''Seventh Heaven'' was one of the most popular

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 ...

plays of the 1920s.

Production

''Seventh Heaven'' was written by Austin Strong and produced by

John Golden John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for "Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films. ...

. It ran at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the Italian Renaissance ...

from October 30, 1922, to July 1924 for a total of 704 performances. The leads were played by

George Gaul George Gaul (September 22, 1885 – October 6, 1939) was an American stage actor in the first half of the 20th century. As far as is known Gaul never appeared in motion pictures but was one America's most successful stage actors in the 1920s. He ...

as Chico and

Helen Menken Helen Menken (née Meinken; December 12, 1901 – March 27, 1966) was an American stage actress. Early years Menken was born in New York City to a German-French father, Frederick Meinken, and an Irish-born mother, Mary Madden. Her parents were ...

as Diane. Also in the cast of the play was

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous soun ...

as Brissac.

Cast

as Diane *

as Chico *

as Brissac *Herbert Druce as Boul' *Alfred Kappeler as Maximalian Gobin *Marion Kerby as Nana *William Post as Pere Chevillon *Isabel West as Aunt Valentine *Harry Forsman as Uncle Georges *Fred Holloway as The Rat *Beatrice Noyes as Arlette *Bernard Thornton as Recan *Lionel Joseph as Lamplighter *

Richard Carlyle Richard Carlyle (March 20, 1914 – November 15, 2009) was a film, television and Broadway actor. Early years Carlyle was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. His education included attendance at Sherwood Dramatic Art School and the Art I ...

as Blonde *John Clements as Sergeant of Police

Plot

Young girl Diane is falling in love with Chico during World War I in France.

Films

Two films have been made based on the original Broadway play. A 1927

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

of the same title was written by

Benjamin Glazer Benjamin Glazer (May 7, 1887 – March 18, 1956) was a screenwriter, producer, foley artist, and director of American films from the 1920s through the 1950s. He made the first translation of Ferenc Molnár's play ''Liliom'' into English in 1921. H ...

and directed by

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), ''Man's ...

. A 1937 remake was produced as a sound film starring

Simone Simon Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon (23 April 1910 or 1911 – 22 February 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931. Early life Born in Marseille, France, she was the daughter of Henri Louis Firmin Clair Simon, a French J ...

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

Jean Hersholt Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film ''Heidi'' (1937).Obitua ...

, and

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...

, with Henry King directing.

References

External links

Full text
at the Internet Archive * {{IBDB title, 9142, Seventh Heaven 1922 plays Broadway plays