The Girl in the Limousine | |
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Written by | Wilson Collison, Avery Hopwood |
Date premiered | October 6, 1919 |
Place premiered | Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre |
Original language | English |
Genre | Farce |
Setting | An apartment bedroom |
The Girl in the Limousine is a play written by Wilson Collison and Avery Hopwood. [1] The story is a bedroom farce about a man who accidentally finds himself undressed in the bedroom of his ex-girlfriend. Producer A. H. Woods staged it on Broadway in 1919. The production was a success, closing at the end of January 1920 after 137 performances. The play was adapted into a movie in 1924.
Tony Hamilton is on his way to a party at the home of his former girlfriend Betty and her new husband Freddie Neville. He is waylaid by thieves who take most of his clothes and dump him into a dark room of a nearby apartment. This room turns out to be Betty Neville's bedroom. Betty has been feeling ill and has retired from the party to sleep. Various complications ensue as Tony attempts to conceal or explain his near-naked presence in Betty's bedroom. First Betty's aunt Cicely shows up. She has never met Betty's new husband, and finding Tony in the bedroom, she assumes he must be Freddie. The real Freddie makes his way to the bedroom later, as do several of the party guests.
Character | Broadway cast [2] |
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Kargan | Edward Butler |
Giles | Harry Charles |
Tony Hamilton | John Cumberland |
Lucia Galen | Claiborne Foster |
Betty Neville | Doris Kenyon |
Benny | Dann Malloy |
Riggs | Barnett Parker |
Dr. Jimmie Galen | Charles Ruggles |
Bernice Warren | Vivian Rushmore |
Aunt Cicely | Zelda Sears |
Freddie Neville | Frank Thomas |
Wilson Collison wrote the initial version of the play and offered it to producer Al Woods, who had previously produced Up in Mabel's Room , a play Collison co-wrote with Otto Hauerbach. Woods gave it to Avery Hopwood for revisions. The play was initially titled Betty's Bed, but was changed for production to The Girl in the Limousine, despite the fact that no female character is in a limousine at any time during the story. [3]
The play's Broadway opening was at the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre on October 6, 1919. [2] John Cumberland and Doris Kenyon starred as Tony and Betty. It ran on Broadway until January 31, 1920, [4] with 137 performances. [2] The play subsequently went on tour, appearing in cities such as Kansas City, [5] Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco [6] with John Arthur and Nancy Fair leading the cast. [7] [8] [9]
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle said the play "lost its humor in plain coarseness and indecency" and claimed it "exhausts the possibilities for vulgarity". [10] The New York Tribune said it used "familiar formulae" and had only one good joke. [11] In The Evening World , Charles Darnton called it "mechanical" and said audiences would be bored rather than shocked. [12] Dorothy Parker, writing in Vanity Fair, found it "undeniably very funny". [13] George Jean Nathan for the literary magazine The Smart Set wrote: "Avery Hopwood..., it begins to look, is selling his artistic soul to the highest bidder". [14]
Chadwick Pictures produced a silent film adaptation of the play, also titled The Girl in the Limousine , in 1924. [15] Larry Semon and Claire Adams starred as Tony and his ex-girlfriend; Oliver Hardy played Freddie. Semon co-directed with Noel M. Smith. The movie is considered a lost film.
James Avery Hopwood was an American playwright of the Jazz Age. He had four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920.
Betty Field was an American film and stage actress.
Albert Herman Woods was a Hungarian-born theatrical producer who spent much of his life in the USA. He produced over 140 plays on Broadway, including some of the most successful shows of the period, sometimes under the name of the production company 'Al Woods Ltd.'. Woods built the Eltinge Theatre on Broadway, named for one of his most successful and profitable stars, the female impersonator Julian Eltinge.
Ina Claire was an American stage and film actress.
Madge Kennedy was a stage, film and TV actress whose career began as a stage actress in 1912 and flourished in motion pictures during the silent film era. In 1921, journalist Heywood Broun described her as "the best farce actress in New York".
Frank Dwight Alexander was an American silent film comedian and actor. He was occasionally billed as Fatty Alexander.
The Girl in the Limousine is a 1924 American comedy film starring Larry Semon and featuring Oliver Hardy. The film is based on the 1919 play of the same name by Wilson Collison and Avery Hopwood.
Otto F. Hoffman was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer.
Wilson Collison was a writer and playwright.
Truly Shattuck was a soubrette star of vaudeville, music halls, and Broadway whose career began in tragedy and ended in relative obscurity.
Ladies' Night is a three-act play originally written by Charlton Andrews and later reworked by Avery Hopwood. The play was a sex farce with part of the action set in a Turkish bath instead of a bedroom. A. H. Woods staged it on Broadway, where opened under the direction of Bertram Harrison on August 9, 1920 at the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre. Ladies' Night had a run of 375 performances with the final curtain falling in June 1921. It was revived on Broadway in adapted forms in 1945 and 1950.
The Bat is a three-act play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood that was first produced by Lincoln Wagenhals and Collin Kemper in 1920. The story combines elements of mystery and comedy as Cornelia Van Gorder and guests spend a stormy night at her rented summer home, searching for stolen money they believe is hidden in the house, while they are stalked by a masked criminal known as "the Bat". The Bat's identity is revealed at the end of the final act.
The Demi-Virgin is a three-act play written by Avery Hopwood. Producer Albert H. Woods staged it on Broadway, where it was a hit during the 1921–22 season. The play is a bedroom farce about former couple Gloria Graham and Wally Deane, both movie actors, whose marriage was so brief that the press speculated about whether Gloria was still a virgin. She attempts to seduce Wally when they are forced to reunite for a movie, but after playing along he surprises her by revealing that their divorce is not valid.
The Gold Diggers is a play written by Avery Hopwood. It popularized the use of the term "gold digger" to refer to women who seek wealthy partners, as opposed to the earlier usage referring to gold miners. Producer David Belasco staged it on Broadway in 1919, with Ina Claire in the lead role. It was a hit, running for two consecutive seasons before going on tour.
Getting Gertie's Garter is a play written by Wilson Collison and Avery Hopwood. Producer A. H. Woods staged it on Broadway, where it opened at the Republic Theatre on August 1, 1921. Hazel Dawn played the role of Gertie. The play was a sex farce, but unlike most productions of its type, the setting was a hayloft instead of a bedroom. It was a success at the box office, running for 15 weeks with 120 performances on Broadway, then moving to touring companies.
Fair and Warmer is a three-act comedy play by the American writer Avery Hopwood. It was first staged at the Eltinge Theatre in New York City on November 15, 1915, running for 377 performances, featuring Madge Kennedy, John Cumberland, Janet Beecher, Ralph Morgan, Hamilton Revelle, Olive May, Robert Fisher and Harry Lorraine. Staged by Robert Milton, it was well received by critics. It is a farce about a mild-mannered banker who becomes embroiled in an innocent scheme to rekindle the romance in his marriage using his best friend's wife.
Sadie Love is a three-act play written by Avery Hopwood. Producer Oliver Morosco staged it on Broadway, where it opened at the Gaiety Theatre in November 1915. The play is a farce about a widow named Sadie Love, who marries a prince but discovers he still has feelings for a previous girlfriend. The play was adapted as a movie of the same name in 1919.
Charlton Andrews was an American educator and writer whose works include the hit Broadway play Ladies' Night.
Lucille Carlisle, born Ida Lucile White, was an American actress.
Marjorie Bentley was an American dancer who appeared on Broadway in Oh, My Dear! (1918) and La La Lucille (1919).