Curtain Up

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Curtain Up is a 1952 film directed by Ralph Smart, written by Jack Davies and Philip King. It is based on the play Sunday for Seven Days by Philip King.

[edit] Plot

In an English provincial town, a second-rate repertory company assemble at the theatre on Monday morning to rehearse the following week's play, a melodrama titled Tarnished Gold.

Harry, their irascible Director, is highly critical of the play, which has been foisted on him by the owners of the Company and is unenthusiastic about it's prospects. The cast, a mixture of wanabee-film stars and has-beens, are equally unenthusiastic and little progress is made. Just as matters seemingly cannot get worse, the authoress of the play, Catherine Beckwith, appears and insists on 'sitting at the feet' of the Director.

She and Harry are quickly at each other throats and after Harry tears up most of Act 1, he storms angrily off stage and falls into the pit, injuring himself. Despite the forebodings of the cast, Miss Beckwith insists on taking over the rehearsal according to her own ideas.

A week later, to everyone's surprise, the curtain comes down on a triumphant first night.

Sub-plots involve on and off-stage romances between the cast, a film offer for one of the actresses, to her husband's chagrin, and the newest member of the cast realising that the stage is not her forte.