There are a number of men in the playwriting business who are professionals in the fullest sense of the word. Like a carpenter who sets out to build a house, these writers, men like F. Hugh Herbert, John Van Druten, and Benn Levy, know that is required to make a play a commercial success and occasionally proceed to write such works. John Cecil Holm is such a workman and the "Gramercy Ghost" is his latest project. Complete with an excellent cast and slick direction this play proves a delightful evening at the theatre.

Plot requirements for the Holm type of play are simple. The theme is a love affair. In the first act the characters are presented, their differences explained; the second act produces their differences explained; the second act produces the favorites, the people the audience would like to see united; in the third act all complications are ironed out, the ends tied, and the lovers joined. Usually in this type of play there is a humorous twist carefully inserted, and in this case the ghost of a Revolutionary War soldier is the gimmick. Under his watchful eye the two men who are in love with the heroine are pitted against each other and the nice guy, the handsome one, wins in the last act.

Sarah Churchill, Winston's daughter, appearing in her first important American role, is suitably charming as the girl who inherits the ghost. She is confused, excited, and buoyant at precisely the right moments, handling the Holm dialogue with a Hepburn-like air which is sophisticated and smooth.

The three male roles--the successful lover, the defeated childhood sweetheart, and the ghost of Nathaniel Coombs--played by Robert Sterling, Robert Smith, and Richard Waring are also handled well. Waring, who did a magnificent portrayal of the schoolboy in "The Corn Is Green," has retained his Welsh accent, and after a weak first act start, he makes the ghost into a warm and believable figure.

Holm and director Reginald Denham fulfill another important requirement of the Commercial Success by careful handling of the supporting cast, the character actors. There are six in all, a policeman, a maid, two ambulance drivers, and two ethereal comrades of the ghost, and their scenes are tapped for all possible comedy angles, including the usual topical gags.

"Gramercy Ghost" is similar to the current hit, "Bell, Book, and Candle" in its light treatment of the supernatural and should take its place on Broadway with the hit comedies of the season.