Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse are two capable workmen who have turned out a number of successful farce comedies; "State of the Union," and "Life With Father" are two of their most famous.

Their latest play, a mystery-farce, suffers by comparison to any of the earlier works. It is long, very dull in spots and too rough to be really laughable.

The play is basically a mystery and for a mystery to fulfill its purpose there must be some element of suspense to sustain the action, some unknown fact which either the audience or the actors would like to know.

Nobody seems to care who murdered Travis Revercombe. To the audience, the revelation of the killer is just another spot in the play where no gag situation is offered. To the players it is just a scene to go through so that the production can get into the third act. Occuring as a minor incident, the confession of the murderer is a weak peg on which to hang a three act drama.

Despite these faults, "Remains To Be Seen" (It's a pun on the body) has some good moments. The tricks and humorous situations of the professional's farce are liberally sprinkled throughout the play and, as isolated examples of the playwrights' skills, they are rewarding.

The leading players, Jackie Cooper and Janis Paige, struggle gamely with the script, but even Lindsay, who has taken third billing, delivers many of the lines in a stuffy and unconvincing manner. It is unfortunate that the return of Cooper, the debut of Miss Paige, and the work of Lindsay and Crouse could not have produced a firmer vehicle.