Hell's bells

   Opening on 26 January 1925 at Wallack's Theatre, this comedy by Barry Conners ran for 139 performances. Published by Samuel French with the title changed to Fool's Gold, presumably to make it safe for amateur production in middle America, it became a frequent stock vehicle. Humphrey Bogart* and Shirley Booth* played the romantic interest, but the true appeal of the play lies in its still-viable hilarity. A couple of rough-edged Arizona gold miners stay at the Tanglewood Lodge in Connecticut, and their presence brings out the greed in some family members. In one funny sequence, the girl Gladys "registers her emotions," showing what she has learned in the Delsarte course she takes from Professor Boggs, hoping to prove how worthwhile it would be for the two old codgers to invest in her talent.