Curtain Up is a 1952 film directed by Ralph Smart, written by Jack Davies and Philip King. The year 1952 in film involved some significant events Events January 10 - Cecil B Ralph Smart was a film and television producer director and writer born in London in 1908 and educated in England It is based on the play Sunday for Seven Days by Philip King. Philip (or Phil King may refer to Phil King (American football, American football player Philip Gidley King (1758–1808 Governor
Plot
In an English provincial town, a second-rate repertory company assemble at the theatre on Monday morning to rehearse the following week's play, a melodrama titled Tarnished Gold. For other meanings of repertory please see Repertory (disambiguation. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one Melodrama refers to theatre in which music is used to increase the spectator's emotional response or to suggest character types
Harry, their irascible Director, is highly critical of the play, which has been foisted on him by the owners of the Company and is unenthusiastic about it's prospects. The cast, a mixture of wanabee-film stars and has-beens, are equally unenthusiastic and little progress is made. Just as matters seemingly cannot get worse, the authoress of the play, Catherine Beckwith, appears and insists on 'sitting at the feet' of the Director.
She and Harry are quickly at each other throats and after Harry tears up most of Act 1, he storms angrily off stage and falls into the pit, injuring himself. Despite the forebodings of the cast, Miss Beckwith insists on taking over the rehearsal according to her own ideas.
A week later, to everyone's surprise, the curtain comes down on a triumphant first night.
Sub-plots involve on and off-stage romances between the cast, a film offer for one of the actresses, to her husband's chagrin, and the newest member of the cast realising that the stage is not her forte.
Cast
- Robert Morley, W. Robert Morley CBE ( May 26, 1908 &ndash June 3, 1992) was an Oscar -nominated English Actor who H. 'Harry' Derwent Blacker
- Margaret Rutherford, Catherine Beckwith / Jeremy St. Dame Margaret Rutherford DBE ( May 11, 1892 &ndash May 22, 1972) was an Academy Award -winning English Claire
- Kay Kendall, Sandra Beverley
- Michael Medwin, Jerry Winterton
- Olive Sloane, Maud Baron
- Liam Gaffney, Norwood Beverley
- Lloyd Lamble, Jackson
- Charlotte Mitchell, Daphne Ray
- Charles Lamb, George
- Constance Lorne, Sarah Stebbins
- Maggie Hanley, Mary (as Margaret Avery)
- Stringer Davis, Vicar
- Joan Hickson, Harry's Landlady
- John Cazabon, Mr Stebbins
- Diana Calderwood, Set Painter
External links
Kay Kendall ( May 21, 1926 - September 6, 1959) was a Golden Globe Award -winning English actress Michael Hugh Medwin OBE (born 18 July 1929) is an English Actor. Charlotte Mitchell (born 23 July, 1926 in Ipswich, Suffolk) is an English actress most famous for her role in Charles Lamb is the name of Charles Lamb (writer (1775-1834 a British essayist Charles Lamb (politician (1891-1965 a Canadian Stringer Davis (born James Buckley Stringer Davis on 4 June, 1899 in Birkenhead, Cheshire (now Merseyside) was an Joan Hickson OBE ( 5 August 1906 &ndash 17 October 1998) was an English actress of Theatre,Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic