''My Wife's Family'' is a

comedy play Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy endi ...

by the British-based American writer

Fred Duprez Fred Duprez (September 6, 1884 – October 27, 1938) was an American actor, comedian and singer who performed in vaudeville, phonograph record and film. He made phonograph recordings in the US and the UK in the 1900s, 1910s, and 1920s. Most of t ...

based on an earlier story by Harry B. Linton and Hal Stephens. It premiered at the Princes Theatre,

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

before transferring to the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's West End where it ran for 118 performances between 3 March and 13 June 1931. The original West End cast included

Ernie Lotinga Ernest Lotinga (19 March 1875 – 28 October 1951) was a British comedian and film actor. Lotinga became known for the Josser character whom he portrayed in a series of comedy films during the 1930s. Biography Lotinga was born in Sunderland int ...

Arnold Bell Arnold Bell (23 May 1901 – 12 March 1988) was a British actor. Selected filmography * '' Convict 99'' (1919) − Warder Gannawy * '' Doctor Josser K.C.'' (1931) * '' Josser in the Army'' (1932) − Becker * '' Doss House'' (1933) − Repor ...

, Hugh E. Wright and Joan Ingram.Wearing p.96 It was revived on a number of occasions and made into several films. A

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

, the play's comedy revolves around a newly-married wife who overhears her husband talking about a

Baby grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and mistakenly believes he has an illegitimate child.

Adaptations

In 1931 it was made into the British film ''

The Wife's Family ''The Wife's Family'' (also released as ''My Wife's Family'') is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Gene Gerrard, Muriel Angelus, and Amy Veness. It was based on the My Wife's Family (play), popular stage farce by Fr ...

'' which was followed by two further British adaptations '' My Wife's Family'' (1941) and '' My Wife's Family'' (1956). It was also adapted into Scandinavian films, the Swedish ''

Mother-in-Law's Coming ''Mother-in-Law's Coming'' (Swedish: ''Svärmor kommer'') is a 1932 Swedish comedy film directed by Paul Merzbach and starring Karin Swanström, Nils Wahlbom and Magda Holm.Larsson & Marklund p.130 It was shot at the Råsunda Studios in Stockh ...

'' (1932) and ''

Voi meitä! Anoppi tulee ''Voi meitä! Anoppi tulee'' (AKA''The Mother-in-Law Cometh'') is a 1933 Finnish comedy film directed by Erkki Karu and starring Mia Backman, Uuno Laakso and Georg Malmstén. It was based on a popular stage farce '' My Wife's Family'' by Fred ...

'' shot in Finland in 1933.

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1930 plays British plays West End plays British plays adapted into films {{1930s-play-stub