The Second Man

Second Man, The (1927), a comedy by S. N. Behrman. [Guild Theatre, 178 perf.] Clark Story (Alfred Lunt), a novelist and carefree hedonist, proposes to marry the rich, understanding Mrs. Kendall Frayne (Lynn Fontanne), but his plans are sidetracked when Monica Grey (Margalo Gillmore) tells him she is pregnant. Seeming to accept his fate, he ruefully tells Monica's disappointed suitor, Alistin Lowe (Earle Larimore), how dreary the prospect of marriage to Monica appears to him—“Her talk is not small. It is infinitesimal.” Inevitably Monica and Clark recognize they are wrong for each other. She is reconciled with Alistin, while Clark agrees to let Mrs. Kendall keep him in luxury. Although many critics complained about the slight plot of the Theatre Guild's offering, most agreed with John Mason Brown, who hailed the play's “shimmering dialogue.”