''Mrs. Gibbons' Boys'' is a play by

Joseph Stein Joseph Stein (May 30, 1912 – October 24, 2010) was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as ''Fiddler on the Roof'' and '' Zorba''. Biography Born in New York City to Jewish parents, Charles and Emma ( ...

and

Will Glickman Will Glickman (March 7, 1910 – March 11, 1983) was an American playwright who frequently collaborated with Joseph Stein. Glickman made his Broadway debut in 1948 with sketches he and Stein wrote for the revue '' Lend an Ear''. The two went on ...

. The

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

centers on the mother of three delinquent boys. Produced and directed by

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Yo ...

, the

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 ...

production opened at the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...

on May 4, 1949 and closed after five performances. The cast included

Ray Walston Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, well known as the title character on ''My Favorite Martian''. His other major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (''South Paci ...

. The

Bucks County Playhouse THE BUCKS COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE The Bucks County Playhouse is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania. When the ''Hope Mills'' burned in 1790, the grist mills were rebuilt as the ''New Hope Mills,'' by Benjamin Parry. The town was renamed for the mills. ...

New Hope, Pennsylvania New Hope is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. ...

staged the play with Walter Matthau and

William Windom William Windom (May 10, 1827January 29, 1891) was an American politician from Minnesota. He served as U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and as U.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 1881 ...

as part of its Summer 1955 season.

Film and play

In 1962, Peter Blackmore and

Max Varnel Max Varnel (21 March 1925 – 15 January 1996) was a French-born Australian film and television director who worked primarily in the United Kingdom and Australia. Biography Born Max Le Bozec in Paris, France, he was the son of the film director Ma ...

adapted it for a feature film. '' Mrs. Gibbons' Boys'' was released by the

British Lion Film Corporation British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it entered receivership on 1 June 1954. From 29 January 1955 to 1976, the company was kn ...

. The cast, directed by Varnel, included

Kathleen Harrison Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a worki ...

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award nomination during his acting career. Early life Jeffries was born in ...

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...

, David Lodge,

Eric Pohlmann Eric Pohlmann (german: Erich Pohlmann; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, th ...

, and

Milo O'Shea Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in '' Staircase'' (1968) and '' Mass Appeal'' (1982). Early life O'Shea was born and ...

. On November 19, 1957, a production of the play opened at the

Theatre Royal Windsor The Theatre Royal is an Edwardian theatre on Thames Street in Windsor in Berkshire. The present building is the second theatre to stand on this site and opened on 13 December 1910. Built for Sir Wiliam Shipley and Captain Reginald Shipley, it was ...

. It was directed by Hugh Goldie, with settings designed by Hal Henshaw. The cast was as follows:

Mary Kerridge Mary Kerridge (3 April 1914 – 22 July 1999) was an English actress and theatre director, who (with her husband, John Counsell) ran the Theatre Royal, Windsor and its in-house repertory company from the 1930s to the 1980s. Her daughter is t ...

as Myra Hood,

Avice Landone Avice Landone (1 September 191012 June 1976) was an English actress who appeared in British television and film. She was born in Quetta, British India, and made her screen debut in the 1948 film '' My Brother Jonathon''. From 1961 she co-starre ...

as Mrs Mary Gibbons, Vivian Matalon as Rudy Gibbons, Malcolm Russell as Mr Rausch, David Kelly as Coles, Eric House as Lester MacMichaels, David Lander as Woodrow W. Grupp,

Frederick Jaeger Manfred Frederick Jaeger (9 May 1928 – 18 June 2004) was a German-born British film, television, theatre and radio character actor. Biography Jaeger was born in Berlin, Germany, but moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. H ...

as Rodla Gibbons,

Lee Montague Lee Montague (born Leonard Goldberg; 16 October 1927) is an English actor noted for his roles in film and television, usually playing tough guys. Montague was a student of the Old Vic School. Montague's film credits include ''The Camp on Blo ...

as Francis X. Gibbons, George Margo as Ernie "Horse" Wagner, Muriel Ridley as Pearl.

External links

Internet Broadway Database entryInternet Movie Database entry
{{Joseph Stein 1949 plays Broadway plays American plays