''Goodness, How Sad'' is a play written by the British actor

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, often in ...

, which was first performed in 1937. The work was strongly influenced by Morley's affection for provincial theatre.Richards p.175

Synopsis

A British-born

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

idol returns to a small

seaside town A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

where he had once worked as a struggling actor. The visit awakens nostalgic feelings, and he is cast in a play at the local theatre where nobody recognises him as a famous star. After falling in love with his leading lady, he slowly begins to realise that his attempts to recreate the past are doomed to failure.

Film adaptation

In 1939 the play was adapted into a film directed by

Robert Stevenson Robert, Rob, or Bob Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish writer ("Treasure Island"), grandson of lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenso ...

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. Renamed as ''Return to Yesterday'' the film starred

Clive Brook Clifford Hardman "Clive" Brook (1 June 1887 – 17 November 1974) was an English stage and film actor. After making his first screen appearance in 1920, Brook emerged as a leading British actor in the early 1920s. After moving to the Unit ...

as the Hollywood star and

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, the ...

as the aspiring young actress he falls in love with. The film had a slightly troubled production, and wasn't released until March 1940.

References

Bibliography

* Richards, Jeffrey. ''The Unknown 1930s: An Alternative History of the British Cinema, 1929-1939''. I.B. Tauris, 2000. 1937 plays British plays adapted into films Plays set in England {{1930s-play-stub