Lucky Sam McCarver

   Opening on 21 October 1925 at The Playhouse, Sidney Howard's play, produced by William A. Brady Jr., ran for 30 performances. The published text (Scribner's, 1926) includes a 21-page preface by Howard and is subtitled "Four Episodes in the Rise of a New Yorker." In act 1, Sam is a speakeasy owner who persuades Carlotta, a slightly "tarnished" socialite (played by Clare Eames), to marry him. Although he is clearly using her social position to promote his ambitions, their act 2 scene in their Park Avenue apartment hints that there could be genuine affection beneath the tensions in their relationship. She is embarrassed to have her family meet him, but her aunt finds Sam refreshing and invites him to the family villa in Venice. At the villa in act 3, Sam is chafing with irritation at the decadent rich. Sam and Carlotta quarrel bitterly. In the final scene, Sam comes to the dying Carlotta's bedside. She tests his motives, but he cannot bring himself to express his true feelings for her. Her cousin goes to get a doctor. Carlotta dies. Sam looks at his watch and decides that his business appointment is more important than staying with the body until her cousin returns. The lack of sentimentality and of a traditionally satisfying ending may account for the play's relatively short run.