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1959 Boo:s:REvmws Columbia University, has tried to make these four plays "say in English what Giraudoux wished them to say in French"; his end, Mr. Valency adds, bas been "production on the American stage." Since comic drama on the American stage draws its idiom from G. B. Shaw and from dramatists like S. N. Behrman, these translations recall English and American comic classics rather than the pastoral world of a La Fontaine or the practical world of a Labiche whose spirits joined describe Giraudoux' theater. They display, nevertheless, a graceful American idiom. NORMAN Sn.VERSTEIN LOUIS ]OUVET: MAN OF THE THEATRE, by Bettina Liebowitz Knapp, New York, Columbia University Press, 1957, 345 pp. Price, $6.00. Anyone interested in the modem theater and the work of Jouvet either as legitimate or motion picture actor, picks up the biography, Louis ]ouvet: Man of the Theatre by Bettina Liebowitz Knapp with eager anticipation. Throughout the first five chapters he experiences annoyance and disappointment; with chapter six delight replaces disappointment and continues to the end of the book. During the first 160 pages Jouvet doesn't come to life. A quotation from the author's comment on a speech by Jouvet concerning Henri Becque: "... only a frosty objectivity . . . little more than a series of statistics . . ." describes Mrs. Knapp's own writing. There is no revelation of mind or spirit, no continuous evolving history of an artist. There are omissions. We are told that Jouvet had to overcome many handicaps as an actor, such as stammering; we are not told how he overcame them and we would like to know. It is reported that he married Else Collen on September 26, 1912, and that is the last and only word recorded on his family life. The author's quotations create neither interest nor enthusiasm for her subject. Jouvet's statement to an actor, "You're trying too hard. Simply speak your lines, don't act them out," is representative. This is a commonplace idea which many amateur directors have expressed to their actors. Jouvet's career as a motion picture star (he acted in thirty movies) is introduced and practically dismissed with the sentence, ''While Jouvet was building these theatrical castles in the air, he was making his fourth movie." Throughout these chapters much illuminating information on dozens of French productions from 1913 to 1934 is given; the reader learns many things about Jacques Copeau, the director, Jean Giraudoux, the playwright and Christian Berard, the scene designer; but Jouvet remains a vague, almost a background figure associated with dates and names. Then the book comes to life and Jouvet comes to life (Chapter 6, The Great Period, page 157). We see and feel that Jouvet has a mind and objective of his own; is an innovator, a director who defies tradition, a creative, intuitive actor; we see him add to his work in acting and directing, careers of teacher, lecturer, light designer and philosopher on the theory of theater. Now the quotations become illuminating and impressive as Jouet expresses himself on acting, criticism, rationality in the'theater, the interpretation of Moliere. He grows in stature, in innate nobility; he becomes a courageous spirit; he has warmth and elicits our sympathy. There is much about the theory of the modem theater as expressed by Jouvet which is challenging and thought provoking; and if the latter chapters did nothing but reveal to us Jouvet's approach to Moliere, his interpretation of the characters (notably Tartuffe) and his defiance of classical tradition, the book would be well worth reading. Our annoyance and slight interest have changed to complete satisfaction. 268 MODERN DRAMA February It should be mentioned that twenty-five pages of notes and fourteen pages of bibliography give us confidence in the author's careful and accurate research; and the fifteen photographs give us a graphic picturization of Jouvet in many of his important roles. .Au.EN CRAFTON DICTIONARY OF FRENCH UTERATURE, edited by Sidney D. Braun, Philosophical Library, Inc., New York, 1958, 362 pp. Price $10.00. This reference work in one volume written in the form of separate articles, presents for the benefit of both students and teachers a digest of essential...

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