The Silver Whistle (play)

The Silver Whistle is a play by Robert E. McEnroe. It ran for 219 performances on Broadway from November 24, 1948 to May 28, 1949, with Jose Ferrer in the lead.[1] The play was selected as one of the best plays of 1948-1949, with an excerpted version published in "The Burns Mantle Best Plays of 1948-1949."[2]

Plot

Wilfred Tasbinder impersonates 77 year old Oliver Erwenter to get in an old-folks home. While there he shows the inmates that they are only as old as they feel. He helps a reverend have a romance.

Background

It was the twelfth three-act play written by McEnroe, who worked at a factory as a day job. The previous eleven plays had not been commercially produced, although there had been some interest in the eleventh. McEnroe had been told there was no audience for plays about old people and was determined to prove them wrong. He says he was also inspired by the various vagabonds he met at a bar in Hartford, Connecticut.[3] At one stage the play was known as Oliver Erwenter.[4]

The play was picked up by the Theatre Guild who previewed it in Westport Connecticut. This was a success so they took the play to Broadway.[5] Jose Ferrer starred in production which Brooks Atkinson from the New York Times called "delightful".[6]

Lloyd Nolan performed in the play in Los Angeles.[7] John Carradine also starred in it.[8]

Adaptations

The play was adapted several times

Film rights were originally bought by Charles Feldman in June 1949 for a reported $50,000.[9] In October 1950 he sold them to 20th Century Fox[10] who turned it into a vehicle for Clifton Webb.[11][12] Henry Koster was assigned to direct and Ranald MacDougall wrote a script.[13] The film became Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell.

References
  1. "The Silver Whistle – Broadway Play – Original". www.ibdb.com. The Broadway League. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  2. Chapman, John (ed.), The Burns Mantle Best Plays of 1948-1949, (1949) Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, pp. 266-300.
  3. THAT 'WHISTLE': Diverse Notes on the Strange Origins Of a Fanciful Play and Its Title By ROBERT E. MCENROE. New York Times 5 Dec 1948: X7
  4. PREMIERE TONIGHT OF 'DOCTOR SOCIAL' By SAM ZOLOTOW. New York Times 11 Feb 1948: 35
  5. Author Tells How He Wrote 'Silver Whistle' McEnroe, Robert E. Chicago Daily Tribune 10 Oct 1948: f18.
  6. FIRST NIGHT AT THE THEATRE: Jose Ferrer Plays a Beloved Vagabond in a Droll Comedy Put On at the Biltmore By BROOKS ATKINSON. New York Times25 Nov 1948: 49.
  7. Drama: LLOYD NOLAN HIT IN 'SILVER WHISTLE' Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 4 Apr 1950: A11.
  8. Carradine Wellesley Guest Star D. O. J. M. The Christian Science Monitor 19 July 1950: 4.
  9. FELDMAN WORKING ON FOUR PICTURES: 'Silver Whistle,' 'Wayward Bus,' 'Finian's Rainbow' and 'Tender Mercy' Are Projects By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. 30 June 1949: 19.
  10. "20th Century Fox".
  11. Loss of 'Whistle' Film Doesn't Worry Ferrer E S. Los Angeles Times (17 Aug 1950: B6.
  12. BASKETBALL TEAM TO APPEAR IN FILM: Columbia to Begin Work Soon on Feature Starring Famed Harlem Globe Trotters Fox Gets "Silver Whistle" By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. New York Times 10 Oct 1950: 39
  13. BRACKETT LEAVING PARAMOUNT STUDIO: Writer and Producer on Their Lot for 17 Years, He Decides to Quit on Economy Issue Of Local Origin By THOMAS F. BRADY New York Times 31 Oct 1950: 31.
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