In "The Marriage Playground", movie adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel of the game name, Paramount has assembled such a host of stars and near-stars that oven though the theme of the picture revolves around the constant marital bickerings of a rich and sophisticated couple the production can be easily classed among the list of better talkies. Mary Brian, Kay, Francis, Frederick March, Huntley Gordon and Lilian Tashman, not to forget five rampant little children,- all lend their personalities to the show to lift it from the rank of just ordinary movies. The youthful Miss Brian and Mr. March have the leads but the quintet of children, vivacious and at all times natural, almost steal the show from the two stars on several occasions.

The theme of the picture in short is this: the quibbling couple who have been married, divorced, and married again, have no time for their children, and as a result the oldest daughter, Judie, played by Mary Brian, has the whole tribe on her hands. From then on the entire show is a rapid succession of quarrels, peace gatherings and cocktail parties. The warring couple finally declare truce for good, Judie marries the ever-present family-friend, in the person of Mr. March, and the two take all the children under their wing.

Probably the best crack in the whole picture, at least from a local viewpoint occurs in a conversation between Martin, the friend, and Judie. The former is referring to Judie's father and says, "Yes, I knew him at Harvard. He was one of those graduates that came back to try to coach the team".

The stage offering, more tuneful and delightful than usual, has as its bright spot two acrobat-comedians who do a neat bit jumping back and forth on a rubber net. Their act is carried out with minute precision and is quite different from the ordinary acrobatic stunt. Arthur Martel offers his weekly organ solo, this time in the form of a musical boxing bout between the husbands and wives present and the concert orchestra contributes a dashing rendering of the "Rhapsody in Black and White". All in all the program is a well-balanced entertainment sure to please some of the audience all the time and all of the audience some of the time.