A short time ago I wrote an article in the Catlwlic Herald in which I described the ideal dramatic critic as I conceived him. I suggested that he must realise that he had been selected faithfully to analyse each play on its own merits and try if possiblc to gauge its particular value as an entertainment. I went on to say that he should always have before him the public conscience and should never allow good acting to deter him from warning his public of doubtful morality.
In The Good Fairy (Royalty) we have just one of those plays that I have alluded to above, full of good acting and brilliant dialogue, but thoroughly immoral in conception, and therefore I feel it is my duty to warn our Catholic readers of the fact The pity is, that with a little care I am convinced that the suggestion of immorality could have been avoided, and then a jolly little play would have been the result.
The Good Fairy is by that famous Hungarian, Ferenc Molnar, and has been adapted by Jane Hentor. It is described as an audacious comedy. It certainly lives up to this character. The only mistake in designation is that the good fairy is really a very naughty fairy. She is an attractive young lady who has lately left her calling as a cinema attendant, for the easier and more attractive life offered her by her many male admirers. Unfortunately our butterfly soon finds herself dangerously near the proverbial candle, and actually quite gratuitously admits to a boy friend that she intends to fly right into its flame in return for what she will get out of a rich city magnate. It is true that she is not a gold-digger and only wants to pass on what she gets to someone else, yet from the moment that situation developed I definitely made up my mind that The Good Fairy was not a play to be encouraged by the presence of a Catholic audience.
To my mind, it was such a pity that such a charming young actress as Miss Diana Beaumont should have such disagreeable lines to speak.
WALTER a BECKETT