Goodness, How Sad

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Goodness, How Sad is a play written by the British actor Robert Morley, which was first performed in 1937. The work was strongly influenced by Morley's affection for provincial theatre. [1]

Robert Morley English actor

Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, often in supporting roles. In Movie Encyclopedia, film critic Leonard Maltin describes Morley as "recognisable by his ungainly bulk, bushy eyebrows, thick lips and double chin, ... particularly effective when cast as a pompous windbag." More politely, Ephraim Katz in his International Film Encyclopaedia describes Morley as "a rotund, triple-chinned, delightful character player of the British and American stage and screen." In his autobiography, Responsible Gentleman, Morley said his stage career started with managements valuing his appearance for playing "substantial gentleman" roles — as a doctor, lawyer, accountant or other professional member of society.

Contents

Synopsis

A British-born Hollywood idol returns to a small seaside town where he had once worked as a struggling actor. The visit awakens nostalgic feelings, and he is cast in a play at the local theatre where nobody recognises him as a famous star. After falling in love with his leading lady, he slowly begins to realise that his attempts to recreate the past are doomed to failure.

Hollywood Neighborhood of Los Angeles in California, United States

Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California, notable as the home of the U.S. film industry including several of its historic studios. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the industry and the people associated with it.

Film adaptation

In 1939 the play was adapted into a film directed by Robert Stevenson at Ealing Studios. Renamed as Return to Yesterday the film starred Clive Brook as the Hollywood star and Anna Lee as the aspiring young actress he falls in love with. The film had a slightly troubled production, and wasn't released until March 1940.

<i>Return to Yesterday</i> 1940 film by Robert Stevenson

Return to Yesterday is a 1940 British comedy-drama film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Clive Brook and Anna Lee. It was based on Robert Morley's play Goodness, How Sad. The film was made at Ealing Studios.

Robert Edward Stevenson was an English film writer and director.

Ealing Studios

Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since. It is the oldest continuously working studio facility for film production in the world, and the current stages were opened for the use of sound in 1931.

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References

  1. Richards p.175

Bibliography