TLS: Saturday, August 28, 1920

Provincetown, Mass.
August 28, 1920.

My dear Madden:

Your letter received, and the script of "Gold" also. Many thanks. I will get a copy back to you just as soon as I have copied the corrections which I made in the publisher's script. Yes, I think I can get his copy back from him just as soon as the first proofs are corrected. But they certainly make an awful mess of a script.

I hope you will have bearded Williams in his lair by the time you receive this. I certainly must insist that he let me know, either yes or no, whether Barrymore is to play in the piece or not. As it is, I suppose I am the one person connected with "Gold" who is being kept in the dark. I have written him but he fails to answer the leading question.

I am continually getting more or less vague inquiries about the one-act plays for the moving pictures. The latest is through S. Jay Kaufman of the Globe. He writes: "A very live young wire here in town wants to know if you have done anything with your short plays for the moving pictures. Have you?" And he labels the matter as important. I have written him saying that the "live wire" must get in touch with you. Now don't you think there may be a little fire where there seems to be so much smoke? I hope so, at any rate. And, by the way, in answer to a question of yours in a letter of a month back relative to this same matter, I can say that there are none of the short plays that I would ever think of working into full length except "Where The Cross Is Made". I only used that because "Gold" was always a long play in my mind and I only made its last act into a one-acter in order to have something on the Provincetown Player opening bill two years ago.

It seems to me the route that Williams plans for "Beyond" is broken enough. They play Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburg, Buffalo, Detroit, Columbus-Louisville, St. Louis and Kansas City before they open in Chicago on Nov. 14th. Why have they ignored Boston and Philly, I wonder?

I am very grateful for your sympathy about my father's death. If you were through the same thing, you sure know what it means.

With very kindest regards,

Sincerely,

Eugene O'Neill.

P.S. I have the first act of the entirely new Chris-play finished. It is going to be the best yet, wait and see!