FREE SCRIPT REVIEW "Ned McCobb's Daughter" by Sidney Coe Howard (1927)

"Ned McCobb's Daughter" by Sidney Coe Howard (died 1939) better known for "Gone with the wind" screenplay, also in the public domain. A comedy in three acts. eight male, two female. Two drawing room sets. requires sound effects - riverboat, foghorn, cadillac, dynamite blast. Funny but nihilistic piece about corruption. Irreverent. Beautifully scripted southern drawl is easy and pleasant to read, except for the word "Coitornly" which is the vernacular pronunciation for 'Certainly'. The story revolves around the heroine Carrie, who manages a diner, beside a river where an automobile-carrying ferry is piloted by her father, Captain Ned McCobb. The river is a border route along which much money can be made by smuggling contraband past the federal police. She has plans to expand her business when several disasters strike the family. Tragedy looms in the last act, until Carrie double crosses the drug baron and her criminal spouse flees. Strong anti-drug, anti-crime message useful to schools, possibly aboriginal students. References to inter-marriage, grog, abortion, infidelity, organized crime and official corruption all in squeaky clean language. This play was written in the twenties, during the great depression in the states, when socialism was not a dirty word. An astute lower socio-economic idyll. My favourite line - "busier than a one armed wall-paper hanger" Full Text On-line http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1302771.txt Audio version (tenth on the list) http://archive.org/details/TheaterGuildontheAir