Watch on the Rhine

by Lillian Hellman

"A three-act play in which a German man flees Hitler's Germany to find peace and freedom in the United States with his wife's family."

Genres: Plays, Drama, Fiction, Theatre, Classics, War, Historical Fiction

170 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1941

About the author

Lillian Florence "Lilly" Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American dramatist and screenwriter famously blacklisted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) at the height of the anti-communist campaigns of 1947–52.

Hellman was praised for sacrificing her career by refusing to answer questions by HUAC; but her denial that she had ever belonged to the Communist Party was easily disproved, and her veracity was doubted by many, including war correspondent Martha Gellhorn and literary critic Mary McCarthy.

She adapted her semi-autobiographical play The Little Foxes into a screenplay which received an Academy Award nomination in 1942.

Hellman was romantically involved with fellow writer and political activist Dashiell Hammett for thirty years until his death.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Joyce]

Written in 1941 and set in spring, 1940, in suburban Washington, DC, this play still resonates today. Of course it reflects Hellman's strong anti-Nazi stance, but while her views don't hit one over the head, they underline the cautionary tone. Wealthy Fanny Farrelly is awaiting the arrival of her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren from Europe where they've lived for the past 17 years. But Fanny has other guests--a impoverished Romanian count and his wife--and when the couples meet, violence ensues. Hellman brings home the situation in Europe and plays out the conflict in a sedate drawing room--and that makes the impact all the greater. It's a dark play, impassioned, and nightmare in tone. The excellent production by LA Theatre Works is a great way to appreciate the play.

[Illiterate]

Anti-Nazi period piece. Melodrama with some comic dialogue.

[Abby]

Dated now but would have been very powerful in 1941 when it was written and produced. Starts as a comedy of manners with dark undertones then intensifies to full-on suspense that brings the war in Europe into complacent U.S. drawing rooms.

[Rhea]

- read for my antifascist theater class
- it stuns me that this was written in 1941
- similar to It Can’t Happen Here, some of its themes strike a very familiar chord
- bodo was hilarious
- would recommend

[Megan]

I had a hard time rating this, because it's great in the same way as things like Shindler's List and I never want to read it again.

[Joanne Fate]

5 stars

[Ania]

4,5 stars

[Winston Zuo]

What a banger. Hellman is a technical master of keeping and building tension throughout a play. I hope that I have the courage of Kurt, or better yet I hope I never have to find out if I do.

[Katrina Ishioka]

« I do not tell you the story to prove we are remarkable, but to prove they are not »

Super interesting read, I think that the inclusion of the children makes it way wayy more impactful

[Matt Carton]

Read this in anticipation of taking my AP Lit classes to see this at Berkeley Rep in December. The effects of fascism in Europe and how it affects a refugee family in American. This play is poignant and, certainly with what is happening in America now, chilling.

[Kristi]

The play Watch on the Rhine opened on Broadway on April 1, 1941 before the United States entered WWII. It was a very timely warning about what life in Nazi Germany had become. Recommend. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Bill Graf]

beautifully produced. intense. it packs a punch.

[Jordan Muschler]

This rules! How shockingly ahead of its time and radical in its beliefs!
Despite being so focused on the battle with anti-fascism, the secret to its success is rooting that conflict in family drama, imagining what would happen if your daughter's boyfriend was not a republican (common scenario) but instead a German anti-fascist. It's funny, it's thrilling, and although it takes a while to set up, the ending is striking and surprisingly nuanced. Theater companies should be producing this sometime between 2025-2028 for no particular reason!

[Lynn]

This is a WW political drama – an audio version and done very well! Sara and Kurt, with their kids, return to her mother’s mansion in Washing, DC and run into trouble with Hitler and Mussolini assuming full power. A house guest blackmails Kurt for his anti-Fascist activities and nothing but trouble reigns! Normally I don’t care for audio books but this one was good! Nice listening to and you could tell who was who!!!

[Jeff]

I admit to being a little disappointed. WhileI have not read widely in Hellman's ouvre, I am an admirer of her play "The Children's Hour." Like that play, this also has a lot at stake--in this case, the American response to the rise of European fascism in pre-WWII--but the delivery is muddled; the drawing room comedy elements muffle what should be a much more intense experience.

[Kristen Lo]

Nice dialogue and character work. The language hasn't aged as well, and neither have the gender dynamics, but a good period piece and I would be interested in seeing it staged.

[Brent]

My roommate Bodo played Bodo...

[Blane]

The story is timeless (and timely!); the dialogue delivery is a little dated (but it was written in 1941 after all!).

[river]

get you a man who compares himself to jean valjean after he kills the facist living in your mom’s house >>>>>

[James Fagan]

Didn’t know this Hellman but it’s a pretty chilling and timeless (sadly) play.

[E.T. Bowen]

3.5

Not very interesting politically, but the dialogue was great

[Dakota Martin]

I read this play for a class. It was interesting but a little boring at times. Maybe watching it would be better?

[Rachel]

Very good

[Vel Veeter]

This play was first performed in 1941 and joins the handful of other works that I’ve read that remind readers that pretty much everyone knew what the Nazis were up to all along, within a much broader range than became part of the mythos. I am thinking also of Christopher Isherwood’s books, Mephisto by Klaus Mann, and The Great Dictator among others.

The play takes place in a Washington DC estate house. Matriarch Fanny Farrelly is waiting for her children to arrive home. Her oldest daughter she has not seen in years, and has been living all around Europe with her husband, an antifascist exiled German, and their three children. In addition, there are two houseguests in the scene, a Romanian count and his wife, who we find out has had some kind of affair with Fanny’s son, a DC lawyer, following in the footsteps of the dead patriarch Joshua Farrelly.

When the oldest daughter arrives home, we realize than Fanny has never met her grandchildren before, and the scene involves tender and funny moments as Fanny realizes that her half-American grandchildren are basically entirely German.

As we move forward we learn that Kurt, the husband, has not been working and they’ve been surviving like a lot of exiles, through charity and lack. We slowly come to understand that Kurt is not just an antifascist in stance, but in action, as he’s been working for a resistance group. It’s early in the war and the true heroism of these fighters is not yet quite understood or recognized in general. We also realize that the Romanian count has recognized Kurt and intends to do something. It’s not clear early on. As the play unfolds and there’s a lot of moving parts in this play, Kurt’s past and future are tied up, and Fanny and her son Josh will be given the opportunity to make a moral choice about how they will act.

[penelopewanders]

This play by Hellman was actually written early on in the war (a fact I checked as soon as I'd finished reading it. Although I doubt it would be something I could use with my WWII-themed / EFL class, it was nonetheless a pleasure to read Hellman's writing again. I was rather surprised by the great detail of the stage directions - sometimes down to the very posture of the characters.

[Ann]

Found in Hb. "Four Plays by Lillian Hellman"