Blackmail (play)
Blackmail is a 1928 thriller play by the British writer Charles Bennett.[1] In Chelsea, an artist's model kills an artist when he attempts to assault her.
Blackmail | |
---|---|
![]() Cover of the 1929 novelisation of the play | |
Written by | Charles Bennett |
Date premiered | 28 February 1928 |
Place premiered | Comedy Theatre, London |
Original language | English |
Genre | Thriller |
It ran for 38 performances at the Globe Theatre in London's West End.[2] Directed by Raymond Massey, was the playwright's first West End production, chosen by the impresario Albert H. Woods as a vehicle for the American star Tallulah Bankhead.[3] In the event it was shortest British run Bankhead had been in. It was initially considered a disappointment and Woods never staged the play on Broadway. However, over the following decade it became a popular work on tour in Britain and Ireland.[4]
Adaptation
The following year it was made into Blackmail, a pioneering early sound film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Anny Ondra.[5] It was also novelised by Ruth Alexander.
References
- Kabatchnik p.161
- Wearing p.572
- Kabatchnik p.159
- Kabatchnik p.162
- Goble p.35
Bibliography
- Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.
- Kabatchnik, Amnon. Blood on the Stage, 1925-1950: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery and Detection. Scarecrow Press, 2010.
- Wearing, J. P. The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.