Rodney Ackland
Born in Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex, 18 May 1908. Educated at Salesian
College, 1915-16; Balham Grammar School, 1916-23; Central School of Speech
Training and Dramatic Art, London. Married Mab Lonsdale (daughter of
the playwright Frederick Lonsdale) in 1952 (died 1972). Salesman, Swan
and Edgar, London, 1924; worked in the silks department, Stagg and Mantles,
London, 1925, and in the advertising department, Vacuum Oil Company,
London, 1925. Founder, with Roland Gillett,
Kinsmen Pictures, 1946. Died
6 December, 1991. Stage Works
- Improper People (produced 1929). 1930.
- Marion-Ella (produced 1930).
- Dance with No Music (produced 1930). 1933.
- Strange Orchestra (produced 1931). 1932.
- Ballerina, music by Henry Sullivan, lyrics by Desmond Carter, adaptation of the novel by Eleanor Smith (produced 1933).
- Birthday (produced 1934). 1935.
- The White Guard, adaptation of a play by Michael Bulgakov (produced 1934).
- The Old Ladies, adaptation of the novel by Hugh Walpole (produced 1935; as Night in the House, produced 1935). 1935.
- After October(produced 1936). 1936.
- Plot Twenty-One (also director: produced 1936).
- Yes, My Darling Daughter, adaptation of work by Mark Reed (produced 1937).
- The Dark River (as Remembrance of Things Past, produced 1938; as The Dark River, produced 1941). 1942.
- Sixth Floor, adaptation of a play by Alfred Ghéri (produced 1939).
- Blossom Time, music by Schubert (produced 1942).
- The Diary of a Scoundrel, adaptation of a play by A.N. Ostrovsky (produced 1942). 1948.
- Crime and Punishment, adaptation of a novel by Dostoevsky (produced 1946). 1948.
- Cupid and Mars, with Robert G. Newton, adaptation of a story by Newton (produced 1947).
- Before the Party, adaptation of a story by W. Somerset Maugham (produced 1949). 1950.
- A Multitude of Sins, with Robert G. Newton (produced 1951).
- The Pink Room; or, The Escapists (produced 1952).
- A Dead Secret (produced 1957) 1958.
- Farewell, Farewell, Eugene, adaptation of a work by John Van (produced 1959). 1960.
- The Other Palace (produced 1964).
- Smithereens (produced 1985).
- Absolute Hell (produced 1987).
- Too Clever by Half, adaptation of a work by Ostrovsky (produced 1988).
Screenplays
- Number Seventeen, with Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville, 1931;
- Yellow Sands, with Michael Barringer, 1938;
- Bank Holiday (Three on a Weekend), with Roger Burford and Hans Wilhelm, 1938;
- Keep Smiling (Smiling Along), with Val Valentine, 1938;
- The Silent Battle (Continental Express), with Wolfgang Wilhelm, 1939;
- Young Man's Fancy, with Roland Pertwee, 1939;
- An Englishman's Home, with others, 1939;
- George and Margaret, with Brock Williams, 1940;
- A Call for Arms, 1940;
- Miss Grant Goes to the Door,1940;
- Under Your Hat, with Anthony Kimmins and L. Green, 1940;
- Rush Hour, with Arthur Boys, 1941;
- 49th Parallel (The Invaders) with Emetic Pressburger, 1941;
- Lady Be Kind, with Arthur Boys, 1941;
- Night Watch, with Reg Graves, 1941;
- Dangerous Moonlight (Suicide Squadron), with Terrence Young and Brian Desmond Hurst, 1941;
- Hatter's Castle, with Paul Merzbah and Rudolf Bernauer, 1941;
- Uncensored, with Terence Rattigan and Wolfgang Wilhelm, 1942;
- The Hundred Pound Window, with Ahem Finkel and Brock Williams, 1943;
- Thursday's Child, with Donald Macardle, 1943;
- The School Teacher,1944;
- Love Story (A Lady Surrenders), with Leslie Arliss and Doreen Montgomery, 1944;
- Wanted for Murder, with Emeric Pressburger, 1946;
- Temptation Harbour, with Victor Skutezky and Frederic Gotfurt, 1947;
- Bond Street, with Terence Rattigan and Anatole de Grunwald, 1948;
- The Queen of Spades, with Arthur Boys, 1949
Other Publications
The Celluloid Mistress; or, The Custard Pie of Dr. Caligari (autobiography), with Elspeth Grant. 1954.
CRITICAL STUDIES: article in Theatre World, January 1939; preface by Romain Fanvic to The Dark River, 1942; interview with Frank Granville-Barker, in Plays and Players, September 1957; articles by Norman Marshall, in London Magazine, April 1965, Hilary Spurling in Spectator, 22 November 1968, and Raymond Marriott in Stage, November, 1968.