Moss Hart’s autobiography ‘Act One’, which follows the struggles he and his writing partner George S. Kaufman endured as they guided their play ‘Once in a Lifetime’ through tryouts and rewrites into a Broadway hit, is regarded as one of the best depictions of life in the theatre. Former MGM head Dore Schary not only produced and adapted his friend’s book for the screen, the film also marked his debut as a movie director. If only Schary, a noted screenwriter himself, realised that his script could have also done with a few rewrites before committing the work to film.

For there are moments in this movie, from the opening to the penultimate scene, that are wonderfully realised. Simple observations, be it emptying an icebox or pressing a suit under a mattress, establish a time and place with a minimum of fuss. Similarly, the scenes depicting Hart’s relationship with his father and the casting of the play work because of how much is left unsaid. Yet when the film attempts a deliberate light touch, the scenes remain stagnant.

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A clash of acting styles is also evident from a cast of familiar faces. When seen against the natural ease of Jason Robards, Eli Wallach and Jack Klugman, the performances of George Hamilton and a young George Segal seem staid and affected.

Hamilton later observed that in his adaptation of Moss Hart’s book, Schary de-ethnicized the entire production and took out the brilliance for good measure. Perhaps if he had lived to see the film, Hart may have quoted his writing partner’s remark during a Marx Brothers’ performance of his play 'The Cocoanuts' – “I’m sorry. I just thought I heard one of my original lines.”