''Take a Chance'' 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 endin ...
by the British-American writer
Walter C. Hackett, with a plot revolving around gambling on a
horseracing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
.
It was performed at the
Whitehall Theatre
Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...
, running for 93 performances between 28 July and 17 October 1931. It followed closely on the heels of another of Hackett's plays at the theatre ''
Good Losers''. The original cast of ''Take a Chance'' included
Ian Hunter,
Ronald Shiner
Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 – 29 June 1966) was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.
Career Early life and career
When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal Nor ...
,
Charles Quatermaine
Charles Quatermaine (30 December 1877 in Richmond, Surrey – August 1958 in Sussex) was a British stage and film actor. He also appeared on Broadway. He was the second husband of actress Mary Forbes, and brother of Leon Quartermaine
Leon ...
,
Anthony Holles,
Francis Lister
Francis Lister (2 April 1899 – 28 October 1951) was a British actor. He was married to the actresses Nora Swinburne (1924–32) and Margot Grahame (1934-36).
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*ThFrancis Lister Collectionis held by ...
,
Hugh Wakefield
Hugh Wakefield (10 November 1888 – 5 December 1971) was an English film actor, who played supporting roles. He was often seen wearing a monocle.
Hugh Claude Wakefield was born in Wanstead, Essex. He also had a distinguished stage career, whic ...
,
Barbara Hoffe and
Marion Lorne
Marion Lorne MacDougal or MacDougall (sources differ) (August 12, 1883 – May 9, 1968), known professionally as Marion Lorne, was an American actress of stage, film, and television. After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne ...
.
Adaptation
It provided the basis for a loose adaptation into the 1937
film of the same title directed by
Sinclair Hill
Sinclair Hill (10 June 1896 – 6 March 1945) was a British film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He directed nearly fifty films between 1920 and 1939. He was born as George Sinclair-Hill in London in 1894. He was awarded an OB ...
and starring
Claude Hulbert
Claude Noel Hulbert (25 December 1900 – 23 January 1964) was a mid-20th century English stage, radio and cinema comic actor.
Early life
Claude Hulbert was born in Fulham in West London on Christmas Day 1900. He was the younger brother of J ...
and
Binnie Hale.
[Goble p.201]
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.
1931 plays
British plays adapted into films
West End plays
Comedy plays
Plays by Walter C. Hackett
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