Polisuk v. Kaufman

No contemporary in the U. S. theatre is so blessed with the Midas touch as George S. Kaufman. Sole author of only one show (The Butter and Egg Man--1925), from 1921 to 1935 he has year after year collaborated on such historic hits as Dnloy (1921), To the Ladies (1922), Merton of the Movies (1922), Helen of Troy, New York (1923), Beggar on Horseback (1924), The Cocoannts (1925), The Royal Family (1927), Animal Crackers (1928), June Moon (1929), Once in a Lifetime (1930), The Band Wagon (1931), Of Thee I Sing (1931), Dinner at Eight (1932), Let 'em Eat Cake (1933), Merrily We Roll Along (1934), First Lady (1935). This season George Kaufman was once more Broadway's Man-of-the-Year when he turned out two more smashing box-office successes: Stage Door (with Edna Ferber) and You Can't Take It With You (with Moss Hart). The latter is Kaufman's 27th Broadway show. It is also his biggest sellout, since seats are on sale almost five months in advance, a Broadway record. Last week, however, in Supreme Court Justice Ferdinand Pecora's courtroom, an inside story of show business was unfolded, revealing that even Playwright Kaufman occasionally turns out a flop. For laymen the suit of Polisuk v. Kaufman shed new light on how some plays are written, doctored and produced.

In 1928, Isadore Polisuk, a Bronx dress manufacturer, went down to a Greenwich Village little theatre to see Hard Pan, an 1849 gold-digging drama by one Edward Eustace. Mr. Polisuk was anxious to take a flier in show business, where shoestrings occasionally lead to fortunes. He offered Mr. Eustace Sioo for his play. Playwright Eustace took it.

With the script of Hard Pan in his pocket, Dress Manufacturer Polisuk next approached Producer Sam H. Harris who was persuaded to split production costs with him. Producer Harris called in George Kaufman to doctor Hard Pan and George Kaufman, the Great Collaborator, called in Laurence Stallings (collaborator of What Price Glory?) to help. Hard Pan was rewritten three times and renamed Eldorado. It was opened in 1931 with a split week in New Haven and Hartford, Conn. It then limped into Newark and folded up. Messrs. Kaufman & Stallings, who were to have received one-third of the profits-if-any, were out their time. Messrs. Polisuk & Harris were out $10.000 apiece. Mr. Harris took his loss quietly. Mr. Polisuk sued Mr. Kaufman on the ground that Kaufman was responsible for the production's failure.

Asked Mr. Kaufman's lawyer in court last week: "Did Mr. Kaufman ever promise it would be a hit?"

Mr. Polisuk: "I'm surprised you ask me such a silly question. I didn't ask a hit. . . . Anyone who guarantees me a hit, I'm going crazy."

Pursued Justice Pecora: "Did Kaufman promise to make a hit out of this?"

Polisuk: "You think I'm foolish, maybe?"

Justice (to Polisuk's lawyer): "I'll pay for his lunch if you calm him down during it."

Afterward Playwright Kaufman took the stand to confess that Eldorado was indeed a miserable fiasco, but through no fault of his. "This piece didn't even have a story," said he, "and a play must have more than a story. You can't coax ideas. They have to come to you. You can't say you will think ten hours instead of two. You reach an impasse. Stallings and I worked over this thing after it appeared to be such a flop in Newark. We worked at 'bedroom conferences'--they last all night--in hotels and speakeasies."

Did Kaufman actually sit down and work over the play?--asked plaintiff's lawyer. "No," said Collaborator Kaufman. "I'm the man who paces."

Judgment: in favor of the defendant.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.