''Sailor Beware!'' is a comic play by Philip King and Falkland Cary. After a repertory company production in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and H ...

in 1954, it opened in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

of London on 16 February 1955 and ran for 1,231 performances. The play depicts the successful attempt by a young sailor to curb the tyrannical ways of his prospective mother-in-law. It was the first London appearance by Peggy Mount, who achieved immediate celebrity in the role of the domineering Mrs Hornett. The play spawned a film adaptation and a stage sequel, and has been revived on several occasions.

History

The co-author, Philip King, had written an earlier hit comedy, '' See How They Run'' (1945), and had collaborated with Falkland Cary on five plays. Their ''Sailor Beware!'' was first produced by the

repertory company in 1954. The cast included Peggy Mount and Richard Coleman, who retained their original roles when the play was presented at the Strand Theatre, London the following year. The success of the West End production established Coleman as "a reliable and good-looking juvenile lead", according to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'', and Mount became what ''

The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' called "The toast of the town … the actress London is raving about". Tessie O'Shea replaced Mount towards the end of the run. The play ran at the Strand until 22 February 1958, a total of 1,231 performances.

Plot

The Hornett household is dominated by Emma, the tyrannical wife of Henry, sister-in-law of Edie, and mother of Shirley.

Able Seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

Albert Tuffnell is in love with Shirley, but he views the prospect of marrying into her family with concern. He is an orphan and has never known home life. He decides to shock Mrs Hornett into recognising how badly she behaves to other people. By pretending to jilt Shirley on their wedding morning he sets off a chain of events that lead family, neighbours and even the vicar to tell Emma what they think of her. She is duly chastened and all ends happily, though not without a hint that Shirley has the potential to become as formidable a wife as her mother has been.Trewin, J C. "The World of the Theatre", ''The Illustrated London News'', 5 March 1955, p. 416

Original London cast

*Edie Hornett – Ann Wilton *Emma Hornett – Peggy Mount *Mrs Lack – Myrette Morven *Henry Hornettt – Cyril Smith *Albert Tufnell, AB – Richard Coleman *Carnoustie Bligh, AB – James Copeland *Daphne Pink – Jean Burgess *Shirley Hornett – Sheila Shand Gibbs *The Rev Oliver Purefoy – Anthony Marlow ::Source: ''

''."Strand Theatre – 'Sailor Beware'", ''The Times'', 17 February 1955, p. 12

Reception

The notices for the play were good, and those for the cast – particularly for Mount – still better. ''The Times'' called the comedy "simple but successful". In ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication ...

'',

J. C. Trewin John Courtenay Trewin (4 December 1908 – 16 February 1990) was a British journalist, writer and drama critic. Trewin was born in Plymouth, Devon, although both his parents were Cornish. He was educated at Plymouth College and in 1926 jo ...

predicted a long run, and commented that he laughed despite himself: "The farce may be preposterous utin its broad way it sweeps along the audience." In ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'',

Kenneth Tynan Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Making his initial impact as a critic at '' The Observer'', he praised Osborne's '' Look Back in Anger'' (1956), and encouraged the emerging wave of ...

wrote that although the theme of the play was "as ancient as its development, whereby the husband-to-be jilts his bride", the authors' dialogue was "authentic suburban poetry".Tynan, Kenneth. "Versatility", ''The Observer'', 20 February 1955, p. 13 He said of Mount's performance, "She scorches the earth about her… The savage impatience of Miss Mount's acting must be seen to be believed". Tynan, Trewin and

Philip Hope-Wallace Philip Adrian Hope-Wallace CBE (6 November 1911 – 3 September 1979) was an English music and theatre critic, whose career was mostly with ''The Manchester Guardian'' (later known as ''The Guardian''). From university he went into journalism after ...

in ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the G ...

'' all praised the other members of the cast, who in the words of the ''Times'' critic, "each contribute a nicely judged share to the comedy.

Later versions

The play was adapted for the cinema under the same title in 1956, with Mount and Cyril Smith playing their original stage roles. A stage sequel, ''Watch It, Sailor'', opened in London in February 1960 and was well reviewed, although Kathleen Harrison as Emma was found less imposing than Mount had been in the original play. It ran until June 1961, and was filmed in the same year. ''Sailor Beware'' became a staple of provincial repertory, and received a London revival at the

Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

in 1991 with Jane Freeman as Emma and Colin Hurley as Albert. A 1992–93 tour of Britain starred Jane Freeman and Kathy Staff."On release", ''The Guardian'', 23 October 1993, p. C4

Notes

References

* {{cite book, editor-last= Gaye, editor-first=Freda , year= 1967, title=Who's Who in the Theatre , edition=fourteenth, location=London , publisher=Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons , oclc=5997224 British plays Comedy plays 1954 plays