Philip Moeller (26 August 1880 – 26 April 1958) was an American stage producer and director, playwright and screenwriter, born in New York where he helped found the short-lived

Washington Square Players The Washington Square Players (WSP) was a theatre troupe and production company that existed from 1915 to 1918 in Manhattan, New York City. It started as a semi-amateur Little Theatre then matured into a Repertory theatre with its own tourin ...

and then with Lawrence Langner and

Helen Westley Helen Westley (born Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney; March 28, 1875 – December 12, 1942) was an American character actress of stage and screen Early years Westley was born Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney in Brooklyn, New York on March 28, ...

founded the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of th ...

. He was educated at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Directing career

Among plays he directed for the Theatre Guild were: *''

R.U.R. ''R.U.R.'' is a 1920 science-fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek. "R.U.R." stands for (Rossum's Universal Robots, a phrase that has been used as a subtitle in English versions). The play had its world premiere on 2 January 1921 in H ...

'' (1922) *''

The Adding Machine ''The Adding Machine'' is a 1923 play by Elmer Rice; it has been called "... a landmark of American Expressionism, reflecting the growing interest in this highly subjective and nonrealistic form of modern drama." Plot The author of this play t ...

'' (1923) *''

The Guardsman ''The Guardsman'' is a 1931 American pre-Code film based on the play '' Testőr'' by Ferenc Molnár. It stars Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Roland Young and ZaSu Pitts. It opens with a stage re-enactment of the final scene of Maxwell Anderson's ' ...

'' (1924) *'' They Knew What They Wanted'' (1924) *''Ned McCobb's Daughter'' (1926) *''The Second Man'' (1927) *''

Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill began work on it as early as 1923 and developed its scenario in 1925; he wrote the play between May 1926 and the summer of 1927, and complete ...

'' (1928) *''Meteor'' (1929) *''

Dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundati ...

'' (1929) *''Hotel Universe'' (1930) *''Elizabeth the Queen'' (1930) *''

Mourning Becomes Electra ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932, starring Lee Baker ...

'' (1931 - its first production) *''Biography'' by S. N. Behrman (1932) *''

Ah, Wilderness! ''Ah, Wilderness!'' is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on October 2, 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a ...

'' (1933) *''End of Summer'' (1936)

Playwright

*''The Battlefield'' (1913) presented May 14, 1913 at the Aerial Theatre, on the roof of the New Amsterdam Theatre. *''Two Blind Beggars and One Less Blind: a tragic comedy in one act'' (1915) Debuted on the second bill of Washington Square Players first season. *''Helena's Husband'' (1915) one-act play for Washington Square Players on its second seasons opening night 4 October 1915"The Lesson of the Washington Square Players
" *''The Roadhouse of Arden'' (1916) Debuted on third bill of the Washington Square Players second season. *''Sisters of Susanna'' (1916) Debuted on opening night of Washington Square Players third season. *'' Madame Sand - a biographical comedy'' (1917) Debuted at Academy of Music in Baltimore during October 1917. *''Pokey'' (1917) Debuted on third bill of Washington Square Players fourth season in January 1918. *''

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

'' (1919) Premiered at the

Liberty Theatre The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant and built for Klaw and Erlanger, the partnersh ...

on March 17, 1919. *''Sophie - a comedy'' (1919) *''Caprice'' - adaptation of three-act play by Austrian writer Sil-Vara (pseudonym of Geza Silberer) in 1929.

Filmography

This filmography is believed to be complete. *''

The Age of Innocence ''The Age of Innocence'' is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine '' Pictorial Review''. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. App ...

'' (1934) (director) *'' Break of Hearts'' 1935 (director)

References

External links

Philip Moeller Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

* * * * *
''Philip Moeller of the Theatre Guild : an historical and critical study''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moeller, Philip 1880 births 1953 deaths American theatre directors Writers from New York (state) 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights