''No Orchids for Miss Blandish'' is a 1942 British stage adaptation by

James Hadley Chase James Hadley Chase (24 December 1906 – 6 February 1985) was an English writer. While his birth name was René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, he was well known by his various pseudonyms, including James Hadley Chase, James L. Docherty, Raymond ...

and Robert Nesbitt of Chase's 1939 novel of the same name. It ran for 203 performances at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

in the West End. The play starred

Robert Newton Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...

as Slim Grisson,

Mary Clare Mary Clare Absalom (17 July 1892 – 29 August 1970) was a British actress of stage, film and television. Biography Daughter of George Alfred Absalom, Clare was educated at Wood Green secondary school, first worked in an office but a loan ...

as Ma Grisson, and

Linden Travers Florence Lindon-Travers (27 May 1913 – 23 October 2001 Ronald Bergan ), known professionally as Linden Travers, was a British actress. Early life and career Travers was born in Houghton-le-Spring, City of Sunderland, County Durham, the ...

, who reprised her role as Miss Blandish in the 1948 film adaptation. The stage version was well received, particularly in comparison to the film, which was widely denounced as salacious due to the film's portrayal of violence and sexuality. The story, set in Kansas City, follows the wealthy American Miss Blandish who is kidnapped after a failed robbery, during which her fiance is killed. Her initial captors are subsequently killed during a run-in with another gang, led by Ma Grisson and her son, Slim. Ma sexually molests Miss Blandish and plans to kill her after extorting a ransom from her family. However, Slim opposes his mother's plan as he has fallen in love with Miss Blandish and she subsequently falls in love with Slim. The Blandish family secretary, Mr. Lucie, hires the private detective Dave Fenner to help rescue Miss Blandish. After the bloody rescue attempt, in which Slim is killed, Miss Blandish commits suicide. In 1950, a French adaptation was presented in Paris starring Nicole Riche, Jean-Marc Tennberg, Renée Gardes and Sacha Tarride, which a review in ''Carrefour'' called a masterpiece. Riche disappeared between acts of one of the performances which was canceled and the audience was given their money back. A letter was found in her dressing room condemning her of appearing in an "immoral" production. She appeared two days later stating that she had been kidnapped, released and was found by gypsies in a wood. The story was dismissed by the police as "poppycock" and was seen as an attempt to promote press coverage about the play. In a 1978 revival in Glasgow,

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

played the role of Eddie, one of the goons.

References

{{reflist 1942 plays British plays