The Girl in the Limousine (play)
| The Girl in the Limousine | |
|---|---|
| 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. Producer A. H. Woods staged it on Broadway in 1919. The play was a success, closing in February 1920 after 137 performances. It was later adapted into a movie.
Plot
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.
Development
Wilson Collison wrote the initial version of the play and offered it to producer Al Woods. 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 is in a limousine at any time during the story.[1]
Productions
The play's Broadway opening was at the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre on October 6, 1919. It ran on Broadway until February 1920, with 137 performances.[2]
| Character | Broadway cast[2] |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Reception
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle said the play "lost its humor in plain coarseness and indecency" and claimed it "exhausts the possibilities for vulgarity".[3] The New York Tribune said it used "familiar formulae" and had only one good joke.[4] In The Evening World, Charles Darnton called it "mechanical" and said audiences would be bored rather than shocked.[5]
Adaptations
The play was adapted as a silent movie, also titled The Girl in the Limousine, in 1924.[6] Larry Semon starred as Tony, and Oliver Hardy played Freddie. The movie is considered a lost film.
References
- ^ Wainscott, Ronald Harold (1997). The Emergence of the Modern American Theater, 1914-1929. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0-300-06776-3. OCLC 35128122.
- ^ a b "The Girl in the Limousine". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
- ^ "The Girl in the Limousine". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Vol. 79, no. 278. October 7, 1919. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Girl in the Limousine Another Bedroom Farce". New York Tribune. Vol. 79, no. 26, 623. October 7, 1919. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The New Plays: The Girl in the Limousine Mechanical Farce". The Evening World. October 11, 1919. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Roberts, Jerry (2003). The Great American Playwrights on the Screen: A Critical Guide to Film, TV, Video and DVD. New York: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. p. 110. ISBN 1-55783-512-8.
