Opening on 9 March 1924 at the Plymouth Theatre, Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings's unroman-ticized depiction of American soldiers in World War I ran for 435 performances. It should be noted that the title is properly written without the often erroneously added question mark. Stallings drew upon his own experience in World War I to portray the horrors endured by American soldiers in France. The cynical side of heroics, dramatized in dialogue that controversially reproduced the kind of salty language actually used by soldiers in combat, was portrayed through the rivalry of career Army men, Captain Flagg (played by Louis Wolheim) and Sergeant Quirt (William Boyd). Arthur Hopkins produced and directed.
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.