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Rodney Ackland

April 16, 2023

Rodney Ackland (18 May 1908 in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex – 6 December 1991 in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey) was an English playwright, actor, theatre director and screenwriter.

Ackland photographed by Howard Coster, 1936

Born as Norman Ackland Bernstein in Southend, Essex, to a Jewish father from Warsaw and a non-Jewish mother,[1] he was educated at Balham Grammar School in London. In his 16th year he made his first stage appearance at the Gate Theatre Studio, playing Medvedieff in Gorky's The Lower Depths and later studied acting at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art. He married Mab Lonsdale, daughter of the playwright Frederick Lonsdale, in 1952; she died in 1972.

Theatre career

In 1929, after performing with various repertory companies, he toured as Young Woodley in the play of that name. At the Gaiety Theatre in 1933 he played Paul in his own adaptation of Ballerina, which also toured the following year, and at the Criterion in 1936 he played the role of Oliver Nashwick in his own original play After October which transferred there from the Arts Theatre.

In 1941, he co-wrote the screenplay for the film Temptation Harbour starring Robert Newton and Simone Simon. Two musical collaborations came in 1942 with his version of Blossom Time starring Richard Tauber as Franz Schubert at the Lyric Theatre, and his London Coliseum production of the musical play, The Belle of New York. He also wrote and directed The Dark River at the Whitehall Theatre in 1943, starring Peggy Ashcroft. He joined Robert Newton as co-authors of Cupid and Mars (1945), and A Multitude of Sins (1951)

The first staging of his large-cast drama, The Pink Room (or The Escapists), in Brighton and then at the Lyric Hammersmith in London on 18 June 1952, was largely financed by Terence Rattigan, who liked the play and believed it deserved a London production. The Pink Room was a tragi-comedy set in the summer of 1945 in a seedy London club (based on the French Club in Soho).[2] It received a severe critical panning and after that, apart from one further play and an adaptation, it led to the playwright's more than 30-year virtual absence. According to its director, Frith Banbury, "When the play failed, Terry never wanted to see Rodney again."

However, following the abolition of the Lord Chamberlain's play licensing in 1968, Ackland was able to rewrite aspects of this play, re-titling it Absolute Hell. It was performed in its new form in 1988 to considerable success at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond-upon-Thames, directed by Sam Walters and John Gardyne, and starring Polly Hemingway and David Rintoul.

In 1991, it was adapted and directed for BBC 2 by Anthony Page, starring Dame Judi Dench. The play was revived by Page at the National Theatre in 1995, again with Dench in the leading role. In 2018, the National staged another revival, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins and starring Kate Fleetwood.[3]

See also Nick Smurthwaite's theatre profile of Ackland for The Stage, Revival of a Realist, 5 February 2004 [1]

Film career

Rodney Ackland's first contact with Alfred Hitchcock was as a supporting actor in The Skin Game (1931), a screen version of the John Galsworthy play.[4] Hitchcock, however, recognised his potential as a screenwriter and collaborating with him on the second film adaptation of J Jefferson Farjeon's London fog-bound thriller Number Seventeen (1932) starring Leon M. Lion.[5]

Ackland co-wrote the British film Bank Holiday (1938), contributed additional dialogue to Young Man's Fancy (1940), and made some uncredited contributions to Dangerous Moonlight (1941) and Love Story (1944).[6] His screenplay for Hatter's Castle (1942), from the novel by A.J. Cronin, provided a rampant star role for Robert Newton as the megalomaniac Scottish hatter.[7] He shared with Emeric Pressburger an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay of 49th Parallel (US: The Invaders, 1941), starring Raymond Massey and Eric Portman.[8]

Ackland is credited with discovering the actress Sally Ann Howes, the child of neighbour Bobby Howes, when he insisted that she audition for his film Thursday's Child (1943), which he both wrote and directed.

He renewed his association with Pressburger with the two men co-writing the screenplay for the thriller Wanted for Murder (1946), mainly intended as a film vehicle for Eric Portman playing a man obsessed by his father's role as the public hangman. Around the same time, he made Temptation Harbour (1947), the first adaptation]] of Georges Simenon's novel Newhaven/Dieppe, directed by Lance Comfort, again with Robert Newton.

He twice collaborated with Rattigan as a screenwriter, on the Anthony Asquith film Uncensored (1942), starring Eric Portman; and for the Associated British production of Bond Street (1948), an anthology film consisting of four stories about a wedding trousseau. Neither Ackland nor Rattigan were credited on the latter film.

His final work for the cinema was on the screenplay for The Queen of Spades (1949), an adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's short story. Ackland intended to direct the film, but fell out with the producer Anatole de Grunwald and star Anton Walbrook. Thorold Dickinson took over at short notice and rewrote Ackland's script with the help of de Grunwald.[9]

Assisted by a co-author Elspeth Grant, Ackland wrote his memoirs, The Celluloid Mistress, or The Custard Pie of Dr. Caligari, published by Alan Wingate in London in 1954.

Plays

 
John Gielgud and Dolly Haas in the 1947 Broadway production of Ackland's stage dramatization of Crime and Punishment
  • Improper People (1929)
  • Marion Ella and Dance With No Music (1930)
  • Strange Orchestra (1931) [2]
  • Ballerina, adapted from Eleanor Smith's novel (1933)
  • Birthday (1934)
  • The Old Ladies, adapted from Hugh Walpole's 1924 novel (1935)
  • After October and Plot Twenty-One (1936)
  • Yes, My Darling Daughter, an English version of the American comedy by Mark Reed (1937)
  • The White Guard, adapted from the Russian of Mikhail Bulgakov (1938)
  • Remembrance of Things Past (1938)
  • Sixth Floor, an English version of the play by Alfred Gehri (1939)
  • Blossom Time, with music by Franz Schubert (1942)
  • The Dark River (1943)
  • Crime and Punishment, adapted from Dostoevsky (1946)
  • Diary of a Scoundrel or Too Clever By Half, adapted from Alexander Ostrovsky, (1948)
  • Before the Party, adapted from the story by W. Somerset Maugham (1949)[10]
  • The Pink Room, or The Escapists (1945, first staged in 1952), rewritten as Absolute Hell (1987)
  • A Dead Secret (1957)
  • Farewell, Farewell Eugene, adapted from John Vari's original play (1959)

Selected filmography

References

  • Who's Who in the Theatre 17th edition, Gale 1981, ISBN 0-8103-0235-7 (for Ackland's own authoritative CV)
  • The Oxford Companion to English Literature, ed Margaret Drabble, OUP 1995 ISBN 0-19-866221-1
  • The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English, ed Jenny Stringer, OUP 1996 ISBN 0-19-212271-1
  • Terence Rattigan, a Biography by Geoffrey Wansell, Fourth Estate 1995 ISBN 1-85702-201-7
  • A Dictionary of Writers and Their Work by Michael Cox, OUP 2002 ISBN 0-19-866249-1
  • The Macmillan International Film Encyclopedia by Ephraim Katz, Macmillan 1994 ISBN 0-333-61601-4
  • Halliwell's Film, Video and DVD Guide, by John Walker, HarperCollins 2004 ISBN 0-00-719081-6
  • Theatre Record (archived reviews of Absolute Hell 1988 and 1995)
  • J. C. Trewin and Wendy Trewin The Arts Theatre, London, 1927-1981, 1986 ISBN 0-85430-041-4.

Notes

  1. ^ William D. Rubinstein, Michael Jolles, Hilary L. Rubinstein, The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History, Palgrave Macmillan (2011), p. 13
  2. ^ The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 6th Edition. Edited by Margaret Drabble, Oxford University Press, 2000 Pp 4
  3. ^ Billington, Michael (26 April 2018). "Absolute Hell review – postwar Soho gets a Weimar makeover". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Taylor, John Russell (16 April 2013). Hitch: The Life and Times of Alfred Hitchcock. A&C Black. ISBN 9781448211616 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Number Seventeen (1932) - Alfred Hitchcock | Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
  6. ^ "Rodney Ackland". BFI.
  7. ^ "Hatter's Castle (1941) - Lance Comfort | Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
  8. ^ "49th Parallel (1941) - Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell | Awards". AllMovie.
  9. ^ Sinyard, Neil (2003–14). "Queen of Spades, The (1949)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Before the Party for Adelaide's Independent Theatre". Stage Whispers. April 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2023.

External links

April 16, 2023
rodney, ackland, 1908, westcliff, essex, december, 1991, richmond, upon, thames, surrey, english, playwright, actor, theatre, director, screenwriter, ackland, photographed, howard, coster, 1936, born, norman, ackland, bernstein, southend, essex, jewish, father. Rodney Ackland 18 May 1908 in Westcliff on Sea Essex 6 December 1991 in Richmond upon Thames Surrey was an English playwright actor theatre director and screenwriter Ackland photographed by Howard Coster 1936 Born as Norman Ackland Bernstein in Southend Essex to a Jewish father from Warsaw and a non Jewish mother 1 he was educated at Balham Grammar School in London In his 16th year he made his first stage appearance at the Gate Theatre Studio playing Medvedieff in Gorky s The Lower Depths and later studied acting at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art He married Mab Lonsdale daughter of the playwright Frederick Lonsdale in 1952 she died in 1972 Contents 1 Theatre career 2 Film career 3 Plays 4 Selected filmography 5 References 6 Notes 7 External linksTheatre career EditIn 1929 after performing with various repertory companies he toured as Young Woodley in the play of that name At the Gaiety Theatre in 1933 he played Paul in his own adaptation of Ballerina which also toured the following year and at the Criterion in 1936 he played the role of Oliver Nashwick in his own original play After October which transferred there from the Arts Theatre In 1941 he co wrote the screenplay for the film Temptation Harbour starring Robert Newton and Simone Simon Two musical collaborations came in 1942 with his version of Blossom Time starring Richard Tauber as Franz Schubert at the Lyric Theatre and his London Coliseum production of the musical play The Belle of New York He also wrote and directed The Dark River at the Whitehall Theatre in 1943 starring Peggy Ashcroft He joined Robert Newton as co authors of Cupid and Mars 1945 and A Multitude of Sins 1951 The first staging of his large cast drama The Pink Room or The Escapists in Brighton and then at the Lyric Hammersmith in London on 18 June 1952 was largely financed by Terence Rattigan who liked the play and believed it deserved a London production The Pink Room was a tragi comedy set in the summer of 1945 in a seedy London club based on the French Club in Soho 2 It received a severe critical panning and after that apart from one further play and an adaptation it led to the playwright s more than 30 year virtual absence According to its director Frith Banbury When the play failed Terry never wanted to see Rodney again However following the abolition of the Lord Chamberlain s play licensing in 1968 Ackland was able to rewrite aspects of this play re titling it Absolute Hell It was performed in its new form in 1988 to considerable success at the Orange Tree Theatre Richmond upon Thames directed by Sam Walters and John Gardyne and starring Polly Hemingway and David Rintoul In 1991 it was adapted and directed for BBC 2 by Anthony Page starring Dame Judi Dench The play was revived by Page at the National Theatre in 1995 again with Dench in the leading role In 2018 the National staged another revival directed by Joe Hill Gibbins and starring Kate Fleetwood 3 See also Nick Smurthwaite s theatre profile of Ackland for The Stage Revival of a Realist 5 February 2004 1 Film career EditRodney Ackland s first contact with Alfred Hitchcock was as a supporting actor in The Skin Game 1931 a screen version of the John Galsworthy play 4 Hitchcock however recognised his potential as a screenwriter and collaborating with him on the second film adaptation of J Jefferson Farjeon s London fog bound thriller Number Seventeen 1932 starring Leon M Lion 5 Ackland co wrote the British film Bank Holiday 1938 contributed additional dialogue to Young Man s Fancy 1940 and made some uncredited contributions to Dangerous Moonlight 1941 and Love Story 1944 6 His screenplay for Hatter s Castle 1942 from the novel by A J Cronin provided a rampant star role for Robert Newton as the megalomaniac Scottish hatter 7 He shared with Emeric Pressburger an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay of 49th Parallel US The Invaders 1941 starring Raymond Massey and Eric Portman 8 Ackland is credited with discovering the actress Sally Ann Howes the child of neighbour Bobby Howes when he insisted that she audition for his film Thursday s Child 1943 which he both wrote and directed He renewed his association with Pressburger with the two men co writing the screenplay for the thriller Wanted for Murder 1946 mainly intended as a film vehicle for Eric Portman playing a man obsessed by his father s role as the public hangman Around the same time he made Temptation Harbour 1947 the first adaptation of Georges Simenon s novel Newhaven Dieppe directed by Lance Comfort again with Robert Newton He twice collaborated with Rattigan as a screenwriter on the Anthony Asquith film Uncensored 1942 starring Eric Portman and for the Associated British production of Bond Street 1948 an anthology film consisting of four stories about a wedding trousseau Neither Ackland nor Rattigan were credited on the latter film His final work for the cinema was on the screenplay for The Queen of Spades 1949 an adaptation of Alexander Pushkin s short story Ackland intended to direct the film but fell out with the producer Anatole de Grunwald and star Anton Walbrook Thorold Dickinson took over at short notice and rewrote Ackland s script with the help of de Grunwald 9 Assisted by a co author Elspeth Grant Ackland wrote his memoirs The Celluloid Mistress or The Custard Pie of Dr Caligari published by Alan Wingate in London in 1954 Plays Edit John Gielgud and Dolly Haas in the 1947 Broadway production of Ackland s stage dramatization of Crime and Punishment Improper People 1929 Marion Ella and Dance With No Music 1930 Strange Orchestra 1931 2 Ballerina adapted from Eleanor Smith s novel 1933 Birthday 1934 The Old Ladies adapted from Hugh Walpole s 1924 novel 1935 After October and Plot Twenty One 1936 Yes My Darling Daughter an English version of the American comedy by Mark Reed 1937 The White Guard adapted from the Russian of Mikhail Bulgakov 1938 Remembrance of Things Past 1938 Sixth Floor an English version of the play by Alfred Gehri 1939 Blossom Time with music by Franz Schubert 1942 The Dark River 1943 Crime and Punishment adapted from Dostoevsky 1946 Diary of a Scoundrel or Too Clever By Half adapted from Alexander Ostrovsky 1948 Before the Party adapted from the story by W Somerset Maugham 1949 10 The Pink Room or The Escapists 1945 first staged in 1952 rewritten as Absolute Hell 1987 A Dead Secret 1957 Farewell Farewell Eugene adapted from John Vari s original play 1959 Selected filmography EditShadows 1931 Keep Smiling 1938 Under Your Hat 1940 References EditWho s Who in the Theatre 17th edition Gale 1981 ISBN 0 8103 0235 7 for Ackland s own authoritative CV The Oxford Companion to English Literature ed Margaret Drabble OUP 1995 ISBN 0 19 866221 1 The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Literature in English ed Jenny Stringer OUP 1996 ISBN 0 19 212271 1 Terence Rattigan a Biography by Geoffrey Wansell Fourth Estate 1995 ISBN 1 85702 201 7 A Dictionary of Writers and Their Work by Michael Cox OUP 2002 ISBN 0 19 866249 1 The Macmillan International Film Encyclopedia by Ephraim Katz Macmillan 1994 ISBN 0 333 61601 4 Halliwell s Film Video and DVD Guide by John Walker HarperCollins 2004 ISBN 0 00 719081 6 Theatre Record archived reviews of Absolute Hell 1988 and 1995 J C Trewin and Wendy Trewin The Arts Theatre London 1927 1981 1986 ISBN 0 85430 041 4 Notes Edit William D Rubinstein Michael Jolles Hilary L Rubinstein The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo Jewish History Palgrave Macmillan 2011 p 13 The Oxford Companion to English Literature 6th Edition Edited by Margaret Drabble Oxford University Press 2000 Pp 4 Billington Michael 26 April 2018 Absolute Hell review postwar Soho gets a Weimar makeover The Guardian Taylor John Russell 16 April 2013 Hitch The Life and Times of Alfred Hitchcock A amp C Black ISBN 9781448211616 via Google Books Number Seventeen 1932 Alfred Hitchcock Cast and Crew AllMovie Rodney Ackland BFI Hatter s Castle 1941 Lance Comfort Cast and Crew AllMovie 49th Parallel 1941 Emeric Pressburger Michael Powell Awards AllMovie Sinyard Neil 2003 14 Queen of Spades The 1949 BFI Screenonline Retrieved 27 January 2021 Before the Party for Adelaide s Independent Theatre Stage Whispers April 2017 Retrieved 9 January 2023 External links EditRodney Ackland at IMDb Rodney Ackland at the Internet Broadway Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rodney Ackland amp oldid 1148626806, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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