Heart of Maryland, The

Heart of Maryland, The (1895), a melodrama by David Belasco. [Herald Square Theatre, 229 perf.] The Civil War has split apart Maryland families. Colonel Alan Kendrick ( Maurice Barrymore) fights for the North, while his father, General Hugh Kendrick ( Frank Mordaunt), is a Confederate. Similarly, Alan's sweetheart, Maryland Calvert ( Mrs. Leslie Carter), remains loyal to the South and so has broken their engagement, while her brother, Lloyd ( Edward J. Morgan), spies for the Federal troops. When Alan sneaks through the lines to see Maryland, he is captured by Colonel Fulton Thorpe ( John E. Kellerd), a former Northern officer whom Alan once court‐martialed and who now fights with the Confederate troops. Seeking revenge, Thorpe arranges to have Alan shot as a spy. Maryland comes to plead for Alan's life, only to have Thorpe attempt to seduce her. She grabs Thorpe's bayonet and stabs him with it, giving Alan time to escape. The wounded Thorpe orders the local church bell rung to announce a prisoner's escape, but Maryland climbs into the belfry and, shouting “The bell shall not ring!,” grabs the clapper and swings with it to prevent the bell from sounding. Later Alan returns with Federal troops and besieges Thorpe. He also intercepts letters from General Robert E. Lee in which Lee reveals he has learned that Thorpe is an untrustworthy double agent. Thorpe is imprisoned, and Alan and Maryland are reunited. Written as a vehicle for Carter and suggested by the poem “Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight!,” it was this play that firmly established Belasco's reputation as author, producer, and director. Many critics felt the story was unduly complicated and cliché‐ridden, but the fine production and, most of all, the famous scene with Maryland swinging on the clapper made the play a huge success. It toured for three consecutive seasons and was occasionally revived.