Description
The first edition of Command Decision, a play by William Wister Haines, signed by the cast of the 1947 Broadway production, including Tony Award-winning actors, James Whitmore and Paul Kelly.
Octavo, xii, 180pp. Blue cloth, title stamped in gilt on the spine. Stated “First Printing” on the copyright page. Light rubbing to cloth spine, internally clean. Bookplate of Robert Garland on the front pastedown. In the publisher’s dust jacket, price clipped, light toning to the spine, soiling to back panel, a very good example. This work is signed by the complete cast, including: Edmon Ryan (War correspondent Elmer Brockhurst), James Whitmore (Tech Sergeant Harold Evans), Paul Kelly (Brigadier General K.C. Dennis), Edward Binns (Colonel Ernest Haley), West Hooker (Enlisted Armed Guard), Arthur Franz (Capt. Lucius Jenks), Jay Fassett (Maj. Gen Roland Goodlow Kane), Paul McGrath (Brig. Gen. Clifton C. Garnett), William Layton (Major Homer Prescott), Stephen Elliott (Col. Edward Martin), John Randolph (Lt. Jake Goldberg), Lewis Martin (Major Desmond Lansing), Robert Pike (Major Belding Davis), Walter Black (Major Rufus Dayhuff), Paul Ford (Arthur Malcolm), Frank McNellis (Oliver Stone), James Holden (Cpt. G. W. C. Lee), Leonard Patrick (N.C.O. Photographer).
Command Decision, the World War II era drama by William Wister Haines, premiered at the Fulton Theatre on October 1, 1947, under the direction of John O’Shaughnessy and production by Kermit Bloomgarden. The original cast featured Paul Kelly as Brig. Gen. K. C. “Casey” Dennis and James Whitmore as Tech Sergeant Harold Evans, among others. The play ran an impressive 409 performances through September 18, 1948, and earned significant acclaim-Paul Kelly received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, while James Whitmore was honored with the Tony Award for Best Newcomer. The film version of Command Decision was released in 1948 and starred Clark Gable. James Whitmore would be known to later audiences as Brooks Hatlen in The Shawshank Redemption (1994).
