''French Without Tears'' is a comic play written by a 25-year-old Terence Rattigan in 1936.

Setting

It takes place in a

cram school A cram school, informally called crammer and colloquially also referred to as test-prep or exam factory, is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high sch ...

for adults needing to acquire

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

for business reasons. Scattered throughout are

Franglais Franglais (; also Frenglish ) is a French blend that referred first to the overuse of English words by French speakers and later to diglossia or the macaronic mixture of French () and English (). Etymology The word ''Franglais'' was first att ...

phrases and schoolboy misunderstandings of the French language. The play was inspired by a 1933 visit to a village called Marxzell in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...

, where young English gentlemen went to cram

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Reception

The play was a success on its London debut, establishing Rattigan as a dramatist. Critics thought it "gay, witty, thoroughly contemporary... with a touch of lovable truth behind all its satire." It ran for over 1,000 performances in London, and over 100 in New York. It also established

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French Without Tears'', in wh ...

as a major star.

Original production

The play, directed by Harold French, opened on 6 November 1936 at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began develop ...

, London, with the following cast: *Alan Howard -

*Brian Curtis -

Guy Middleton Guy Middleton Powell (14 December 1906 – 30 July 1973), better known as Guy Middleton, was an English film character actor. Biography Guy Middleton was born in Hove, Sussex, and originally worked in the London Stock Exchange, before ...

*Commander Bill Rogers - Roland Culver *Diana Lake - Kay Hammond *Jacqueline Maingot -

Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe ...

*Kenneth Lake - Trevor Howard *Kit Neilan - Robert Flemyng *Lord Heybrook - William Dear *Marianne/t/o Jacqueline Maingot - Yvonne Andre *Monsieur Maingot - Percy Walsh

Adaptations

A film version, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

, was released in 1940. In 1960 Rattigan himself refashioned the work as the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

''Joie de Vivre'' but it was not a success. A television production was featured in the '' Saturday Playhouse'' TV series on 7 June 1958, with Denholm Elliott, Elvi Hale,

Colin Broadley Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

, Nicholas Parsons, and Andrew Irvine''Saturday Playhouse''; Episode 12: ''French Without Tears'' (7 June 1958)
''IMDb.com''. Retrieved 10 March 2017. and another in the BBC's '' Play of the Month'' series on 16 May 1976, starring

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war dram ...

Anthony Andrews Anthony Colin Gerald Andrews (born 12 January 1948) is an English actor. He played Lord Sebastian Flyte in the ITV miniseries ''Brideshead Revisited'' (1981), for which he won Golden Globe and BAFTA television awards, and was nominated for ...

, and David Robb.''Play of the Month''; ''French Without Tears'' (16 May 1976)
''bbc.co.uk''. Retrieved 6 December 2014. A radio version directed by Gerry Jones was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 25 December 1986, repeated on 14 May 1989 and 20 July 1992.

References

External links

* 1936 plays Plays by Terence Rattigan West End plays British plays adapted into films {{1930s-play-stub