Benn Wolfe Levy (7 March 1900 – 7 December 1973) was a Labour Party Member of Parliament in the House of Commons (1945–1950), and a successful playwright. He was educated at Repton School and University College, Oxford and served in uniform in both World Wars.

Playwright and parliamentarian

Before entering politics, Levy was a successful playwright and screenwriter. He was the dialogue writer for ''

Blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

'' (1929); directed by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

, it was the first British sound film. Later, he wrote the adapted screenplay for James Whale's macabre horror film '' The Old Dark House'' (1932) in collaboration with

R. C. Sherriff Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA, FRSL (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer best known for his play '' Journey's End'', which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many nov ...

, based on the novel ''Benighted'' (1927) by J. B. Priestley. Levy directed one film, ''

Lord Camber's Ladies ''Lord Camber's Ladies'' (1932) is a British drama film directed by Benn W. Levy, produced by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Gerald du Maurier, Gertrude Lawrence, Benita Hume, and Nigel Bruce. Plot An aristocrat marries a singer, but then tries ...

'' (1932), which was the only film produced by Hitchcock which he did not himself direct. Levy was first elected at the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

, for the

Eton and Slough Eton and Slough was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post voting system. History The House of Commons (Redi ...

constituency, and stood down at the 1950 general election. Politically, Levy was on the left of the Labour Party and later became an active member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. As a sympathiser with the Zionist movement, he also opposed Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin over Bevin's policies towards

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and Israel. As an MP, Levy made an unsuccessful effort to abolish theatrical censorship in Britain, and towards the end of his life, he was the principal author of a report opposing the arguments for censorship made by Lord Longford, the anti-pornography campaigner. He was married for more than 40 years to the American-born screen and stage actress Constance Cummings; the couple had one daughter and one son. Levy's papers are held at the University of Sussex library.

Credits

Plays

Plays written by Levy: *''This Woman Business'' (1925) *''Mud and Treacle'' (1928) *''A Man with Red Hair'' (1928) *''Mrs Moonlight'' (1928) *''Art and Mrs Bottle'' (1929) *''Topaz'' (1930) *''Ever Green'' (1930) *''Springtime for Henry'' (1931) *''

Hollywood Holiday ''Hollywood Holiday'' is a comedy play by the British writers John Van Druten and Benn Levy. It is a satire on Hollywood scriptwriting, and sees a female playwright's script turned into half a dozen unrecognisable screenplays. It ran at the Ne ...

'' with John van Druten (1931) *''The Devil Passes'' (1932) *''Young Madame Conti'' with

Hubert Griffiths Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers. ...

(1936) *''Madame Bovary'' (1937) *''If I Were You'' (1938) *''The Jealous God'' (1939) *''Clutterbuck'' (1946) * '' Return to Tyassi'' (1950) *''Rape of the Belt'' (1957)

Selected filmography

Director * ''

'' (1932) produced by

Screenwriter * ''

The Hate Ship ''The Hate Ship'' is a 1929 British mystery film directed by Norman Walker and starring Jameson Thomas, Jean Colin and Jack Raine. It was made at Elstree Studios by British International Pictures.Wood p.67 Cast * Jameson Thomas as Vernon Wolfe ...

'' (1929) * '' The Informer'' (1929) * '' Waterloo Bridge'' (1931), directed by James Whale * ''

Devil and the Deep ''Devil and the Deep'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Marion Gering, based on Maurice Larrouy's novel (''Sirenes et Tritons''), and starring Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton and Cary Grant. It follows a naval ...

'' (1932) * '' The Old Dark House'' (1932), directed by James Whale * '' Topaze'' (1933) directed by

Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast (6 May 1897 – 17 March 1968) was an Argentinean born, French screenwriter and director. Life d'Abbadie d'Arrast was born in Argentina in 1893 to a family of French aristocratic origins. He moved to the United States i ...

* '' Unfinished Symphony'' (1934) directed by Anthony Asquith * '' The Dictator'' (1935) directed by Victor Saville

References

External links

*
''Mrs. Moonlight''
on Lux Radio Theater: 26 June 1939
''Mrs. Moonlight''
on Theater of Romance: 30 August 1943 *
Parliamentary Archives, Papers of Benn Wolfe Levy, MP MBE (1900–1973)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Benn Government and politics of Slough Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People from Slough 1900 births 1973 deaths UK MPs 1945–1950 Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Navy personnel of World War II People educated at Repton School Alumni of University College, Oxford British dramatists and playwrights Jewish British politicians