On the Spot (play)
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''On the Spot'' is a 1930
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
-set play by the British writer
Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...
. Wallace was inspired by a visit to the United States and, in particular, the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. Known as a prolific author, he reportedly dictated the manuscript for the play in just four days.Kabatchnik p. 172 It was his greatest theatrical success. It lasted for 342 performances on its original West End run. Beginning at
Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the archit ...
, it later transferred to the
Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and construction It was de ...
.Wearing p. 20 The lead role of a
Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
-like gangster Tony Perelli was played by
Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future ...
with
Emlyn Williams George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor. Early life Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flints ...
as his henchman and
Gillian Lind Gillian Lind (25 August 1904 - 25 October 1983) was a British stage, film and television actress. In 1930 she starred in Edgar Wallace's play '' On the Spot'' in the West End.Kabatchnik p.172 She went on to enjoy a long career in film and televi ...
playing Perelli's Chinese mistress. Other cast members included
Roy Emerton Roy Emerton (9 October 1892 – 30 November 1944) was a British film actor. Earlier in his life, he was a sailor, stoker, docker, railway worker, and miner and served in the First World War. He played in a great number of popular London stage p ...
,
Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''The Third Man'' (1949), and ''Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded the ...
,
Dennis Wyndham Dennis Wyndham (15 January 1887 – 19 August 1973) was a South African born stage and film actor. Long based in Britain, he appeared in more than 40 films between 1920 and 1956. He was born in Natal, South Africa. On 23 May 1917, he marrie ...
and
Gladys Frazin Gladys Frazin (June 21, 1900 – March 9, 1939) was an American stage and film actress. She appeared in a mixture of American and British films. On Broadway, Frazin played Mimi in ''The Masked Woman'' (1922). Also on stage she featured in Edgar ...
. It transferred to America in October 1930 and ran for 167 performances at the
Forrest Theatre The Forrest Theatre is a live theatre venue at 1114 Walnut Street Center City area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has a seating capacity of 1,851 and is managed by The Shubert Organization.
in New York. In 1931, Wallace
novelised A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
the play using the same title.


Adaptation

It was adapted as an American film ''
Dangerous to Know ''Dangerous to Know'' is a 1938 American crime film and starring Anna May Wong, Akim Tamiroff and Gail Patrick. The movie was directed by Robert Florey. Bosley Crowther of ''The New York Times'' called the film a "second-rate melodrama, hardly ...
'' (1938). Directed by
Robert Florey Robert Florey (14 September 1900 – 16 May 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor. Born as Robert Fuchs in Paris, he became an orphan at an early age and was then raised in Switzerland. In 1920 he worked a ...
for
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
it starred
Anna May Wong Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain interna ...
and
Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character ac ...
.Goble p. 488 The play was adapted for radio by Raymond Raikes, and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, on 27 March 1976, with Peter Woodthorpe as Tony Perelli and
Denise Bryer Denise Bryer (5 January 1928 – 16 October 2021) was an English actress, known for her voice roles on television and radio. Career Best remembered in her UK homeland for her work on the Gerry Anderson series, ''Terrahawks'', where she voiced ...
as Minn Lee.


References


Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Kabatchnik, Amnon. ''Blood on the Stage, 1975-2000: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2012. * Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage 1930–1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1930 plays British plays adapted into films Plays by Edgar Wallace Plays about organized crime Plays set in Chicago West End plays {{1930s-play-stub