Smoky Cell | |
---|---|
Written by | Edgar Wallace |
Date premiered | 16 December 1930 |
Place premiered | Wyndham's Theatre, London |
Original language | English |
Genre | Crime Thriller |
Setting | United States |
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.
It ran for 103 performances at Wyndham's Theatre in the West End from 16 December 1930 to 14 March 1931. The original cast included Finlay Currie, Percy Parsons, Charles Farrell, Harold Huth, Roy Emerton and James Carew, and was directed by Carol Reed. It marked Canadian actor Alexander Knox's London stage debut. [1]
It was an inspired by a visit Wallace had recently made to the United States, which also led him to write his even more successful play On the Spot the same year. [2] In 1935, following Wallace's death, his former assistant Robert Curtis wrote a novel of the same title based on the play. [3]
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.
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.
Gillian Lind was a British stage, film and television actress. In 1930 she starred in Edgar Wallace's play On the Spot in the West End. She went on to enjoy a long career in film and television. Initially appearing onscreen as a female lead, she later transitioned into character roles. In 1957 she appeared in the BBC Dickens adaptation Nicholas Nickleby as the protagonist's mother. She featured on the 1964 series Ann Veronica based on a novel by H.G. Wells.
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.
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. It features the character of Sergeant Elk, a Scotland Yard detective who appeared in several of Wallace's novels.
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.
Somebody Knows is a 1932 mystery play by the British writer John Van Druten about an entertainer who is accused of strangling a prostitute. Following a court case there is not enough evidence to convict him, leaving the audience unsure of his actual guilt.
The Unguarded Hour is a 1935 play by Bernard Merivale, inspired by a Hungarian work by Ladislas Fodor.
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.
A Murder Has Been Arranged is a 1930 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. "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", Lyndon 'Fragment of Autobiography'.
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.