Tuesday, August 11, 2020

276. THE JOCKEY CLUB STAKES. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

 

Geoffrey Sumner, Robert Coote, Wilfred Hyde-White.

THE JOCKEY CLUB STAKES [Comedy/British/Sports] A: William Douglas Home; D: Cyril Ritchard; S/L: Paul Morrison; C: Albert Wolsky; P: Roger L. Stevens and J. Charles Gilbert i/a/w Moe Septee; T: Cort Theatre; 1/24/73-3/24/73 (69)

Carolyn Lagerfelt, Lee Richardson, Thayer David.

An inconsequential bit of old-fashioned fluff that was a West End hit, but ran in New York for only two months. No one took the comic plot seriously, its only justification being to give three distinguished old British actors an opportunity to strut their impeccable timing and other comedic skills before an audience seeking a few painless laughs.

Wilfred Hyde-White, Philip Kerr, Carolyn Lagerfelt.

Wilfred Hyde-White, Geoffrey Sumner, and Robert Cooke played the aristocratic members of a board of inquiry established by the Jockey Club to find out the facts behind a case of race fixing in which a horse that has lost two races suddenly wins in a third by ten lengths. They discover that the gambler responsible for these maneuvers is the respectable wife of one of these high-toned officials. The remainder of the plot is concerned with keeping the affair from being exposed by those who wish to do so. All the characters are seen as charmingly venal and corrupt.

Dillon Evan, Enid Rodgers, Lee Richardson, Thayer David, Geoffrey Sumner, Wilfred Hyde-White, Robert Coote.

Richard Watts summed up the attitude of the majority of amused critics: “I don’t think you will be worried by the defeat of justice. They are such an endearing trio of rogues.” John Simon, however, was enraged at the play’s cynicism and inveighed against “its moral noxiousness.” Several others sneered at the inanity of the comedy, but the superlative performances convinced even those dissenters that audiences would get something worth their money.

Geoffrey Sumner, Joan Bassie.

Wilfred Hyde-White was nominated for a Tony as Best Actor, Play.