Roman Candle

Mark Baxter is a young scientist, drafted to work on a new Army missile program. His stay in Washington wins him the rank of Colonel, the cover of a national magazine, and the hand of his next-door neighbor, Eleanor Winston

Eleanor is the rich, beautiful, and very ambitious daughter of a U.S. Senator, and she is determined that the man she marries will go even further than her father

They are set to go off to a top-secret missile launching when complications arise, in the form of an alluring blonde named Liz Brown, who moves into the adjoining apartment

Liz is gifted with ESP. She tells Mark he won't be leaving town with the others (he doesn't); she predicts a long shot at the race track (the horse wins); and she informs Mark that but that would be giving away the funniest twist in the play!

At any rate, the first missile fails and spirits go down, a second try makes it and spirits go up, but Mark's romantic difficulties grow increasingly complicated

Along the way the Army, the Navy, official Washington, and the human race in general come in for their share of ribbing but everything gets straightened out in the end

" maintains a pleasant mood of insanity " - NY Journal-American