes Mary's secretary Rizzo
on suspicion of adultery, thus unwittingly giving a spurious
confirmation to the lie Elizabeth has spread about her
kinswoman. The Lords then murder Darnley, shift the blame to
Bothwell when he marries Mary. They defeat Mary and Bothwell in
battle. Mary escapes from their jail into Elizabeth's jail and
her tragedy waits only on the headsman's sword. Author Anderson
entirely whitewashes Mary and Bothwell for the murder of
Darnley.
</p>
<p> Helen Hayes, back to the stage from suffering in cinemas like
Farewell To Arms, White Sister, gives to Mary little but these
same brave, little girl accents. When she is on the stage in the
last scene with Helen Menken, scrawny and harsh-voiced as
Elizabeth, she is just a Hollywood actress.</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>