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

  1. Improper People (produced 1929). 1930.
  2. Marion-Ella (produced 1930).
  3. Dance with No Music (produced 1930). 1933.
  4. Strange Orchestra (produced 1931). 1932.
  5. Ballerina, music by Henry Sullivan, lyrics by Desmond Carter, adaptation of the novel by Eleanor Smith (produced 1933).
  6. Birthday (produced 1934). 1935.
  7. The White Guard, adaptation of a play by Michael Bulgakov (produced 1934).
  8. The Old Ladies, adaptation of the novel by Hugh Walpole (produced 1935; as Night in the House, produced 1935). 1935.
  9. After October (produced 1936). 1936.
  10. Plot Twenty-One (also director: produced 1936).
  11. Yes, My Darling Daughter, adaptation of work by Mark Reed (produced 1937).
  12. The Dark River (as Remembrance of Things Past, produced 1938; as The Dark River, produced 1941). 1942.
  13. Sixth Floor, adaptation of a play by Alfred Ghéri (produced 1939).
  14. Blossom Time, music by Schubert (produced 1942).
  15. The Diary of a Scoundrel, adaptation of a play by A.N. Ostrovsky (produced 1942). 1948.
  16. Crime and Punishment, adaptation of a novel by Dostoevsky (produced 1946). 1948.
  17. Cupid and Mars, with Robert G. Newton, adaptation of a story by Newton (produced 1947).
  18. Before the Party, adaptation of a story by W. Somerset Maugham (produced 1949). 1950.
  19. A Multitude of Sins, with Robert G. Newton (produced 1951).
  20. The Pink Room; or, The Escapists (produced 1952).
  21. A Dead Secret (produced 1957) 1958.
  22. Farewell, Farewell, Eugene, adaptation of a work by John Van (produced 1959). 1960.
  23. The Other Palace (produced 1964).
  24. Smithereens (produced 1985).
  25. Absolute Hell (produced 1987).
  26. Too Clever by Half, adaptation of a work by Ostrovsky (produced 1988).

Screenplays

  1. Number Seventeen, with Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville, 1931;
  2. Yellow Sands, with Michael Barringer, 1938;
  3. Bank Holiday (Three on a Weekend), with Roger Burford and Hans Wilhelm, 1938;
  4. Keep Smiling (Smiling Along), with Val Valentine, 1938;
  5. The Silent Battle (Continental Express), with Wolfgang Wilhelm, 1939;
  6. Young Man's Fancy, with Roland Pertwee, 1939;
  7. An Englishman's Home, with others, 1939;
  8. George and Margaret, with Brock Williams, 1940;
  9. A Call for Arms, 1940;
  10. Miss Grant Goes to the Door,1940;
  11. Under Your Hat, with Anthony Kimmins and L. Green, 1940;
  12. Rush Hour, with Arthur Boys, 1941;
  13. 49th Parallel (The Invaders) with Emetic Pressburger, 1941;
  14. Lady Be Kind, with Arthur Boys, 1941;
  15. Night Watch, with Reg Graves, 1941;
  16. Dangerous Moonlight (Suicide Squadron), with Terrence Young and Brian Desmond Hurst, 1941;
  17. Hatter's Castle, with Paul Merzbah and Rudolf Bernauer, 1941;
  18. Uncensored, with Terence Rattigan and Wolfgang Wilhelm, 1942;
  19. The Hundred Pound Window, with Ahem Finkel and Brock Williams, 1943;
  20. Thursday's Child, with Donald Macardle, 1943;
  21. The School Teacher,1944;
  22. Love Story (A Lady Surrenders), with Leslie Arliss and Doreen Montgomery, 1944;
  23. Wanted for Murder, with Emeric Pressburger, 1946;
  24. Temptation Harbour, with Victor Skutezky and Frederic Gotfurt, 1947;
  25. Bond Street, with Terence Rattigan and Anatole de Grunwald, 1948;
  26. 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.