Cast of Characters

Originally produced in Paris in 1927 under the title of "Monsieur Lamberthier," the play has undergone a switch to the tag of "Jealousy" and hit the boards here in the late 20s as a vehicle for Fay Bainter and John Halliday. Albert Basserman played it in Berlin. Jeanne Eagels, Fredric March and Walter Huston did it in a film by the title of "Jealousy" in 1929. All this bespeaks a nifty history.

But "Obsession" now has value only as a museum-piece, showing wherein lie the roots of "The Voice of the Turtle" and "The Two Mrs. Carrolls," The Verneuil show, however, has none of the entertainment values of the latter two plays. It lacks the humor and the character depth of the newer shows. It also gets pretty monotonous with two people trying to keep the audience amused through three acts of telling what goes on offstage most of the time.

Both Eugenie Leontovich and Basil Rathbone do what any performer would try to do for the play, although their respective accents sometimes are hard to understand. However, coupled with Reginald Denham's fine direction, they turn in professional performances with the material at hand. Denham has worked especially hard trying to create the idea of movement in the talky dialog.

Stewart Chaney's set of a Paris apartment is lavish and in good taste, albeit reminiscent of "Voice of the Turtle," minus the kitchen. The producers expended themselves, but this play isn't the thing.

—Variety, June 26, 1946

It's hard for two characters to hold attention for three acts without a stooge of any kind, but Rathbone and Leontovich did it, getting six curtain calls. They did it thru good acting, aided by such gimmicks as Miss Leontovich appearing in one scene sans clothing from the waist up.

It's almost strictly bedroom stuff. Nevertheless, play has drawn good notices (with exception of Chi) and good grosses everywhere in its Coast and Midwest tour and may shape up for Broadway after it finishes its seven-week tenure here. After opening in Santa Barbara June 13, show hit San Francisco for a 26G week; then to Seattle; Portland, Ore., and Kansas City, Mo., for substantial grosses.

If producers Lewis and Young have a winner in Obsession it will be mainly due to the pulling power of the Rathbone-Leontovich combo.

—Billboard, August 10, 1946

Revival of Louis Verneuil's play, "Jealousy," in a new adaptation by Jane Hinton, has the same catchpenny appeal of the 1928 original (which Eugene Walter originally adapted, and John Halliday and Fay Bainter played). A play with only two characters, it is something of a tour-de-force because of the device, and a play of respectable proportions in spite of it. Yet, as 1946 Broadway fare it disappoints. Its talkiness and many dreary stretches militate against its success.

The device is a stunt, dispensing with subordinate characters and fill-ins for sheer trick value. It's to the credit of the present production that the stunt comes off so well. This is due largely to the efforts of the principals, especially Basil Rathbone, who with Eugenie Leontovich lends a certain dignity and depth to the proceedings. The play itself, a somewhat melodramatic, far-fetched drama of jealousy, tantrums and murder, doesn't stand up.

It's a little difficult to follow the thought-processes of a man, who, marrying his mistress, then accuses her—the moment they arrive home from the ceremony—of infidelity, and goes on from there to stack the cards against himself with one injudicious word or action after another. He might at least have saved himself the trouble of marrying her. Play's sordid quality also detracts from its appeal, the complicated love-affairs of Nadya only adding to the lacklustre in Maurice's ineptitudes.

At that, there are several strong moments in the drama which the cast of two accentuate—as, for instance, the moment when Nadya discovers that Maurice has murdered her lover-patron. Rathbone's clipped, nervous manner fits his role admirably, while Miss Leontovich's slightly exotic quality matches her part. Reginald Denham's direction is also intelligent, while Stewart Chaney's elaborate, tasteful set (reminiscent of his set for "Voice of the Turtle") is one of the production's strong points. And Adrian's gowns, which Miss Leontovich wears stunningly, are swank.

—Variety, October 2, 1946

Obsession still remains what it was in the first place—a superficially clever exercise in dramaturgy with a cast limited to two performers. Its interest lies solely in seeing and hearing what sort of a stunt a playwright can accomplish with two characters aided by a prop telephone. It is pretty evident that Verneuil must have regarded his opus in the light, for his concoction of a triangle of love and murder—with the third side of the triangle invisible—is still as artificial and unbelievable as it always was. Nor has time dealt gently with what was once considered slick sophistication. Obsession creaks in the joints and often registers as phony as its telephone bell.

Latest edition features the same pair of newly married lovers and the spidery—but invisible—Lamberthier. Pair spend the usual 180 minutes wading progressively into emotional hot water, most of which seems tepidly silly. The lady lies and lies and husband get madder and madder—mad enough, finally, to choke the omniverous M. Lamberthier to death midway of Act 2. So the gendarmes arrive—also invisible—and that's that.

Basil Rathbone whips about in a variety of handsome dressing gowns and speaks Maurice's artificially brittle lines with considerable distinction. Eugenie Leontovich whips about in a handsome variety of gowns designed by Adrian and speaks Nadya's lines with a lack of distinctness which is frequently baffling to ears back of the sixth row. Stewart Chaney has designed a sock set of a Paris apartment. Reginald Denham's staging keeps the duo moving around at the required pace. But, in sum, Obsession is a bore. It could well be retitled To Each His Phone.

—Billboard, October 12, 1946

Unless memory is more deceptive than usual, the new version takes the Verneuil story more seriously, and Mr. Rathbone and Miss Leontovich play the passion and horror more seriously also. But taking seriously the emotional aspects of this exercise in dramatic dexterity is of doubtful validity. For when the tortured Maurice makes his final exit and the torrid Nadya light a cigarette pensively, it is to be feared that "Obsession" really has nothing to give except the interesting fact that it is written for two characters.

As a challenge in craftsmanship, that is no mean achievement, and "Obsession" is a genuine play, despite its thin population. To tell an acceptable story of love, infidelity and murder, M. Verneuil had to resort frequently to the telephone, although no more than less constricted playwrights do upon occasion; and he had to hide the maid and the police. (Didn't the police speak in the former version? At least that would be normal for the police.) But he was not otherwise handicapped by the fact that the actors' salary account could be gratifyingly modest on Saturday night; and even with only two characters he succeeded in getting his play out of the living room and into the bedroom in  just under five minutes.

The real limitation on "Obsession" is not the brevity of the cast but the quality of the story. It comes out of the bottom drawer, where the dirty linen is thrown away. Although Maurice and Nadya are very happy on their somewhat deferred wedding night, Nadya is still in the power of a rich and unscrupulous lover. Sometime between the first and the second acts, Maurice murders the lover; and the "Obsession" has to decide whether Maurice gets caught or not. Since he apparently left no clues, this is entirely a matter of playwright's choice.

To give the play as much substance as possible, Stewart Chaney has endowed the production with a luxurious Paris apartment setting and a glimpse of rooftops outside; and Adrian has supplied Miss Leontovich with gowns of stupendous smartness, including a cylindrical white creation that has a flourishing fungus arrangement to the rear.

Under Reginald Denham's direction, the entire cast plays with increasing earnestness. On the whole, Mr. Rathbone has the better of it. The neatness of outline in his acting and the pleasant, clipped style he has in speaking are economical ways of playing an artificial drama. He does not ask you to believe in the authenticity of Maurice's soul. As Nadya, Miss Leontovich plays with a depth of feeling that would be moving in a more honest drama. Although she skims humorously over subtleties in comic episodes like an expert comedienne, she takes the big scenes at more than face value. She bestows upon them the genuine emotions of a fine actress.

In this playgoer's opinion, "Obsession" cannot carry that much honest cargo. It is only a cleverly contrived play for two characters.

—New York Times, Oct. 2, 1946