''The Vinegar Tree'' is an early play by the American playwright

Paul Osborn Paul Osborn (September 4, 1901 – May 12, 1988) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Osborn's original plays are '' The Vinegar Tree'', ''Oliver Oliver'', and '' Morning's at Seven'' and among his several successful adaptations, '' On Bo ...

. It is a light comedy of manners and opened in 1930 at the Playhouse in New York starring

Mary Boland Mary Boland (born Marie Anne Boland; January 28, 1882 – June 23, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Boland was the daughter of repertory actor William Augustus Boland, and his wife ...

and

Warren William Warren William (born Warren William Krech; December 2, 1894 – September 24, 1948) was a Broadway and Hollywood actor, immensely popular during the early 1930s; he was later nicknamed the "King of Pre-Code". He was the first actor to play Per ...

. In the review from the New York Times,

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theater critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...

called Mary Boland's performance "a great treat for an audience that laughed until it burst its stays at The Playhouse last evening." ''The Vinegar Tree'' was revived successfully at the York Theater in 1988 with

Frances Cuka Frances Cuka (21 August 193616 February 2020) was an English actress, principally on television, whose career spanned over sixty years. In her later years, she was best known for playing Grandma in the sitcom ''Friday Night Dinner'' from 2011 to ...

Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, the ''New York Post''. Barnes had sign ...

remarked in his review, "The misunderstandings are all very well understood, but what gives Osborn's play its finesse and glitter is the neatness of its writing and the sheer style of its construction as well as the observation and comic insight Osborn brings to his characters"NY Post January 19, 1988 Clive Barnes ''The Vinegar Tree'' was made into a movie called '' Should Ladies Behave?'' in 1933 with

Alice Brady Alice Brady (born Mary Rose Brady; November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress of stage and film. She began her career in the theatre in 1911, and her first important success came on Broadway in 1912 when she created the rol ...

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blyth; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

Conway Tearle Conway Tearle (born Frederick Conway Levy, May 17, 1878 – October 1, 1938) was an American stage actor who went on to perform in silent film, silent and early sound films. Early life Tearle was born on May 17, 1878, in New York City, the ...

Katherine Alexander Katharine Alexander (sometimes Katherine; September 22, 1897 – January 10, 1981) was an American actress on stage and screen. She appeared in 44 films between 1930 and 1951. Biography Alexander was born on September 22, 1897, in Fort Smith, ...

Mary Carlisle Mary Carlisle (born Gwendolyn Witter; February 3, 1914 – August 1, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer, best known for her roles as a wholesome ingénue in numerous 1930s musical-comedy films. She starred in more than 60 Holly ...

William Janney William Janney (born Russell Dixon Janney, February 15, 1908 – December 22, 1992) was an American actor who appeared in 39 films between 1929 and 1937. He was the son of author and theatrical producer Russell Janney,(28 December 1940)William ...

Halliwell Hobbes Herbert Halliwell Hobbes (16 November 187720 February 1962) was an English actor. Early years Hobbes's schooling came at Trinity College in Stratford-upon-Avon. Career Hobbes's stage debut was as a member of Frank Benson's company, in th ...

. The screenwriters were

Bella and Samuel Spewack Bella (25 March 1899 – 27 April 1990) and Samuel Spewack (16 September 1899 – 14 October 1971) were a writing team. Samuel, who also directed many of their plays, was born in Bachmut, Ukraine. He attended Stuyvesant High School in New Yor ...

and the director was

Harry Beaumont Harry Beaumont (10 February 1888 – 22 December 1966) was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He worked for a variety of production companies including 20th Century Fox, Fox, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn, Metro Pictur ...

References

1930 plays American comedy plays American plays adapted into films {{1930s-play-stub