R. C. Sherriff
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Robert Cedric Sherriff (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer, best known for his play Journey's End.
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[edit] Early life
Sherriff was born in one of Kingston upon Thames, or Hampton Wick, or Esher. He was educated at Kingston Grammar School in Kingston upon Thames, and worked in an insurance office as a clerk (1914) and as an insurance adjuster (1918 to 1928) at Sun Insurance Company, London. Sherriff served (1915 to 1918) as a captain in the 9th East Surrey Regiment in World War I. He was wounded at Passchendaele near Ypres.
[edit] Early plays
He first wrote a play to help Kingston Rowing Club raise money to buy a new boat. His seventh play, Journey's End, was written in 1928 and published in 1929 and was based on his experiences in the war. It was performed twice, first on 9 December 1928, by the Incorporated Stage Society at the Apollo Theatre, directed by James Whale and with the 21 year old Laurence Olivier in the lead role. In the audience was Maurice Browne who produced it at the Savoy Theatre where it was performed for two years from 1929.
Sherriff studied at New College, Oxford from 1931 to 1934. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Society of Antiquaries.
[edit] Bibliography
| Written | Plays | Screenplays | Novels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | |||
| 1922? | The Woods of Meadowside | ||
| 1923 | Profit and Loss | ||
| 1924? | Cornlow-in-the-Downs | ||
| 1925? | |||
| 1926 | Mr. Bridie's Finger | ||
| 1928 | Journey's End | ||
| 1930 | Badger's Green | Journey's End (cowritten) | |
| 1931 | The Fortnight in September | ||
| ? | Chedworth | ||
| 1933 | Windfall | The Invisible Man, Goodbye, Mr. Chips | |
| 1934 | Two Hearts Doubled | ||
| ? | One More River | ||
| 1935 | The Four Feathers (co-adapted, released in 1939) | ||
| 1936 | St. Helena (cowritten) | ||
| 1937 | The Road Back (cowritten) | ||
| 1939 | The Hopkins manuscript | ||
| 1941 | Lady Hamilton | ||
| ? | ? Disney film | ||
| 1942 or 1943 |
This Above All (adapted) | ||
| 1945 | Odd Man Out (co-written) | ||
| 1948 | Miss Mabel | Quartet | Another Year: a novel |
| 1949 | Dark Evening | ||
| 1950 | Home at Seven | No Highway | |
| 1952 | The Kite | ||
| 1953 | The White Carnation | ||
| 1955 | The Long Sunset | The Dam Busters, The Night My Number Came Up | |
| ? | Cards with Uncle Tom (TV) | King John's Treasure | |
| 1957 | The Telescope | ||
| ? | A Shred of Evidence | ||
| 1962 | The Wells of St. Mary's | ||
| 1963 | The Ogburn Story (TV) | ||
| 1973 | The Siege of Swayne Castle |
Sherriff's No Leading Lady: An Autobiography was first published in 1968.
[edit] Award nominations
Sherriff was nominated along with Eric Maschwitz and Claudine West for an Academy award for writing an adapted screenplay for Goodbye, Mr. Chips which was released in 1939. His 1955 screenplays, The Dam Busters and The Night My Number Came Up were nominated for best British screenplay BAFTA awards.
