POTASH AND PERLMUTTER

Montague Glass, with assistance from an uncreditedCharles Klein, based this three-act comedy, produced byA. H. Woods, on a series of short stories he wrote for theSaturday Evening Post. The play opened on 15 August 1913 for a whopping 441 performances. Mawruss Perlmutter and Abe Potash, two garment merchants, played in the original production by Alexander Carr and Barney Bernard, are the comedy's central focus. Rife with Jewish stereotypes, the play's simple plot involves two bickering partners having to put aside petty differences to save their business from an embezzling employee. Overcoming all obstacles, Perlmutter also finds a bride in their new designer, Ruth Snyder, played by Louise Dresser. The phenomenal success ofPotash and Perlmutterinspired a long series of popular sequels includingAbe andMawruss(1914),Business before Pleasure(1917),His Honor Abe Potash(1919),Partners Again(1922), andPotash and Perlmutter, Detectives(1926).Potash and Perlmutterbecame a motion picture in 1923 with Carr and Bernard repeating their roles. With George Sidney taking over for Bernard, Carr appeared in two films,In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter(1924) andPartners Again(1926).