''Murder on the Second Floor'' is a play by

Frank Vosper Frank Permain Vosper (15 December 1899, in London – 6 March 1937) was an English actor who appeared in both stage and film roles and a dramatist, playwright and screenwriter. Stage Vosper made his stage debut in 1919 and was best known for pl ...

. The 1929 Broadway play was produced by

Albert H. Woods Albert Herman Woods (born Aladore Herman; January 3, 1870 – April 24, 1951) was a Hungarian-born theatrical producer who spent much of his life in the USA. He produced over 140 plays on Broadway, including some of the most successful sho ...

and directed by William Mollison.

Cast

* Charles Brown as Joseph Reynolds *

O. B. Clarence Oliver Burchett Clarence (25 March 1870, Hampstead, London – 2 October 1955, Hove, Sussex) was an English actor. Following his education at Dover College and University College Hospital, he made his stage debut in 1890. His experience includ ...

as Edward Armitage * Florence Edney as Mrs. Rose Armitage *

Phyllis Konstam Phyllis Esther Kohnstamm (14 April 1907 – 20 August 1976), known as Phyllis Konstam, was an English film actress born in London. She appeared in 12 films between 1928 and 1964, including four directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Life Phyllis Est ...

as Sylvia Armitage *

Viola Lyel Viola Lyel (19 December 1896 – 14 August 1972) was an English actress. In a long stage career she appeared in the West End and on Broadway, for leading directors of the day, including Sir Barry Jackson, and Nigel Playfair. Her roles ranged fr ...

as Lucy Timson *

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

as Hugh Bromilow * George Probert as Jam Singh * John R. Turnbull as A Police Inspector * Henry Warwick as A Police Constable * Drusilla Wills as Miss Snell

Adaptations

The play was adapted into the films ''

Murder on the Second Floor ''Murder on the Second Floor'' is a 1932 British thriller film directed by William C. McGann and starring Pat Paterson, John Longden and Sydney Fairbrother. The screenplay concerns a novelist who imagines the murders of his fellow boarding-ho ...

'' (1932) and '' Shadows on the Stairs'' (1941) and for television as ''Murder on the Second Floor'' (1939). Vosper adapted the play into a novel of the same name, published in 1930.

External links

Broadway plays 1929 plays British plays adapted into films West End plays Plays by Frank Vosper {{1920s-play-stub