''His Excellency'' is a 1950 play by the British writers Campbell Christie and

Dorothy Christie Campbell Christie (1893–1963) was an Indian-born British playwright and screenwriter who frequently collaborated with his wife Dorothy Christie on plays such as '' Carrington V.C.'', ''His Excellency'' and '' Someone at the Door''. Early life ...

. A former docker takes over as the British governor of an island

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. It premiered at the

Grand Theatre, Leeds The Grand Theatre, also known as Leeds Grand Theatre and Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, is a theater (building), theatre and opera house in Briggate, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It seats approximately 1,500 people. Building It was ...

before transferring to the West End where it ran for 453 performances between 23 May 1950 and 23 June 1951 initially at the Princes Theatre before moving to the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at the junction of Denman Street and Sherwood Street, near Piccadilly Circus, in the City of Westminster, London. It opened in 1928. In its early years the theatre presented a wide range of ...

. The play starred

Eric Portman Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in three films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s. Early life Born in Halifax, ...

later replaced by

Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit (born Donald Woolfitt; 20 April 1902 – 17 February 1968) was an English actor-manager, known for his touring productions of Shakespeare. He was especially renowned for his portrayal of King Lear. Born to a conventional midd ...

in the title role,

Clive Morton Clive Morton (16 March 1904 – 24 September 1975) was an English actor. Best known for playing upper class Englishmen, he made many screen appearances, especially on television. Career In 1955, Morton appeared in Laurence Olivier's film vers ...

, John Wood,

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

Arnold Bell Arnold Bell (23 May 1901 – 12 March 1988) was a British actor. Selected filmography * '' Convict 99'' (1919) − Warder Gannawy * '' Doctor Josser K.C.'' (1931) * '' Josser in the Army'' (1932) − Becker * '' Doss House'' (1933) − Repor ...

, Sebastian Shaw,

Michael Shepley Arthur Michael Shepley-Smith (29 September 1907 – 28 September 1961), known professionally as Michael Shepley, was a British actor, appearing in theatre, film and some television between 1929 and 1961. He was born in Plymouth, Devon. Shepl ...

and

Annabel Maule Margaret Annabel Maule (born 8 September 1922) is a British retired actress, notable in theatre, radio, television and film. She played in several films and television series including numerous characters in ''Sunday Night Theatre'' and appeared ...

Adaptation

In 1952 it was adapted into a film of the same title directed by

Robert Hamer Robert Hamer (31 March 1911 – 4 December 1963) was a British film director and screenwriter best known for the 1949 black comedy ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' and the now acknowledged 1947 classic '' It Always Rains on Sunday''. Biography Ham ...

with Portman reprising his role and a cast that also included

Cecil Parker Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe; 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between 1 ...

and

Susan Stephen Susan Rennie Stephen (16 July 1931 – 21 April 2000) was an English film actress born in London. In her teens she pursued TV roles, subsequently moving to feature films, mainly in B-films in the 1950s. She appeared in more than 20 films i ...

.Goble p.83

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1950 plays West End plays British plays adapted into films {{1950s-play-stub