Persons Unknown | |
---|---|
Written by | Edgar Wallace |
Date premiered | 8 May 1929 |
Original language | English |
Genre | Mystery |
Persons Unknown is a 1929 mystery play by the British writer Edgar Wallace. The plot revolves around the murder of a "person unknown" in a street by a mysterious blackmailer. [1] It features the character of Sergeant Elk, a Scotland Yard detective who appeared in several of Wallace's novels.
Its original run lasted for 108 performances, from 8 May 1929 [2] to 10 August 1929, [3] at London's Shaftesbury Theatre. The cast included Gordon Harker and Minnie Rayner.
Towards Zero is a 1956 thriller play by Agatha Christie and Gerald Verner and based on Christie's 1944 novel Towards Zero. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham before transferring to the St James's Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 205 performances between 4 September 1956 and 2 March 1957. The London cast featured George Baker, Cyril Raymond, Frederick Leister, William Kendall, Max Brimmell, Michael Nightingale and Gillian Lind. The play features Superintendent Battle one of Christie's recurring characters. Reviews were favourable.
The Lady of Ascot is a 1930 crime novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It is a loose novelisation of Wallace's 1921 play M'Lady about a woman attempting to raise her daughter in high society whose plans are threatened by the return of her husband who has been serving a sentence at Broadmoor for the murder of a police officer.
Clarence Blakiston was a British film and stage actor, comedian and singer who during his career across five decades played the title role in the Sherlock Holmes parody Sheerluck Jones, or Why D’Gillette Him Off at Terry's Theatre (1901–02) which ran for 138 performances and who appeared in the original production of The Admirable Crichton at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1902.
On the Spot is a 1930 Chicago-set play by the British writer Edgar Wallace. Wallace was inspired by a visit to the United States and, in particular, the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. Known as a prolific author, he reportedly dictated the manuscript for the play in just four days. It was his greatest theatrical success.
The Calendar is a 1929 play by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It is a crime thriller set in the world of horse racing world, the sport being among Wallace's interests. The protagonist is a financially struggling racehorse owner with a shady reputation. It premiered at the Palace Theatre in Manchester before transferring to Wyndham's Theatre in the West End.
The Mouthpiece is a 1930 crime play by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It was one of several theatrical failures written by Wallace following the enormous success of On the Spot, with a plot described as "flimsy".
The Old Man is a 1931 mystery play by the British writer Edgar Wallace. Its original production was staged at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End for a ninety performance run. It is set entirely in the "Coat of Arms" tavern where a mysterious old man lurks in the background, reputedly an escapee from a lunatic asylum. The original cast included Alfred Drayton, Jack Melford, Harold Warrender and Finlay Currie.
M'Lady is a 1921 play by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It is a drama about a woman who tries to raise her daughter in high society, only for her husband to return from Broadmoor where he has been serving a sentence for killing a police officer. It was panned by theatre critics.
The Terror is a 1927 mystery thriller play by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It is based on Wallace's 1926 novel The Black Abbot.
Smoky Cell is a thriller play by the British writer Edgar Wallace first staged in 1930. In America a group of detectives hunt down a notorious racketeer.
None But the Brave is a 1925 farcical melodramatic play by the British writers Bernard Merivale and Brandon Fleming in which a man inherits the estate of a wealthy uncle, and has to avoid being framed for murder by his relatives.
Blondie White is a 1937 mystery play by British writer Jeffrey Dell and Bernard Merivale. A murder mystery, it was inspired by an earlier play by Hungarian writer Ladislas Fodor. A famous crime novelist helps Scotland Yard to solve the murder of a nightclub performer, Blondie White.
Someone Waiting is a 1953 thriller play by the British writer Emlyn Williams.
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse is a 1936 thriller play by the British writer Barré Lyndon. The lead character's name is a play on the term for the female sexual organ the clitoris - a name characterised by the "yearning, untrammelled nature" of Clitterhouse himself; an extremely daring pun for 1936, yet seemingly anticipated by Lyndon to escape the notice of the contemporary censor. Lyndon wrote, "My view was that he was no more likely to locate the pun in my title as to locate the source of it on his beloved bedfellow".
The Romance of David Garrick is a 1942 historical play by the British writer Constance Cox.
Vanity Fair is a 1946 play by the British writer Constance Cox, based on William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name.
The Last Hour is a 1928 comedy thriller play by the British writer Charles Bennett. At an inn on the coast of Devon, a secret agent battles a foreign prince trying to smuggle a stolen death ray out of the country.
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime is a 1952 comedy thriller play by the British writer Constance Cox, based on the short story Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde. After a palm reader convinces him it is his destiny to commit murder before he can marry his fiancée, an aristocrat makes several inept attempts to kill people.
Blackmail is a 1928 thriller play by the British writer Charles Bennett. In Chelsea, an artist's model kills an artist when he attempts to assault her.
Laughter in Court is a 1936 comedy play by the British writher Hugh Mills. It premiered at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool before transferring to the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 117 performances. The West End cast included Yvonne Arnaud, Ronald Squire, Evelyn Roberts, Edmund Breon and Wilfrid Caithness. It was one of a number of plays of the era with courtroom settings.