''The Terror'' is a 1927 mystery thriller play by the British writer

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer of crime and adventure fiction. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was ...

. It is based on Wallace's 1926 novel '' The Black Abbot''. It premiered at the Winter Gardens Theatre in New Brighton, before beginning a run of 246 performances at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End. The original cast included John Turnbull,

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life ...

Franklyn Bellamy Franklyn Bellamy (7 March 1886 in Kuala Lumpur – 15 February 1961 in Bodmin) was an English stage and film actor. In 1924 he appeared in Frederick Lonsdale's melodrama '' The Fake'' in the West End. Partial filmography * '' For Her People'' ...

Dennis Neilson-Terry Dennis Neilson-Terry (21 October 1895 – 14 July 1932) was a British actor, theatre manager and producer, who starred in a number of films between 1917 and 1932. He was the son of the actor Fred Terry and his wife, the actress Julia Neilson. ...

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

and Mary Glynne.Wearing p.514

Film adaptations

In 1928 it was turned into an early

sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

The Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to ...

'' by the American studio

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

. This was followed in 1934 ''

Return of the Terror ''Return of the Terror'' is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Howard Bretherton and written by Peter Milne and Eugene Solow. The film stars Mary Astor, Lyle Talbot, John Halliday, and Frank McHugh, and features Robert Barrat and Irving P ...

'', which was neither a sequel nor a remake but was loosely-inspired by the original play. In 1938 the play was adapted into a British film ''

'' starring Wilfrid Lawson,

Linden Travers Florence Lindon-Travers (27 May 1913 – 23 October 2001 Ronald Bergan ), known professionally as Linden Travers, was a British actress. Early life and career Travers was born in Houghton-le-Spring, City of Sunderland, County Durham, the ...

and

Bernard Lee John Bernard Lee (10 January 190816 January 1981) was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films. Lee's film career spanned the years 1934 to 1979, though he had appeared on stage from ...

, shot at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Kabatchnik, Amnon. ''Blood on the Stage, 1975-2000: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2012. * Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1927 plays Plays by Edgar Wallace Plays set in England British plays adapted into films West End plays {{1920s-play-stub