THE TOUGH AND THE TENDER

A rather scattered story of some artists and writers which gets off to a satiric start in a New York publishing house, takes things much more seriously as it goes on to tell of the marriage of Edward Westerling, a painter, to soothing Flora Davidson. There are their friends, among them Tom Cass who is dangerous politically and emotionally; there is the pleasure they both derive in their little girl, Amy; and there is increasing success for Edward which enables them to move from the precariousness of Village life to Central Park and finally to a studio in the country where Edward finds serenity in a teaching post. There's little direct action here as these intellectuals mill around and mill over issues and isms, talk with no particular spirit but class it up with some incorrect French, and afford very little entertainment.