c.1939
Premiered at the National Theatre in 1939. It was highly successful both there and on tour around the United States. Tallulah Bankhead starred as Regina Giddens. There have been revivals at the Lincoln Center, the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, and the Martin Beck Theatre. Elizabeth Taylor also played Regina, earning her two Tony nominations. In 1941, Lillian Hellman wrote the film adaptation which starred Bette Davis.
The plot centers around a family in a small Southern town in 1900, the Hubbards. Oscar, Ben, and Regina (married-name Giddens) are in the midst of making a highly profitable deal with a Northern cotton mill firm to bring the process to their town. They have made this deal relying on Regina's husband to provide a third of the investment, which Regina has promised to her brothers. The brothers wish to keep the deal in the family in order to avoid unequal partnership with an outside party, which Regina uses as leverage to ensure a larger share in the profit (taking a cut from Oscar's).
In the second act, Horace, Regina's husband, returns home from a hospital where he was being treated for heart disease. Regina sent their daughter, Alexandra, to fetch him in order to complete the deal, but he promptly denies to put up the money. Oscar's son, Leo, reveals to his father that he has access to Horace's safety deposit box at the bank where they both work, and the two brothers resolve to have him steal the bonds kept inside to make up the deficit (without telling Regina).
In the third act Horace has discovered the missing bonds and has come up with a plan to remove the guilt from the brothers and deny Regina any claim to the profits from the cotton mill. However, before his plan can be seen through, he suffers from an "attack" and collapses trying to call for help. Regina is with him while he struggles and does nothing until he has collapsed on the stairs. It is unclear if she has poisoned him, or if he was already having an attack and she simply let it play out. In the end, Regina forces her brothers to give her a 75% share in the profits, lest she oust their deception to the police.
The structure of The Little Foxes fits into the structure of the well-made play, but at the end of the play there are several 'a-ha!' moments when it seems to be all wrapped up, only to be changed again by the subversions of these manipulative characters. Even at the last moment of the play, when Regina appears to have won it all, she is dismissed by her own daughter and left all alone to enjoy her riches. I found this choice interesting because it sets the audience up almost for a disappointment at the end of the play. At the top of the third act, it seems that Horace, the good guy, has finally found a way to control the nefarious Hubbards at long last, but it is snatched away from him. Even among the dishonorable clan there are winners and losers, Regina as the former. Her own brothers are shocked at her behavior and slyness, Ben even says of his sister that he "never really knew her at all." They all hold tricks up their sleeve until only Regina, the truly ruthless, remains standing.
Another dramaturgical choice that I found peculiar to this play was the inclusion of Marshall at the top of the show. He is never seen except for the first scene in which they all drink together. The plot has already begun when the deal was in place, it struck me as odd that a character who is talked about throughout the rest of the show is only included for the first ten minutes or so of actual stage-time. I believe he is included to display the business style of the Hubbards, as well as to demonstrate the open contempt that Oscar holds for his wife. The tactics Ben uses to solidify the deal are strong-armed, with Regina occasionally jumping in to add sugar to his abrasive manner. Straight off the bat in this play we are introduced to Oscar, Ben, and Regina as scheming persons who will do whatever it takes to get what they want.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Foxes
http://www.gaston.k12.nc.us/schools/ashbrook/faculty/hjbreeden/Course%20Outline%20and%20Syllabus/The%20Little%20Foxes.pdf
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