''Blackmail'' is a 1928 thriller play by the British writer Charles Bennett. In

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, an artist's model kills an artist when he attempts to assault her. It ran for 38 performances at the Globe Theatre in London's West End. Directed by Raymond Massey, was the playwright's first West End production, chosen by the impresario Albert H. Woods as a vehicle for the American star

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's '' L ...

. In the event it was shortest British run Bankhead had been in. It was initially considered a disappointment and Woods never staged the play on

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 Stree ...

. However, over the following decade it became a popular work on tour in Britain and Ireland.

Adaptation

The following year it was made into '' Blackmail'', a pioneering early

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with 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, but decades passed before ...

directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring

Anny Ondra Anny Ondra (born Anna Sophie Ondráková; 15 May 1903 – 28 February 1987) was a Czech film actress. She began her career in 1920 and appeared in Czech, German, Austrian, French and English films. In 1933, she married German boxing champion M ...

.Goble p.35 It was also novelised by Ruth Alexander.

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Kabatchnik, Amnon. ''Blood on the Stage, 1925-1950: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery and Detection''. Scarecrow Press, 2010. * Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1928 plays Plays by Charles Bennett Thriller plays British plays adapted into films Plays set in London West End plays {{1920s-play-stub