The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (play)

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney is a 1925 Frederick Lonsdale play that was adapted to the screen three times.


Play

Frederick Lonsdale's play, about a jewel thief who passes herself off as a society lady, opened at the St. James's Theatre in London on 22 September 1925 and ran for 514 performances. Reviewing the opening night for the Sunday Times, critic James Agate wrote: "It is not a good sort of play, but it is a very good play of its sort."[1] It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1925-1926.

Film adaptations

The first film version of The Last of Mrs. Cheney was released in 1929, and starred Norma Shearer and Basil Rathbone. It was nominated for an Oscar in 1930 for "Best Writing, Achievement" for Hanns Kräly.

The Last of Mrs. Cheney, released in 1937, was the second film adaptation. It starred Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery, Benita Hume and Frank Morgan.

The final film version of the Lonsdale play starred Greer Garson and was titled The Law and the Lady (1951).

Notes

  1. Agate, James. Red Letter Nights, Jonathan Cape (1944)

External links