''Young Woodley'' is a 1925 play by the British writer

John Van Druten John William Van Druten (1 June 190119 December 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observation ...

. It concerns a schoolboy at a top British public school who falls in love with his headmaster's wife and is eventually expelled. Because of its negative depiction of public school life, and its controversial subject matter, the play originally was banned in the United Kingdom and only staged in 1928. However, it was a major success in the United States, and Van Druten moved there to work. The ban in Britain was lifted, and the play ran for over 400 performances in the West End, making a star of its lead

Frank Lawton Frank Lawton Mokeley (30 September 1904 – 10 June 1969) was an English actor. His parents were stage players Daisy May Collier and Frank Lawton (I). His first major screen credit was ''Young Woodley'' (1930). In the mid-1930s, Lawton appe ...

. It was revived at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world pr ...

, London, in 2007. It was included in

Burns Mantle Robert Burns Mantle (December 23, 1873February 9, 1948) was an American theater critic. He founded the ''Best Plays'' annual publication in 1920.Chansky, Dorothy (2011)"Burns Mantle and the American Theatregoing Public" in ''Theatre History Stu ...

's ''The Best Plays of 1925-1926''.

Adaptations

A 1928 silent version '' Young Woodley'', directed by

Thomas Bentley Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, ''The Man in the Street'' (1926), '' ...

, was made at

Cricklewood Studios Cricklewood Studios, also known as the Stoll Film Studios, were British film studios located in Cricklewood, London which operated from 1920 to 1938. Run by Sir Oswald Stoll as the principal base for his newly formed Stoll Pictures, which als ...

but never released. In 1930 the play was adapted into a film by

British International Pictures Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

. It was directed again by Bentley with Lawton's reprising his stage role. It also starred

Madeleine Carroll Edith Madeleine Carroll (26 February 1906 – 2 October 1987) was an English actress, popular both in Britain and America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress. Carroll is rememb ...

and

Sam Livesey Samuel Livesey (14 October 1873 – 7 November 1936) was a Welsh stage and film actor. Life Livesey's father, Thomas, had been a railway engineer before leaving the industry to establish a travelling theatre with his wife Mary. The two had six ...

. The film is notable for its staginess and was not a success with audiences.Richards p.314

Bibliography

* * * Richards, Jeffrey. ''The Age of the Dream Palace: Cinema and Society in Britain, 1930-1939''. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984.

References

External links

Full text of the play
at HathiTrust Digital Library Plays by John Van Druten 1925 plays British plays adapted into films Plays set in England {{1920s-play-stub