Lightnin'

Lightnin' (1918), a play by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon. [Gaiety Theatre, 1,291 perf.] When “Lightnin'” Bill Jones (Bacon) meets young John Marvin (Ralph Morgan) in Marvin's cabin near Tahoe, the two men take an instant liking to one another, although Marvin quickly realizes that Jones is a chronic boozer and teller of tall tales. Marvin is in trouble with some shady speculators who work for the railways, and Jones promises to lie in court to help Marvin. Jones and his wife (Jessie Pringle) own a hotel that straddles the California and Nevada line. A line has been painted across the lobby for the benefit of guests coming to procure a divorce or avoid arrest. The same speculators harassing Marvin convince Mrs. Jones to sell the hotel, but Jones refuses to co‐sign the agreement. Mrs. Jones, finally fed up with Jones's drinking and prevaricating, files for divorce. However, Jones manages to expose the speculators as crooks and win back his wife. Arthur Hornblow wrote in Theatre Magazine, “The authors have put into their play something—a character, in fact, that seems to be drawn from life. Mr. Bacon's impersonation of the central figure is Jeffersonian in its simplicity and understanding.” Because many thought Bacon's performance was necessary to the success of the play, no road company was sent out at first. When the Smith and John Golden production closed on Broadway, it was the longest‐running show in American history, a record broken seven years later by Abie's Irish Rose. Bacon died, however, during the post‐Broadway tour, but other actors were able to keep it on the road through 1925. A 1938 revival with Fred Stone failed to run.