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The Devil Passes
A comedy in three acts by Benn W. Levy. Opened at the Selwyn Theatre, New York City, January 4, 1932, ran for 96 performances, then went on tour. Produced by Arch Selwyn, staged by Benn W. Levy.
Cast of characters
| D.C. Magnus | Arthur Byron |
| Paul Robinson | Diana Wynyard |
| Dorothy Lister | Mary Nash |
| Cosmo Penny | Ernest Thesiger |
| Louis Kisch | Ernest Cossart |
| Beatrice Messiter | Cecilia Loftus |
| Rev. Herbert Messiter | Robert Loraine |
| Ellen | Gwen Day Burroughs |
| Rev. Nicholas Lucy | Basil Rathbone |
| Prologue — Mr. Magnus' Flat in
London Acts I, II, and III — Mr. Magnus' Cottage in the Country |
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"The Prince of Darkness... assumes the pleasing shape of a young curate [Rathbone] passing through an English parish and pausing to expose the virtues rather than stimulate the sins of certain muddled souls with whom he comes in contact. He is a reasonably likable young man, and his actions and reactions are at least ninety-five per cent normal."1 Rev. Lucy joins a party of friends gathered at a cottage in the country, and learns what each person desires above all else. Since he is in reality the Devil, he offers them what they think they want most in the world. Some of them discover they are not as selfish as they thought. The ones seduced by the Devil end up hurt. 1 from The Best Plays of 1931-32, ed. by Burns Mantle (Dodd, Mead and Co., 1932), page 300. |
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"Paul" (Diana Wynyard) and "Rev. Lucy" (Basil Rathbone) locked in
an embrace
