''Seventh Heaven'' was one of the most popular

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

plays of the 1920s.

Production

''Seventh Heaven'' was written by Austin Strong and produced by

John Golden John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for " Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four film ...

. It ran at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the It ...

from October 30, 1922, to July 1924 for a total of 704 performances. The leads were played by

George Gaul George Gaul (September 22, 1885 – October 6, 1939) was an American stage actor in the first half of the 20th century. As far as is known Gaul never appeared in motion pictures but was one America's most successful stage actors in the 1920s. He ...

as Chico and

Helen Menken Helen Menken (née Meinken; December 12, 1901 – March 27, 1966) was an American stage actress. Early years Menken was born in New York City to a German-French father, Frederick Meinken, and an Irish-born mother, Mary Madden. Both of her pare ...

as Diane. Also in the cast of the play was

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

as Brissac.

Cast

as Diane *

as Chico *

as Brissac *Herbert Druce as Boul' *Alfred Kappeler as Maximalian Gobin *Marion Kerby as Nana *William Post as Pere Chevillon *Isabel West as Aunt Valentine *Harry Forsman as Uncle Georges *Fred Holloway as The Rat *Beatrice Noyes as Arlette *Bernard Thornton as Recan *Lionel Joseph as Lamplighter *

Richard Carlyle Richard Carlyle (March 20, 1914 – November 15, 2009) was a film, television and Broadway actor. Early years Carlyle was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. His education included attendance at Sherwood Dramatic Art School and the Art ...

as Blonde *John Clements as Sergeant of Police

Plot

Young girl Diane is falling in love with Chico during World War I in France.

Adaptations

Two films have been made based on the original Broadway play. A 1927

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

of the same title based on Strong's play was adapted for the screen by

Benjamin Glazer Benjamin F. Glazer (May 7, 1887 – March 18, 1956) was a screenwriter, producer, Foley artist, and director of American films from the 1920s through the 1950s. He made the first translation of author / playwright Ferenc Molnár's play '' Li ...

and directed by

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage ( né Borzaga; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director for his film ''7th Heaven ...

. A 1937 remake was produced as a sound film starring

Simone Simon Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon (23 April 1910 or 1911 – 22 February 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931. She is perhaps best remembered for her role in the American horror film ''Cat People (1942 film), Cat Peop ...

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

Jean Hersholt Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is most famous for starring on the CBS radio series '' Dr. Christian'' from 1937–1954, which later inspired a TV se ...

, and

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in ''All About Eve'' (195 ...

, with Henry King directing. In 1955 the musical adaptation ''Seventh Heaven'' opened on Broadway starring

Gloria DeHaven Gloria Mildred DeHaven (July 23, 1925 – July 30, 2016) was an American actress and singer who was a contract star for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Early life DeHaven was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actor-director Carter De ...

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG ( ; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became widely known for performances ...

and

Kurt Kasznar Kurt Kasznar (born Kurt Servischer; August 13, 1913 – August 6, 1979) was an Austrian-American stage, film and television actor who played roles on Broadway, appearing in the original Broadway productions of '' Waiting for Godot'', ''The ...

Bea Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress, comedienne and singer. She began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work o ...

Chita Rivera Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero (January 23, 1933 – January 30, 2024), known professionally as Chita Rivera, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Rivera received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awa ...

and

Gerrianne Raphael Gerrianne Raphael is an American stage, screen, and voice-over actress. Though much of her career has been spent in the theatre, she is perhaps best known for her major role as the voice of Pumyra in ''ThunderCats''. Personal life Gerrianne Ra ...

were also in the cast. It ran for only 44 performances.

References

External links

Full text
at the Internet Archive * {{IBDB title, 9142, Seventh Heaven 1922 plays Broadway plays American plays adapted into films Plays set in Paris Plays about World War I