Lillian Hellman leaving Elaines's Restaurant in New York City. 1984 Photo

From: Photo Blast from the Past: Lillian Hellman

Today, we're featuring Lillian Hellman, circa 1984. Hellman was an American author of plays, screenplays, and memoirs and throughout her life, was linked with many left-wing political causes. Hellman's drama, The Children's Hour, premiered on Broadway on November 24, 1934, and ran for 691 performances. It depicts a false accusation of lesbianism by a schoolgirl against two of her teachers. In December 1936, her play Days to Come closed its Broadway run after just seven performances. In it, she portrayed a labor dispute in a small Ohio town during which the characters try to balance the competing claims of owners and workers, both represented as valid. Her play The Little Foxes opened on Broadway on February 13, 1939, and ran for 410 performances. Her play Watch on the Rhine opened on Broadway on April 1, 1941, and ran for 378 performances. It won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. In April 1944, Hellman's The Searching Wind opened on Broadway. Her third World War II project, it tells the story of an ambassador whose indecisive relations with his wife and mistress mirror the vacillation and appeasement of his professional life.