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Rope (play)

May 20, 2023

Rope, retitled Rope's End for its American release, is a 1929 English play by Patrick Hamilton. It was said to be inspired by the real-life murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks in 1924 by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb.

In formal terms, it is a well-made play with a three-act dramatic structure that adheres to the classical unities. Its action is continuous, punctuated only by the curtain fall at the end of each act. It may also be considered a thriller.[1] Samuel French published the play in 1929.[2]

Plot and setting

The play is set on the first floor of a house in Mayfair, London in 1929. The story concerns two young university students, Wyndham Brandon and Charles Granillo (whom Brandon calls "Granno"), who have murdered fellow student Ronald Kentley as an expression of their supposed intellectual superiority. At the beginning of the play, they hide Kentley's body in a chest. They proceed to host a party for his friends and family at which the locked chest containing his corpse is used to serve a buffet. Suspicion arises among the guests as to the content of the chest. After the party, one guest, a former professor of the murderers, returns and contrives to open the chest. He is shocked and ashamed that they have acted in response to his own declarations of amorality. The play ends with this quandary unresolved.

Production history

Rope was first presented by The Repertory Players in a Sunday night try-out production at the Strand Theatre, London, on 3 March 1929.[2] The following month the play opened in the West End at the Ambassadors Theatre on 25 April 1929.[2] The production ran for six months. Retitled Rope's End, the first Broadway production opened at the John Golden Theatre (then called the Theatre Masque) on 13 September 1929. On 16 December 2009, a revival of Rope began at the Almeida Theatre in London, in a production directed by Roger Michell.

The 1929 London productions

Strand Theatre

Ambassadors' Theatre

Directed by Reginald Denham.

The 1929 Broadway production

  • Charles Granillo - Ivan Brandt
  • Leila Arden - Margaret Delamere
  • Kenneth Raglan - Hugh Dempster
  • Sir Johnstone Kentley - Samuels Lysons
  • Rupert Cadell - Ernest Milton
  • Mrs. Debenham - Nora Nicholson
  • Wyndham Brandon - Sebastian Shaw
  • Sabot - John Trevor

Directed by Reginald Denham

Film and TV adaptations

The play was first broadcast on experimental live television by the BBC, on 8 March 1939. It was adapted by Hamilton, produced by Dallas Bower, and used long takes. Director Alfred Hitchcock later said he saw (or heard about) the long takes of this television production and was inspired to attempt a feature film version.[citation needed] Another version was broadcast on the British commercial network ITV in 1957. In different roles, Dennis Price appeared in both versions. A version was made for Australian television in 1959, and aired as part of the series Shell Presents.[3] A different version for Australian television aired in 1957.[4]

In Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 film version, Rope, Hitchcock, Hume Cronyn, and Arthur Laurents made some changes to the original stage play. The setting is relocated to the 1940s New York City and the names of all of the characters, with the exception of Rupert Cadell, are altered. Quiet Mrs. Debenham became cheerful Mrs. Atwater. The murder victim is renamed David Kentley. In the original play, Rupert Cadell is a 29-year-old First World War veteran, who walks with a stick. He was a teacher of Brandon and Granillo when they were at school. In the film, Cadell is played by James Stewart, who was forty at the time. In this version, Cadell had been the teacher of Brandon Shaw, Philip Morgan, Kenneth Lawrence, and David Kentley, and is currently a publisher. Hitchcock's is the only feature film version of the play to-date.

In 1983, Rope was dramatised as a BBC Radio 4 Drama for Saturday Night Theatre, starring Alan Rickman as Cadell.

References

  1. ^ "A bitter look at the sourness of male desire in Rope", Evening Standard, 17 December 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Patrick Hamilton, Rope (London: Samuel French, 2003). ISBN 0-573-01989-4.
  3. ^ "The Age -". Google News. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Vol. 19 No. 34 (21 August 1957)". ABC Weekly. Retrieved 24 May 2022.

External links

May 20, 2023
rope, play, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, rope, play, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, jul. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Rope play news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Rope retitled Rope s End for its American release is a 1929 English play by Patrick Hamilton It was said to be inspired by the real life murder of 14 year old Bobby Franks in 1924 by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb In formal terms it is a well made play with a three act dramatic structure that adheres to the classical unities Its action is continuous punctuated only by the curtain fall at the end of each act It may also be considered a thriller 1 Samuel French published the play in 1929 2 Contents 1 Plot and setting 2 Production history 2 1 The 1929 London productions 2 1 1 Strand Theatre 2 1 2 Ambassadors Theatre 2 2 The 1929 Broadway production 3 Film and TV adaptations 4 References 5 External linksPlot and setting EditThe play is set on the first floor of a house in Mayfair London in 1929 The story concerns two young university students Wyndham Brandon and Charles Granillo whom Brandon calls Granno who have murdered fellow student Ronald Kentley as an expression of their supposed intellectual superiority At the beginning of the play they hide Kentley s body in a chest They proceed to host a party for his friends and family at which the locked chest containing his corpse is used to serve a buffet Suspicion arises among the guests as to the content of the chest After the party one guest a former professor of the murderers returns and contrives to open the chest He is shocked and ashamed that they have acted in response to his own declarations of amorality The play ends with this quandary unresolved Production history EditRope was first presented by The Repertory Players in a Sunday night try out production at the Strand Theatre London on 3 March 1929 2 The following month the play opened in the West End at the Ambassadors Theatre on 25 April 1929 2 The production ran for six months Retitled Rope s End the first Broadway production opened at the John Golden Theatre then called the Theatre Masque on 13 September 1929 On 16 December 2009 a revival of Rope began at the Almeida Theatre in London in a production directed by Roger Michell The 1929 London productions Edit Strand Theatre Edit Wyndham Brandon Sebastian Shaw Charles Granillo Anthony Ireland Sabot Frederick Burtwell Kenneth Raglan Hugh Dempster Leila Arden Betty Schuster Sir Johnstone Kentley Daniel Roe Mrs Debenham Ruth Taylor Rupert Cadell Robert HolmesAmbassadors Theatre Edit Wyndham Brandon Brian Aherne Charles Granillo Anthony Ireland Sabot Stafford Hilliard Kenneth Raglan Patrick Waddington Leila Arden Lilian Oldland Sir Johnstone Kentley Paul Gill Mrs Debenham Alix Frizell Rupert Cadell Ernest MiltonDirected by Reginald Denham The 1929 Broadway production Edit Charles Granillo Ivan Brandt Leila Arden Margaret Delamere Kenneth Raglan Hugh Dempster Sir Johnstone Kentley Samuels Lysons Rupert Cadell Ernest Milton Mrs Debenham Nora Nicholson Wyndham Brandon Sebastian Shaw Sabot John TrevorDirected by Reginald DenhamFilm and TV adaptations EditThe play was first broadcast on experimental live television by the BBC on 8 March 1939 It was adapted by Hamilton produced by Dallas Bower and used long takes Director Alfred Hitchcock later said he saw or heard about the long takes of this television production and was inspired to attempt a feature film version citation needed Another version was broadcast on the British commercial network ITV in 1957 In different roles Dennis Price appeared in both versions A version was made for Australian television in 1959 and aired as part of the series Shell Presents 3 A different version for Australian television aired in 1957 4 In Alfred Hitchcock s 1948 film version Rope Hitchcock Hume Cronyn and Arthur Laurents made some changes to the original stage play The setting is relocated to the 1940s New York City and the names of all of the characters with the exception of Rupert Cadell are altered Quiet Mrs Debenham became cheerful Mrs Atwater The murder victim is renamed David Kentley In the original play Rupert Cadell is a 29 year old First World War veteran who walks with a stick He was a teacher of Brandon and Granillo when they were at school In the film Cadell is played by James Stewart who was forty at the time In this version Cadell had been the teacher of Brandon Shaw Philip Morgan Kenneth Lawrence and David Kentley and is currently a publisher Hitchcock s is the only feature film version of the play to date In 1983 Rope was dramatised as a BBC Radio 4 Drama for Saturday Night Theatre starring Alan Rickman as Cadell References Edit A bitter look at the sourness of male desire in Rope Evening Standard 17 December 2009 Retrieved 23 March 2016 a b c Patrick Hamilton Rope London Samuel French 2003 ISBN 0 573 01989 4 The Age Google News Retrieved 27 January 2020 Vol 19 No 34 21 August 1957 ABC Weekly Retrieved 24 May 2022 External links Edit Rope s End at the Internet Broadway Database 1939 BBC TV version at IMDB 1952 Best Plays radio adaptation of play at Internet Archive 1957 ITV version at IMDB Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rope play amp oldid 1155729580, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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