Thornton Wilder's The Skin of our Teeth was Kazan's first big Broadway hit as a director, in November 1942. Walking out of the theatre one night, he overheard a couple arguing about the play: ' "What's it all about?" the man complained to his wife. "Why, George," she said, "it's about love and hate and passion and everything - ever since the world began." "Well," the man said, "there must be more to it than that." '

LRB 13 October 1988 | PDF Download