NONE BUT MY FOE

Again an intelligent, and fairly intense drama of emotional dislocation which is not without its awareness of society in general for the story of Stephen Smith, a writer, whose wife Ellen has just died- Indirectly because of her effort to counteract an incident of unwarranted hysteria. Propelled by bitterness, revenge and a sense of guilt he does not recognize, Stephen lashes out at Langley Briton, the mayor, whom he considers responsible, with insulting innuendos, and then- to parallel the spiritual prejudice which has corrupted the community- writes a warning anonymous letter forecasting the poisoning of the town's drinking water. In the chain reaction of fear and hysteria which is set off, Stephen has the satisfaction of watching Briton Joust with another scarecrow, does not foresee its twisted turning as the wrong man, his friend, in victimized, but in the end is able to deflect an uncontrolled mass reaction and save himself, physically and emotionally. The snowballing of an act of to dimensions and directions not dreamed of- this reflects the trigger tendency of a society quickly net off balance and is absorbing.