Produced by Mrs. Henry B. Harris in arrangement with Martin Sempter, and staged by the author, it starred George Nash, Ann Shoemaker, Lester Lonergan, and Rex Cherryman.
It marked the dramatic debut of Barbara Stanwyck, who had been a dancer in a Broadway musical revue under her birthname of Ruby Stevens.
Lead Supporting Featured Off-Stage Act I (Governor Bancroft's official residence, evening) Nickie Elkins has been condemned for the murder of bootlegger Buck Gordon.
There Chase recounts the boy's background: no known parents, raised by criminals including Buck Gordon, he'd recently gotten a bank clerk's position.
(Curtain) When H. H. Van Loan was a reporter for the Buffalo Courier Express,[4] he witnessed an execution for which the condemned man had refused to speak in his own defense until the last moment.
[5] The event inspired Van Loan to write a short story for a magazine,[6] which he and Willard Mack then turned into this play.
[16] The producers Renee Harris and Martin Sampler were present as were the story author H. H. Van Loan and the playwright-director Willard Mack.
[16][17] One singled out actress Helen Flint[fn 1] for the third act emotional climax, when she begs the Governor for Elkins' body.
[1] Arthur Pollock of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle was scathing in his assessment of the writing: "It was written by Willard Mack, that quixotic and valiant veteran who is too busy to learn by experience.
[19] He mentioned Mack giving a little speech from the stage after the second act: "He intimated, too, that the night club scene was not a borrowing from Broadway.
[19] The reviewer for the Brooklyn Times Union was more generous, acknowledging the play as "old-fashioned melodrama" and "the plot is downright hackneyed" but insisting Mack's talent as dramatist ensured it was still good entertainment.
[20] The reviewer for the Standard Union praised the acting of Rex Cherryman, George Nash, and Lester Lonergan, and added "Dorothy Stanwyck is good in the leading feminine role".
[fn 2][21] Burns Mantle in the New York Daily News admitted the play's events "may not be creditable" but thought the entertainment value outweighed their weakness.
[6] He praised the acting of Rex Cherryman, Lester Lonergan, Ann Shoemaker, Ralph Locke, and "a nice bit by Barbara Stanwyck".
[7] Like the Standard Union, the Times reviewer when praising her performance referred to "Dorothy Stanwyck", while also mentioning Rex Cherryman, George Nash, and Lester Lonergan for acting honors.