Almost everyone he encountered (except his African-American maid and a watchful resident doctor) in the DC political system interpreted his slightly mysterious, extremely literal pronouncements (mostly about gardening) as wise, pithy, profound, and metaphoric gnomic statements, and perceived him the way that they wished to envision him, regardless of his naivete and the reality of the situation.It was based on Greene""s novella of the same name, written solely to be a source ext for the film screenplay and never intended to be read or published.The play was such a hit that she bought the film rights and made her way back to Hollywood through MGM""s successful production of the play - directed by George Cukor." That evening, Evelyn snatched the Book of the Dead from the arms of the sleeping Egyptologist, and returned to her camp with it.