The names of Ethel Barrymore, Vincent Sheean and Guthrie McClintic, collected under the head of "International Incident," sound like an eternally perfect triangle, but the illusion is unfortunately brief. In his first stab at playwrighting Mr. Sheean has far from lived up to his share of the bargain. Luckily, though, his chief character is in the hands of Miss Barrymore, who makes every minute of her presence a treat.

The framework of the story has evident possibilities, but they are distorted badly. American born Mrs. Rochester, with a past of glamorous marriages to English nobility, invades America on a lecture tour. When her cousin, newspaperman "Hank" Rogers, comes to interview her, the outcome is a bad case of romance, spiritual conversion, and propaganda jitters. Convinced that her charming presence is a menace to American neutrality, Rogers tries to make her give up lecturing, and instead almost becomes her next husband. His affair is unconvincing, and the audience is never sure whether Mr. Sheean has decided to write about romance or the state of the nation.

Perhaps the author spent all his efforts on Mrs. Rochester, for the part is not only a logical and rounded study, but is beautifully handled by Ethel Barrymore. She is the one unifying force which prevents "International Incident" from becoming a very local incident.