''The Luck of the Navy'' is a British comedy thriller play by Mrs Clifford Mills in which a Royal Navy sailor is nearly framed by an enemy agent for the theft of secret documents. It was first performed in 1918 and continued to be performed post-war in London and by touring companies. Between 1919 and 1930 it was performed over 900 times in 148 theatres. It was also performed internationally: in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1920,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1928 and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in 1920. It was revived at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

in London on 24 December 1934 and ran for 22 performances.http://www.westendtheatre.com/9053/west-end-theatre-history-data/women-playwrights-in-the-west-end-1930-1939/

Film adaptations

In 1927, it was made into a silent film, '' The Luck of the Navy'', directed by

Fred Paul Fred Paul (1880–1967) was a Swiss-born British actor and film director. Paul was born in Lausanne in 1880 but moved to Britain at a young age. He was a prolific actor and director in the 1910s and 1920s, but his career dramatically declined with ...

. In 1937, it was adapted into a sound film, ''

Luck of the Navy ''Luck of the Navy'' is a 1938 British comedy thriller film directed by Norman Lee and starring Geoffrey Toone, Judy Kelly and Clifford Evans. Shot at Elstree StudiosWood p.98 it was based on the play '' The Luck of the Navy'' by Mrs Clifford ...

'', directed by

Norman Lee Norman Lee (10 October 1898 – 2 June 1964) was a British screenwriter and film director. Selected filmography * '' The Lure of the Atlantic'' (1929) * '' The Streets of London'' (1929) * '' Night Patrol'' (1930, documentary) * '' Doctor ...

and starring

Geoffrey Toone Geoffrey Toone (15 November 1910 – 1 June 2005) was an English character actor and former matinee idol, born in Ireland. Most of his film roles after the 1930s were in supporting parts, usually as authority figures, though he did play the lead ...

and

Judy Kelly Julie Aileen Kelly (1 November 1913 – 22 October 1991), known professionally as Judy Kelly, was an Australian-born British actress. She arrived in Britain in 1932 after winning a competition organised by the Australian British Empire Films, wh ...

References

Bibliography

* Nicoll, Allardyce. ''English Drama, 1900-1930: The Beginnings of the Modern Period''. Cambridge University Press, 1973.

External links

''The Luck of the Navy'' on Great War Theatre
1919 plays British plays adapted into films Comedy thriller plays {{1910s-play-stub