Ray bolgers earlier film roles never gave him a fullscale star opportunity, but. This 1952 film version also boasts original cast members allyn ann mclerie as amy and horace cooper as old spettigue. Charley s aunt is a famous british play which for many years was the staple offering of every english high school drama class. Here we have the first film in our survey that preserves an original bway performance of distinction and repute. Spettigue paul england sir francis chesney jane lawrence donna lucia dalvadorez allyn ann mclerie amy spettigue doretta morrow kitty verdun. It was an adaptation of the play charleys aunt by brandon thomas. Notable mainly for frank loessers score and ray bolgers spectacular dance. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. With ray bolger, allyn ann mclerie, robert shackleton, horace cooper. May 20, 2015 plus the complete charley davidson series. George abbots book preserves all of the laughs from the recordbreaking play, charlies aunt, upon which the show is based. Although bolgers film work was fairly limited in the post oz years, warner bros.
Complete casting has been announced for charles buschs return to theater for the new city crystal field, executive artistic director in his uproarious new comedy the confession of. The film isnt a comic masterwork but it s a fun way to spend an hour and a half. During the 40s and 50s he made several more films including stage door canteen, four jacks and a jill, the harvey girls, look for the silver lining, where. This was the third of many screen adaptations of charley s aunt, the beloved 19thcentury stage farce. He came to fame in a series of films in which he costarred alternately with gloria jean, peggy ryan, and francis the talking mule.
Ray bolger demonstrates his agility in wheres charley. Based on the classic play charleys aunt, this elegant musical farce pits the ingenious boys against the forces of greed and hypocrisy and greed and hypocrisy dont stand a chance. As far as wheres charley is concerned, jo sullivan loesser has a strong dislike for the film and unless there is a big need for money, then i doubt she is ready to deal. Mostly selftaught, frank loesser grew to become one of the most successful composerlyricists in the history of broadway and film. Once in love with amy from wheres charley 1952 youtube. Subtle matters of accent and style are perhaps the toughest test for a wholly american cast romping through this unmistakably english material, based on the hugely popular 1892 farce charleys aunt, by brandon thomas. This was released on lp and released on an angel cd, available from amazon. The musical debuted on broadway in 1948 and was revived on broadway and in the west end. Even more clips 70, in fact of flicks you cant find on dvd. The 1940 broadway revival that starred jose ferrer as lord fancourt babberly aka donna lucia dalvadorez included in its cast, playing the real donna lucia dalvadorez not lord fancourt babberly was nedda harrigan. In victorianera oxford, a student named charley ray bolger impersonates his wealthy aunt so that his girlfriend allyn ann mclerie and the girlfriend mary germaine of his friend robert shackleton can be chaperoned in their presence but trouble arises when both shackletons father howard marioncrawford and mcleries father horace cooper decide to. Jun 26, 2014 there was a lot of response on social media, as well as by email, to my piece last week on films that are not available on dvd. May 28, 2018 victor garber jack chesney charles grodin lord fancourt babberly anne francis donna lucia dalvadorez vincent gardenia stephen spettigue efrem zimbalist jr.
Charleys aunt is a famous british play which for many years was the staple offering of every english high school drama class. A big success during its original run spawning a seldom seen 1952 film adaptation that featured bolger and his broadway leading lady wheres charley. Seeing the film version or a taped production does not count. An audio recording of the london production has been released, but no cast album of the broadway production was ever made, due to a union dispute. Nov 10, 2018 it has been adapted for film, opera and pantomime, and made into a musical wheres charley. Darynda jones divulges her charley davidson dream cast. Complete, easytofollow instructions for properly taking measurements. From the popular broadway show, a musical adaptation brandon thomas s 1890 s farce about an oxford undergraduate posing as a classmate s aunt from brazil where the nuts come from. Lists choreographers every broadway fan should know.
Charley and jack are expecting their respective beloveds, amy original caster allyn ann mclerie and kitty, as well as charleys aunt, donna lucia dalvadorez. Benny, predating jack lemmon s work in some like it hot, is a marvel as the english earl posing as an oxford classmate s aunt. Nov 03, 2014 a big success during its original run spawning a seldom seen 1952 film adaptation that featured bolger and his broadway leading lady wheres charley. The singing is heavenly, the acting deft and effortlessly charming. It starred ray bolger, allyn ann mclerie and robert shackleton. Charley sneaks off and reappears as himself once more. Jul 28, 2007 sight unseen, i eagerly awaited the release of charley s aunt on disc. Apple tree theatre transferring successful plays from chicago to the suburbs seems like a terrific idea to me. There was a lot of response on social media, as well as by email, to my piece last week on films that are not available on dvd. Original, musical, comedy, broadway opened in new york city oct 11, 1948 and played through sep 9, 1950. Bolger performs, once in love with amy is worth the whole price of admission to this moviethe story, from the play charleys aunt is very humorous and the period locales, london, are. I enjoy the you tube clip of once in love with amy. But i do hope there is a good print in england or argentina.
New york times subscribers enjoy full access to timesmachineview over 150 years of. Dec 26, 2011 actually, no one has seen the dvd yet, but i saw this film a few times in theatres in the late fifties, then a few more times on late night tv, so i feel qualified to critique itthe number mr. Charleys aunt is a 1930 american comedy film directed by al christie and starring charles ruggles, june collyer and hugh williams. Revivals, touring productions, stock productions, amateur productions and school productions count. This was the third of many screen adaptations of charleys aunt, the beloved 19thcentury stage farce. The films cast starred ray bolger, allyn ann mclerie and horace cooper repeating their stage roles, and robert shackleton as jack chesney. Jackie coogan as the oxford coach also holds his own. Meghan markle had no idea what she was getting into says paul burrell good morning britain duration. While the piece has been revived several times with bolger in a limited engagement in 51. The original london cast recording, starring norman wisdom, is the only full recording of the score to date. He has over 50 credits on a number of classics including the 39 steps 1959, khartoum 1966, deliverance 1972, the man with the golden gun 1974 and the omen 1976. However, a kinescope a 16mm film shot off a tv monitor was made to preserve the program.
Ray bolger starred, and sang the popular song once in love with amy. That play was among the most beloved comedies of the first part of the 20th century and it was also among the most performed, to the point that it was fairly long in the tooth by the time jack benny starred in the acclaimed 1941 film version. It is a rollicking farce about undergraduates at oxford university, one of whom, jack benny, disguises himself as anothers aunt from brazil where the. His enthusiasm makes the film more than the sum of it s parts. Ray bolger and allyn ann mclerie in wheres charley. Actually, no one has seen the dvd yet, but i saw this film a few times in theatres in the late fifties, then a few more times on late night tv, so i feel qualified to critique itthe number mr. Information about frank loesser and george abbotts broadway musical, wheres charley, including news and gossip, production information, synopsis, musical numbers, sheetmusic, cds, videos, books, sound and video clips, tickets, lyrics, rights holders, the offical website and more. It is a rollicking farce about undergraduates at oxford university, one of whom, jack benny, disguises himself as another s aunt from brazil where the nuts come from. The story was based on the play charley s aunt by brandon thomas. Information on our fantastic rental discount program offering you up to 15% off your costume rental bill. Then perhaps we could get a documentary on the history of the film included. Bolger allyn ann mclerieand horace cooper reprised their roles in the movie.
In fact, charleys aunt has been performed across the globe for over 100 years and has always enchanted audiences. The last i read on the wac facebook page about where s charley was that they are searching for a decent element for all their elements would not work without a bunch money. There are two where s charley recordings available. Since it was a live broadcast in the days before video, it was only seen on tv that one time. Edmund gwenn was superb in the 1941 film, and hayden, complete with his most nasal voice, admirably holds his own in this playhouse 90 production. It has been adapted for film, opera and pantomime, and made into a musical wheres charley. Richard hayden, the charley of the 1941 film, becomes the avaricious guardian in this live tv adaptation.
Ray bolger had a huge broadway hit with where s charley. May 12, 2006 charleys aunt was broadcast on march 28, 1957. Some scenes in the movie were filmed in oxford, england where the story takes place, yet the movie makes almost no attempt to take advantage of these authentic locations. Prints of the kinescope circulated in home collector circles. In the original brandon thomas version, oxford undergrad lord fancourt babberly was coerced into disguising himself as charleys aunt, from. Notable mainly for frank loesser s score and ray bolger s spectacular dance to once in love with amy. Just leave a comment below and to make it more fun, if youve read the series tell me your favorite spoilerfree part, or let us know if you agree with daryndas dream cast, and by 10pm est, sunday may 24th 2015, i will randomly select one winner for the prize above. Wheres charley would be better served in a pressed dvd collection of lost films and not archive. Feb 28, 2011 sebastian arcelus, jill paice and rob mcclure are among the complete cast of wheres charley. It was an adaptation of the musical wheres charley. Where or when frank sinatra and friends concert collection duration.
Aug 25, 2004 charley and jack are expecting their respective beloveds, amy original caster allyn ann mclerie and kitty, as well as charley s aunt, donna lucia dalvadorez. Bolger performs, once in love with amy is worth the whole price of admission to this moviethe story, from the play charleys aunt is very humorous and the period locales, london, are pleasant. This sunday, september 21, musical theatre west will begin the reiner staged reading series fifth anniversary season with a onetime only performance of wheres charley. Charley wykeham bolger and jack chesney robert shackleton. The first starred sydney chaplin in 1925 and the second released in 1930 featured charlie. Donald david dixon ronald oconnor august 28, 1925 september 27, 2003 was an american actor, dancer, and singer.
His credits include guys and dolls, where s charley. From the popular broadway show, a musical adaptation brandon thomass 1890s farce about an oxford undergraduate posing as a classmates aunt from brazilwhere the nuts come from. The confusion reaches its peak when lord spettigue and jacks father start pursuing the bogusaunt, and charleys real aunt makes an untimely appearance. The rights to musicalize the oftrevived charleys aunt were, in fact, only granted by the authors estate on guarantee of his participation. A complete scenebyscene description of all the costumes needed for each of the characters in the show. George abbots book preserves all of the laughs from the recordbreaking play. In 1892, at oxford universitys commemoration day, roommates jack chesney and charley wykeham invite their girl friends, amy spettigue and kitty verdun, to their rooms for lunch, as charleys rich aunt from brazil, dona lucia dalvadorez, is expected to arrive by train and can act as chaperone. The uproarious peoplepleasing farce has been adapted to film both silent in 1915 and sound in 1930 with the most famous cinematic version starring jack benny in 1941. Nov 17, 2017 lists choreographers every broadway fan should know. The story was based on the play charleys aunt by brandon thomas.