Ladder, The

Ladder, The (1926), a play by J. Frank Davis. [Mansfield Theatre, 794 perf.] Margaret Newell ( Antoinette Perry) has proposals from two men, the charming, but vacillating Roger Crane ( Vernon Steele) and the ruthless Stephen Pennock ( Hugh Buckler), who has ruined Roger in business. Thinking back, Margaret realizes that the men's proposals are nothing new. In the 14th century, when Stephen was the Earl of Orleton, he murdered Roger to win her. Under other names Stephen did similar dastardly acts in the 17th and 19th centuries. So Margaret throws her lot with Roger again, come what may. Ridiculed by most critics, the Brock Pemberton offering nevertheless was the fourth‐longest‐running show in Broadway history when it closed. It was able to run so long because a millionaire oil man, Edgar B. Davis, who believed in reincarnation as much as the author, underwrote the play for its entire stand and even admitted the public free when playgoers would not buy tickets. The play never made a profit, and Davis is reputed to have spent between a half million and a million dollars on it.