HILLS BEYOND MANHATTAN

The different elements at odds in this seemingly uncomplex story of a wealthy New York business man, with an ambitious wife, in his attempt to be the individualist in the midst of a community of which he refuses to be a part, make this a many faceted story. One gets the impact of the city viewpoint on the rigidity of the dyed-in-the wool old residents; one gets the cross-wiring that the war sets up. There are Italians who cannot be wholly American, French who are bitter in resentment of what has destroyed their country. One gets the sexual undercurrents as three woman play the game, each in her own way, for the attentions of the French architect working on the mans's job. But it is a little thing that brings it all into focus; will the new shut? out the old rights, or leave a loophole for them? Is thin, several lives come close to crashing, issues are aired, and eventually wins against autocracy. An understanding picture of community cross currents.